SASR - Australia Special Forces - Ultimate Hell Week

Here, under the scorching African sun...

GUNFIRE

..we created the ultimate military boot camp...

Oh, my God!

..with help from former members

of five of the world's fiercest special forces units.

We have put 22 of Britain's toughest civilians

through nearly two weeks of hell.

HE SHOUTS OUT IN PAIN

Urgh!

WOMAN SCREAMS

So far, they have faced veterans from...

the South Korean Special Forces...

What is going on here?

Get up!

You want to quit?

..the US Army's Green Berets...

If you throw up, stick it in your pocket, keep going!

HE STRAINS

Argh!

..Grom from Poland...

Do not move, do not duck.

Two minutes, prepare your baggage.

..the South African Recces...

Get up!

I want it done now!

..and GIGN from France.

HE SHOUTS AN ORDER

THEY ALL ROAR

GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING

Now, just seven remain...

and they are about to face former operatives

from one of the toughest special forces units in the world

in what will be the most extreme

physical and mental challenge so far

in the final of...

Special Forces Ultimate Hell Week.

After ten days of gruelling punishment,

our final seven recruits await the arrival

of their final former special forces operative.

I think now is the time where we're going to be pushed to the max.

We're going to get broken.

48 hours to go.

So we've just got to...keep smiling.

Let's go! Let's go!

My name is Jason Falla.

I'm a former member of the Australian SAS.

Clearly we've got the toughest seven recruits standing right here.

And I'm about to raise the bar.

Over the next 48 hours, you'll be constantly assessed.

If, for whatever reason,

I don't see that you're putting in 100% effort...

..I won't hesitate in cutting any of you at any time.

Modelled on the British SAS,

the Special Air Service Regiment was established in 1957.

Primarily constructed to conduct

long-range reconnaissance and surveillance,

the unit also specialises in counter-terror

and hostage rescue.

The selection course lasts 21 days

and is considered one of the toughest in the world,

with only a 25% pass rate.

You guys are going to have one minute

to return back to your bed spaces,

gather all of your field-issued equipment

and returned back to this location. Is that understood?

ALL: Yes, sir!

Go.

Oh, there's definitely a tone shift. Things are very different.

And, erm...I get the feeling that this man, he doesn't play around.

Jason will be testing the recruits

to see who can reach his demanding standards.

Even the smallest mistake can mean the end of their journey.

What we won't tolerate is a lack of integrity, quitters,

or anyone that is not prepared to give us 100% effort.

Come on, let's go, let's go!

Hurry up!

Thomson, however, is off the pace.

The ultra-marathon runner, surfer and ski instructor

has performed well throughout the competition,

but struggled to lead her team in the hostage rescue exercise

under the former GIGN operatives.

As soon as we got in, it was just absolute chaos.

It was basically just lots of people shouting

and shoving each other around.

Completely unable to take control, yeah.

Why did it take so long, Thomson, to get back out here with your kit?

I'm sorry, sir, I reordered it in a bad way.

-You had all night to order it.

-Yes, sir.

Why didn't you help her out?

-Because we were all in a rush.

-Because you're not a team.

Right?

Are you a team?

-MAN:

-Yes.

-It doesn't look like it.

She hasn't got her stuff packed,

she's late and nobody's helping her.

All right, we'll see, er... what happens next.

Go ahead and drop your rucksacks.

Go ahead and empty out your rucksacks in front of you.

Let's just see if you've got all the required equipment.

I definitely don't know what to expect from this man,

but I get the feeling that these next two days,

someone's going to be forced to walk away,

or he's going to send someone off in a heartbeat.

Knife, fork and spoon set - KFS - hold them up, three items.

One, two, three.

-Why do you have two of them?

-I just have a spare one

in case someone's forgotten one, sir.

Do you know of anyone that may have forgotten one?

Not at the moment, sir.

That is mine, because I definitely had it in my bag this morning.

-How about this?

-Sir?

-Push-up position. Hurry up. Rucksack...

Oi, Allan, back here, buddy.

So Allan's just accused Downham of taking his cutlery.

I put it in my mess tin when I packed this morning.

How about this? We don't know that it's yours or not.

Downham, go ahead and give him yours, on your feet.

I don't know what's been going on for the last ten days,

but things are about to change.

I think Jason knows that none of us will give up.

So he's going to try and break you.

He's going to be very strict.

He's going to pay a lot of attention to detail.

So I think, as a team, we just have to keep checking each other.

We just have to double, triple-check everything.

Have you got a handle on our recruits?

I was expecting a lot more, trust me.

What I saw was lateness, disarray.

They've been here under ten days of training and instruction

from other subject-matter experts from the world's special forces.

I would have expected a better product right now.

From here, you're going to beast them, right?

-Is that what's happening next?

-They'll expect that.

We're going to take them into a low-intensity phase,

just to throw their centre of gravity off slightly.

And then we're going to really ramp it up.

Unexpectedly, the recruits are taken to a classroom

and presented with a cover story.

You need to commit this information to memory.

The details of your cover story, as it states down there.

Your name, home address, home phone number, job title

are all critical pieces of information

that you will need to deliver in a timely fashion, as required.

-Everyone good?

-ALL:

-Yes, sir. Begin.

Their ability to learn and remember information

is an essential skill for the SAS regiment

and a key attribute Jason will be looking for

throughout the next 48 hours.

And they could be asked to call on it at any time.

So how important is the information that you're giving them now?

Yes, a cover story, again, it's just something that we do on selection,

which tests their cognitive ability

to remember this information in large parts

and then recall that while they're under stress.

And if they don't release the correct information,

again, in reality, that could get you killed.

After an hour, the recruits move on to the first phase

of Jason's selection training.

All right, on the command, we'll begin the circuit.

Ready?

Begin!

Taken from day one of SASR selection...

Keep pressing them out. Change!

OK, stand up, grab your bars.

..iron bar PT is a physical fitness and strength test

designed to break weak recruits.

All the way down, Donoghue.

Don't cheat me out of it.

Firefighter Donoghue has proved herself a worthy finalist,

as the first female to cross the line

during a gruelling endurance exercise with a Polish Grom veteran,

and winner of the tyre-pull race under Ken from South Korea.

-First one in.

-First one!

She's here to prove that petite doesn't mean weak.

It's not the dog in the fight.

You know, it's what's inside that counts.

And, you know, I might not look strong,

but I like to surprise people.

Go!

Foot over the line, foot over the line.

Raise them straight up.

And jogging in place. Go!

Pick the knees up, pick the knees up.

Keep your arms straight, Thomson.

And change.

Keep it up, Allan, let's go.

Pick up the pace.

A GP, fell runner, and father of two,

Allan has been found wanting as a leader.

Who would you most not like on your team?

-Allan.

-Allan.

-Allan.

-Allan.

-I pick Allan.

-Allan.

But under the former French GIGN,

he proved himself amongst his peers.

We'll carry the log that way and we're going to cross the river.

Drop it, drop it. Yes.

Yes.

Yes! Is good for me. Yes, is good for me.

Good job, Allan.

As the oldest recruit in the competition,

he counts his life experience in his favour.

I think I have what it takes to mentally deal with this.

So the brain's willing, but the body might not carry me the whole way.

Ten seconds.

What is it, exactly, that you're looking for here?

So this is really designed to weed out the people

who have prepared themselves physically for the selection course.

We run this type of bar PT early on in the phase

to basically cull some of the candidates from the course

that haven't physically prepared well enough,

and then the ones that have,

obviously go through to the next phase.

Yeah, who's struggling.

Allan's not physically prepared enough

for this kind of a PT session.

Onyiuke is struggling a fair bit.

We've got Parrott struggling on the end.

This is about the right time for people to start struggling

and they're not even halfway through.

Come on, pump them out, pump them out.

HE STRAINS

Allan, get your hips off the floor.

Allan is hanging. This is only the second rotation,

they've been through all of their exercises once.

And at the moment, you're starting to hear the grunts

and you're starting to hear the pain.

And predominantly, those noises are coming from Allan's direction.

Put those arms up, Allan. Put those arms up.

After 30 minutes, the recruits are already exhausted.

Stop resting. Some of you are starting to rest right now.

Figuring you're not being observed, you're slowing the bar down.

But you are being observed.

Allan, the DS's are on your case.

Why do you think they're all over you at the minute?

I'm rubbish at this.

What is it that you think you're rubbish at, exactly?

Just the...the speed and the strength.

Well, one thing that is undeniable is that you've got heart.

-Are you going to keep going?

-I think so. I think so.

Has this got you feeling really ropey at the minute?

Do you think you might be sick?

Yeah, I've already been sick in my mouth.

And what happened to it?

I had to swallow it again.

Change!

After 45 minutes,

even the strongest recruits are finding the session tough.

And with ten minutes left,

the final seven are having to dig deep to make it to the end.

Karate black belt Onyiuke signed up on a path of self-discovery.

I really want to see what I'm made of, in terms of a person,

if I've got the sort of physical ability, the mental strength,

to push myself in the very sort of, like,

gruesome, gritty, unusual tasks.

He has excelled both physically and mentally.

Two, Jabberwocky J71, sir.

OK.

Making a personal breakthrough with his fear of heights

during our GIGN phase.

But the constant physical demands of the competition

are taking their toll.

Onyiuke, do you need to see the medic?

-Yes or no?

-No.

-What's wrong with your shoulder?

-Nothing, sir.

Just a slight pain.

But he's not the only one struggling.

SHE VOMITS

This PT exercise is probably the toughest one we've seen so far.

We've seen them go through so many different versions of this,

but never to this point.

Literally right now, Thomson is throwing up for the second time.

They have been pushed to their limits.

But none of them have given up, none of them.

With the session over, and on their 11th day of gruelling exercise,

the recruits' bodies are starting to break.

It's slowing me down.

It hurts a lot, but I'm just going to power through.

-You haven't quit yet.

-I'm not going to quit.

-No?

-No.

It doesn't feel like the physical part of today is over.

If you're made to do more physically punishing things,

how do you think you're going to cope?

Well, it's just not going to be pretty, is it?

Erm...it's just not going to be pretty.

I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself.

I'm just so thirsty, feeling really dehydrated.

Downham, a teacher and cross-fit competitor...

Ah...!

..was pushed to her physical limits under the Polish Grom veteran.

Probably the worst...

Oh, I don't know.

But a gutsy performance under Terry from the Green Berets

and the former South Korean operative

have made her a real contender.

I know what it's like when your mind is telling you to stop.

And I think that's why I'm excited about seeing

just how mentally tough I actually am.

After an hour of PT, the recruits fall in for the next phase.

And Jason has some important news about tomorrow's final challenge...

Tomorrow, we've only got three seats on the chopper.

With only three available seats, over the next 24 hours,

the recruits will have to prove to Jason

they deserve a place on the helicopter.

We need to see your best performance.

The other four will be going home.

The situation is, we've just been given a mission.

There's a vehicle that's going to be approaching our location,

they need fuel and they need ammunition.

Your task is to carry the stores to link up with the vehicle.

Move it!

Designed to test teamwork

and replicate the kind of weights the SAS carry behind enemy lines,

the stores carry includes two 20-kilo jerrycans,

two 30-kilo carry cases

and a 50-kilo oil drum.

-Three, two, one, lift!

-Try it and see how it goes.

A total weight of 150 kilograms.

I can't get under this.

All right, you just dropped a bomb.

You've said that only three people

-are going to make it on the chopper tomorrow.

-Right.

How do you think they're going to react to that news now?

Well, they need to put in 110%, that's for sure, to impress me,

because we're already, you know, looking at a couple to cut already.

And who's on your hit list at the moment?

Well, Allan's definitely up there.

Onyiuke's definitely up there, as well.

Parrott, we've got our eyes on her, too.

All right, I've got it. I've got it.

Yeah, a bit of a competition now and, erm...

only three people will make it through,

so we're to have to work bloody hard

if you want to be one of those three.

On top of the 150-kilo stores carry,

the recruits all have 20 kilograms in their bergens

and their four-kilo rifles.

After just 50 metres,

Jason throws in an extra problem for the recruits.

Gas, gas, gas!

Gas, Gas, gas!

Gas, gas, gas! Come on, come on!

Gas masks on! Gas masks on!

Suddenly everything's changed

and the recruits have to get those masks out ASAP.

How are you going to get a seal with that headband on?

The recruits have only seconds to protect themselves

from the gas attack.

In a combat situation, even momentary exposure

to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear agents,

otherwise known as CBRN, could be fatal.

What's wrong with your own hands, Allan? Tighten your own up. Come on.

You guys, step it out. Pick it up, pick it up!

Good job, guys! Good job!

You're going to blow the RV, if you don't hurry up.

OK, guys, keep moving.

-Come this way, come this way.

-I can't.

You better get it through your head

that there's only three seats on this chopper.

Let's get this stuff moving.

It's incredibly impressive just how well Onyiuke is doing at the moment.

He's carrying the hardest and heaviest thing to carry,

which is that barrel, and it's on his right shoulder,

which he was complaining about during the PT.

He's taken the pain for his team and I think they've noticed.

That's it, well done, well done. Keep going.

OK, suck it up, suck it up. We are going up the big hill now.

Come on, let's go.

People fighting wars do this for a living.

OK, and gas masks.

There've been times overseas in Iraq that we have fought the enemy

while wearing gas masks in full CBRN gear.

You guys need to get this stuff moving.

Good job, guys!

-How are you feeling inside that mask, Allan?

-Fine, sir.

Are you feeling good, are you? Well, then, start moving faster!

THOMPSON SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY

The recruits are struggling at the moment, because,

well, they've been going for what feels like an age.

They're still carrying everything they've been given,

regardless of the beating they had during that PT session.

Thomson is in charge and she is bossing this at the moment.

We're going up in five seconds.

Five, four,

three, two, one!

Individually, the recruits are carrying 45 kilos each.

For some, this is over three quarters of their total body weight.

And as the temperature rises above 35 degrees,

it's the oldest recruit, Allan,

who's finding the physical strain too much.

-I can't breathe.

-Somebody sort Allan!

I've got to go down, guys.

-Onyiuke, sort Allan!

-I've got to get down!

Sort Allan, OK?

ALLAN GROANS

Christ...!

Under pressure to deliver the stores to the rendezvous point,

the recruits are having their every move scrutinised by Jason.

THOMPSON SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY

Allan!

-Are you all right?

-Yeah, I'm good, I'm good.

-OK?

-Yeah, just help me up.

-Allan, are you OK?

-Yeah, I'm good.

Allan, get up. Get up. Move.

Moving off!

Literally 20 metres dead!

THOMPSON SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY

All right, here's the deal, you guys have blown your timings.

The truck's not coming now.

You've got to take all this stuff back to the start point.

You guys have blown it. Pick it up, let's go.

After a two-hour, 1.5k uphill trek,

they've been unsuccessful in their mission.

They'll now have to carry everything back to the start.

Let's go, guys. Moving...

MUFFLED, INDISTINCT VOICES

Let me take it round, you can direct.

What's going on, Allan? Are you going to be on the chopper tomorrow?

-I'd like to be.

-You'd like to be?

-Yes.

-How are you feeling now?

-Erm...

-Pretty beat.

-Yeah?

I'm a bit worried that I might vomit in this mask and then, er...

that wouldn't be a pretty sight.

Let's go, let's go!

Despite failing to meet the RV,

Parrott has seized an opportunity to prove to Jason

she has the leadership skills to keep her in the competition.

-Does anyone need to slot in position?

-No, we didn't.

OK, let's just get to the bottom of the hill, OK?

Postgraduate student Parrott

completed officer training with the TA.

But under Terry, our Green Beret operative, she failed as a leader...

Let's just stop. Let's just stop.

Stop the chit-chat. Get the equipment up, let's move.

I like bossing people around. I like being in charge.

..and has a lot to prove

if she wants to make it on to the chopper tomorrow.

Come on, guys, we're nearly there!

-OK, so we're ready?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-OK, let's move out!

Last stretch, last push!

Come on, guys, we're nearly there!

Come on, guys, this is the last little bit as a team.

Back at base camp, the exhausted recruits are set to face Jason.

How's everyone feeling with those gas masks on?

Pretty hot.

Hating life?

Not hating life. It's just pretty hot.

Just thirsty, sir.

-Did you drink any of that sweat Downham?

-Oh, yeah.

-Oh, it's tasty, right?

-Uh-huh.

OK, go ahead and rip them off.

HE BREATHES HARD

When I first met you guys, I told you that I wanted 100% effort.

Sometimes, that's not enough.

Just because you tried 100%

doesn't mean that you'll always pass a selection course.

Just because you make it to the end doesn't mean that you'll pass.

You may be deemed unsuitable for other reasons.

-Everyone understand that?

-ALL: Yes, sir.

Nobody quit. And we want to see that, the perseverance.

See some leadership with Parrott.

Thomson, a bit of leadership, too.

I didn't hear a lot of voice coming necessarily from anybody else.

Onyiuke, especially.

The PT session identified several individuals

that were performing under standard.

And it just happened to be that the same individuals...

performed to the same standard,

or a lower standard, during the stores carry.

There's only three seats on the chopper tomorrow.

And there's seven of you.

So, unfortunately...

..Allan, you need to pack your bags, mate.

HE SIGHS HEAVILY

It's like things end finally for Allan

and I feel heartbroken for him

because he has such a huge heart

and he has been pushing himself the entire day.

All right, at this point, you guys are going to be dismissed.

All right? And we'll catch you guys later on.

OK?

Come to attention.

Left turn.

By the left, left wheeling, quick march!

What are you going to walk away from this whole process feeling,

or thinking about yourself?

I have pushed myself harder than anything.

This is the hardest thing I've ever done

because it's just persistent

and it gets inside your head and it never stops.

So, I guess sausage surprise is our last dinner, guys, as a six.

Yeah, the last supper.

Did you guys say goodbye to Allan?

Yeah, we just waved.

I said, "I love you, Allan!"

He looked gutted when he walked off.

But he gave his everything.

-You're the oldest.

-Yeah, Durance, you're the dad now.

-Dad?

-Yeah.

-I ain't no dad!

LAUGHTER

35-year-old Durance has faced challenges since childhood.

Because I was deaf,

school for me was quite hard.

I was lucky I had the right friends to help me

and, obviously, I used to copy their notes all the time.

Though he struggled with communication under Clinton

in the South African phase...

-This way!

-I hope I don't trip!

..he grew in confidence to take charge

in the night-time surveillance during our GIGN selection...

You will be the next team leader.

If you have the willpower, well, you can act. So...

..and has a particular reason for wanting to make it

all the way to the end.

I want to inspire all disabled people out there.

You can achieve anything.

There's only three places on the chopper tomorrow.

Well, whatever happens, less than 48 hours now.

It's been 14 hours under the command of Jason

and, as night falls, he gathers the six remaining recruits together.

A lot of SAS work is intelligence gathering,

particularly operating behind enemy lines.

Whenever there's an opportunity to glean any information,

we're always collecting and we're always determining its value.

-Everyone understand that?

-ALL:

-Yes, sir. OK, good.

Another person.

Stand up!

During Australian SAS selection,

it's essential a soldier must be able to withstand cross-examination

if caught behind enemy lines

and take any available opportunity to gather intelligence

that may aid their combat mission.

Talk me through what exactly

you're going to make our recruits do in here.

So, the point of capture was over by the fireplace

and they're coming straight in here.

This is like a field tactical questioning office.

We want them to classically multitask, if possible,

or kind of quickly fend off a question

and then be able to glean information from the room.

And there is a lot to remember.

How much are you expecting them to bring back to you?

So, we've got a layered amount of information here.

Some of low-level of importance

and then some of more higher-level of importance

because, clearly, there's a lot of props

that we've put on the desk here.

What are you expecting to see here?

Well, hopefully, we get them to perform as required

and that is to protect that information,

not crack under the pressure.

And then, hopefully, they've learned their cover story,

so that the information they do present is accurate

and that they do also glean the information

from the room that is required.

We'd like them to come away

with at least a couple of key points from here.

Jason will be watching on CCTV,

evaluating the recruits, who are now in enemy hands.

They'll be facing personnel that are qualified in conduct after capture

and resistance to interrogation techniques.

What's your name, son?

Sam Jennings, sir.

Where were you born?

I was born in New South Wales.

So, getting the story straight is one thing,

and it is important and he's definitely getting the story across,

but is he even taking any information in?

It looks like his eyes are pretty much remaining straight, doesn't it?

I think he's preoccupied, maybe due to his disability,

-of focusing on maybe lip-reading a little bit.

-Yeah.

My last interrogation took six hours.

Do you want to do this the hard way or the easy way?

Start telling the truth.

Start telling the truth.

It's not that hard. You've got two choices.

Either you tell the truth or we take you into the room next door

-and it's not nice.

-And it's going to become a very long night.

All I can give you is the truth.

He's doing a great job. I don't know whether he's trying to,

-but he looks bloody scared!

-He does, yeah.

And if I were them, I'd think he's clearly a scared man.

The good thing is, he's still sticking to his cover story.

Your work address?

My work address is 3 Geneva Boulevard Road,

New South Wales,

postcode 23...

23...

After a strong start, the pressure gets to Durance.

The postcode is 2376.

Oh, you've got it now?

Tell me what information you were able to gather from that room.

So the desk, where I...

Was there anything else on the desk that you saw?

Did you see any weapons?

-No, not to my knowledge.

-You didn't see not one weapon?

No, no.

OK.

Why are you here?

I'm a journalist. I've come here to write an article

about the doctors in the city of Lakuma.

In the City State Hospital.

-So she's giving too much information way too early.

-Yeah.

Stop lying to me. What is your real name?

-Sam Jennings.

-What is your real name?

-Sam Jennings.

-Stop this now!

Tell us the truth. What's going on?

Really, I had three days off before I started my article

at the hospital in Lakuma.

I was travelling around taking photos.

We know you're a spy. Who's your handler?

I'm not a spy.

'I think I was just trying to stay quite Zen.'

It's really hard to remember stuff when you're flustered.

'But I don't think I let it show, hopefully.'

Remove the hood.

Do you have anything on you that you shouldn't have?

Do you want me to search you, or are you just going to take it out?

Do you want me to search you? Stand up.

-Is it all right for me to search you?

-Yeah.

-All right.

Please, step to the side.

Turn around.

Take a seat.

What's she found?

She found the cover story note that she wrote down

that she wasn't supposed to write down.

What is this?

Earlier in the day,

recruit Parrot wrote down her cover story

and concealed it in her underwear...

..breaking the golden rule of any special forces operative.

-What the

-BLEEP

-is this?

-It's just information.

-Information about what?

Could have taken a dark turn if this was the real deal?

That would probably lead to an execution.

-Straight away?

-I mean, yeah, they've found your cover story.

Oh, dear...

-What's your name?

-Sam Jennings.

Obviously, you're a spy.

You won't be carrying your name on a little piece of paper.

I know what my name is. You need to carry it on a little piece of paper.

-This is your cover story.

-What's your real name?

My name is Sam Jennings.

-What's your real name?

-Sam Jennings.

Why were you in a restricted area?

I was just trying to take some pictures for a story I'm writing.

Dial it up, Anton.

-Stop

-BLEEP

-around!

-Who are you?

-Sam Jennings.

-Who do you take your instructions from?

-My boss.

-Who's your boss?

-Philip Franks.

-Give me his contact number.

Erm...

-It's 345...

-Sorry, do you need your crib notes?

-No, I don't.

3452 8356.

Take her out.

Having blown her cover story, Parrott is led away.

Right, Parrott, tactical question session is over.

Tell me what information you gained from the room.

There's two people. A blonde woman...

..and a large guy with a beard, grey beard.

Is that it?

Erm...

What other relevant pieces of information

did you see there that could be useful?

I don't know.

Because I was a bit stressed out.

Tell me why you had your cover story written down.

-It was a stupid idea to keep it on me.

-You think?

-Yeah.

'I don't know. Maybe I failed the task'

for making such a stupid mistake.

Can we offer you coffee, or do you want a hot milk?

-You look really cold. Are you OK?

-No, I'm OK, thank you.

-Are you all right?

-Yeah, thank you.

All right, now, you've gone a bit good cop, bad cop, this time.

-Why is that?

-Maybe get onto her personal side,

see if that, you know, brings out some information.

Start telling us, what are you doing here?

I'm writ... I'm writing a piece of work.

Now, where are her eyes at the moment?

She's holding her eye contact, which adds to her believable story,

but is she paying any attention to the room?

No, not at all.

-What is your own telephone number?

-My telephone number is 02...

..8...

Sorry. Erm, again, sorry, I've just...

-Don't know your own telephone number?

-No, I do.

OK, she's messed up the number

-and it's suddenly gone wrong for her.

-Right.

Downham has stumbled on her cover story.

Like her fellow recruits, under the stress of interrogation

she has also ignored her surroundings

and the chance to gain valuable intelligence.

I was just so flipping focused on remembering who I was...

..you just forget to...

..do anything else.

After a disappointing start from the first four recruits,

Onyiuke is led in for the penultimate interrogation.

HE SPEAKS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

HE SHOUTS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

I'm sorry, I don't understand.

What is your name?

Sam Jennings.

OK, he looks like probably one of the most disorientated

out of everybody, but he seems to be looking around.

That's a good thing.

What were you doing at the military base?

It's a restricted area.

I wasn't actually...

HE SPEAKS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

I didn't know there was a military base.

What I was doing is I went with a team of three on an expedition.

Come on, look around. Look around the room. Come on.

Nothing you say is the truth.

Where do you work?

I work with, erm...

the Australian Association Press.

-The AAP.

-What's their telephone number?

So the work telephone number is 02345...

-You don't know, do you?

-Stop lying!

No, it's 03345 28356.

I know this, sorry, it's just, er... It's really hard.

What's your telephone number?

-My home address...

-No, your home telephone number.

Yeah, so 02764 43566.

Cor, this is tough, isn't it?

Get him out of my sight!

Tell me about all the information that you saw in the room.

I saw a globe. I also saw a map.

It had a red circle, a circle around the Cape Town area.

What do you think that meant?

It could be a strategic position for the organisation,

or it could be a target area,

perhaps they might want to operate in.

What were you doing at a military base?

I was... I was just gathering information.

Gathering information about what?

-I was...

-Stop lying!

-I was just...

Gathering information about what?

Oh, wait, I think she wants to change her story.

-Do you want to change your story?

-I don't want to change my story, no.

OK, you were gathering information.

Yeah, I was told there were some doctors working...

At the military base?

She looks really emotional, doesn't she?

Yeah. She's not looking around the room at all, is she?

Have a look around. Look around, Donoghue.

Where do you live?

17 Chartfield Street,

which is in, erm, New South Wales, Newcastle.

And what's your phone number there?

It's 0276 443566.

OK, so the tactical questioning session is now finished.

OK, overall I thought you guys did pretty well with your cover stories.

OK? I thought that the information you passed

to the tactical questioners

was fairly accurate, for the most part.

However, there was so much information in that room...

..that none of you ever saw.

There was weapons and equipment and other intelligence there,

right in front of your face. There was a weapon on the table.

It was right in front of you and not one of you saw it.

At least Onyiuke gave me a little bit of actionable intelligence,

but everybody else,

it was a pretty poor effort on gathering intel.

Which makes me a little bit confused right now.

Because, as we know,

there's only three seats on the chopper for tomorrow.

So I'm going to have to think about this overnight

and get back to you tomorrow.

With interrogation over,

it's been an intense first day under Jason's instruction.

If I got to stay and didn't go home, it would just be amazing.

I would just be so chuffed.

I mean, this is the final. It's tough.

There's only three people able to stay and there's six of us.

Yeah, I'm up for a new challenge.

If I can.

I can't dictate that, sadly.

We'll have to see.

Onyiuke did the last challenge probably the best,

because he got a few things, a few observations from the room.

But on the whole, everyone here, throughout the whole process,

has performed really well.

So how do you, how do you choose?

Over the last 12 days,

the recruits have been pushed to the very edge of their limits.

Morning, everyone.

Final push today.

So let's not let ourselves down.

And only three will be selected to board the chopper

for the final exercise.

75 seconds.

Final breakfast and there's bacon, so I'm happy.

-Are you sad that it's the last day?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

-A little bit, yeah.

This is probably the most nervous I've been,

especially when we know that someone's going to be sent home.

You've always said there's only three seats on the chopper.

-Have you made your decision?

-I've made the decision.

It, to me, appears that it's pretty clear cut for you,

you look really sure about it.

The decision-making point was tactical questioning last night.

So was it not even close for you, then?

It was close leading up to that.

And then just some clear delineation points

that sort of tipped it over the edge, one way or the other.

Come on over. Right over here, in front.

Look, you guys have done really well to get this far.

It's the final today, right?

Unfortunately, we've got three seats on the chopper today,

so I can only take three of you with me.

So, based on my observations of the last 24 hours going into today,

these are the names that are coming with me...

Thomson, you're coming.

Thank you, sir.

Onyiuke, you're coming.

Thank you, sir.

And, Downham, you're coming.

Thank you, sir.

Sorry, Durance, Parrott, Donoghue.

Unfortunately, you didn't make it.

But well done for putting in a solid effort this far.

Thank you, sir.

The three of you need to get all your kit ready to go,

because we're out of here. That's it. Dismissed.

Go smash it, babe.

For Parrott, Donoghue and Durance, their journey is over.

For the remaining three, a seat on the chopper awaits.

Hey, honey...

Nearly home.

You've done amazing.

SHE SOBS

It's just cos I bottled it up.

That was a big relief.

I SO desperately wanted to be stood here now.

So to actually be here is...

Yeah, I'm over the moon. I'm really, really happy.

It's the final push, the last hurdle, and...

..I'll just do my best with whatever task we're given and just...

Yeah, just do my best, really. I'm really happy.

Absolutely terrified. This is really unexpected.

Really unexpected.

Need now to try and regain my focus.

Yeah, still smiling, but in complete and utter shock.

I'm not going to lie.

11 days ago, we started with 22 recruits.

Now only three remain.

Onyiuke, Downham and Thomson have earned their place

in the last drill under Jason.

This last phase is a 10K endurance exercise,

testing their physical stamina...

..mental capacity and navigational skills

over challenging terrain,

through six checkpoints.

All right, welcome to the final.

On the SAS selection course,

we have a phase of that training course that we call Lone Warrior.

And Lone Warrior is an endurance event, which is a timed event,

and it's basically carrying a load over long distances.

The order of march that we're going to leave in,

Downham, you're going to be first. Thomson, you're going to be second.

And Onyiuke, you're going to be third.

OK, let's get the bergens on and let's get moving.

Recruits set off in staggered intervals of five minutes.

At various checkpoints, their mental alertness will be tested.

Failure will incur a time penalty

that will be added to their overall race time.

Today, they have 28 kilos in their bergens,

the most they have ever had to carry.

Teacher and Scottish national swimmer Downham

signed up to this competition with one goal in mind,

to shatter stereotypes.

Yeah, so I'm here in the final three.

I guarantee that people won't have picked me out

as being one of the final three on day one

but, as it slowly went on,

I'm hoping I've changed some opinions.

I like my luxuries in life, and I like my girlie things,

but I'm just as tough as the next person.

So the last two weeks has been the toughest two weeks of my life,

both physically and emotionally.

I've loved every second of the whole process.

One of the best moments for me,

that really picked me up and got my head straight in this competition,

was Memory Hill.

At the end of that really tough run,

and my mind wasn't in it,

forgetting that code for the second time

and having to go up again,

just hearing my team running up that hill behind me, screaming my name.

Go, Downham!

Come on, Downham!

It was amazing.

I think this process has definitely shown

that women can be in the special forces, or in the military.

The majority of what we doing is all mental,

and if you can stay in that zone and you can push yourself,

then you're going to be a winner.

After 1.9K in the South African wilderness,

Onyiuke has made ground and caught up with Thomson.

Both are ahead of Downham, who off started first,

and has wandered slightly off her bearing.

They hit the first checkpoint together, where Jason waits.

Go, Thomson! Come on, Onyiuke, let's go!

-All right, how'd you go?

-It's all right, sir, yeah.

Navigation all right? Yes, sir.

-How's it going?

-Navigation's a bit shaky.

Thanks to Thomson here,

I just literally followed her at an arm's pace.

It's hard to choose a good path in the shrubbery.

Surf and snowboard instructor Thomson

is an extreme sports enthusiast,

who has spent her adult life travelling the globe,

and calls her tent her home.

Getting to this point means so much to me.

My goal was always to be in the last three.

So many people back at home that are saying,

"Why do you want to do this?"

And I remember saying to my mum, when I was really tiny,

"I'm never going to quit anything."

There's always moments,

and I think everyone has had them at different points,

where you start to think, "What are you doing here?

"This is crap.

"Get out of here, quit."

But if you keep going, then you realise that,

when you come out of the other side,

each time, you get a little stronger.

And each time, your sense of achievement gets stronger.

So to be stood here now,

I definitely feel like I've gained some self-pride for sure.

I'm a bit of a pain lover.

I think anyone that's got this far has to be a pain lover.

I think a lot of people fear pain.

But when you actually are in pain and you come out the other side,

you realise it's always going to stop.

Like, it doesn't go on forever.

Back on the right bearing, but trailing her fellow finalists,

Downham arrives at checkpoint one.

How are you feeling? You all right?

-A little bit miserable.

-Why, what's going on?

I just, erm...

..chose a few dodgy routes.

-You're not that far behind. You can catch them up.

-OK. Thank you.

Spurred on by the positiveness from Jason,

with renewed vigour, Downham heads off, determined to make up ground.

As the temperature hits 34 degrees...

..Onyiuke remains hot on Thomson's heels

as they approach the 4K mark.

He's been following her route, rather than navigating his own.

A risky tactic, as not using his own navigational skills

could prove costly under the watchful gaze of Jason.

-In you come, Thomson.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-How are you?

Is that the competitive side of you I see coming out there,

just running to get here first?

She's my guardian angel, this one.

I'm still following her.

OK, so are you actually helping each other out?

Because you set off first, and then this man has caught you up, correct?

Yeah. And Downham... We're not sure where Downham is, actually.

She set off second, but I'm not quite sure where she is.

-She set off first.

-Was she first?

-Yeah, she was first.

-Jeez.

Having picked up the pace,

Downham is displaying resilience and clawing back her lost time.

After 5.2K, still side-by-side,

Thomson and Onyiuke arrive at checkpoint three,

where they are now given two paragraphs of text to learn.

This text you must commit to memory. Take as long as you need.

Any mistakes will incur a severe penalty time.

With the recruits being so close,

it's essential they take time to commit these lines to memory.

Mistakes will mean time penalties

which, when added to their race time,

could alter their final position.

See you.

Having been neck-and-neck up until this point,

Onyiuke collects a seven-kilo ammunition box

and is first to leave.

Nigerian-born Londoner Onyiuke, raised without a father figure,

and looking to reinvigorate his life coming into the process,

has performed consistently well,

and exceeded way beyond his own expectations.

I live a very normal life back home,

and life just started getting very slow and mundane.

So I thought perhaps I needed something

to really challenge myself.

I've struggled all my life with a lack of self-confidence,

not really believing in myself.

Having never been, like, pushed in any way whatsoever growing up.

So I just thought perhaps it might be a really good opportunity

to get to know more about myself.

It's been quite an adventure.

I never, in my entire life, would've thought I'd be here in South Africa,

doing this sort of thing.

My low point was with the Korean special forces soldier.

We had our hands bound behind our backs,

we had to swim across a pool area, back and forth.

And I knew that I couldn't do it.

Yeah, I think I let myself down there.

Because, in a sense, I gave up before I actually tried.

I came into this entire process not really knowing who I was.

I never really thought of myself as anything special,

just like a normal nobody.

And taking part in all the challenges, I've just...

I have a greater sense of self.

Back at checkpoint two, Downham has finally arrived.

Am I in the right place?

Well, if you're not in the right place, then I'm in the wrong place.

So I hope you are in the right place.

I think that's yours.

Oh, Jesus, this bag is so heavy!

What's wrong with your map-reading skills?

-Never done it before.

-Right.

So I think I'm going...

..to the other side of that hill that's in front of me.

Determined to remain on track,

Downham sets her stall out to keep in contention.

I don't know if I'm going the right way right now.

Time will tell.

No longer together,

Onyiuke and Thomson are now carrying their ammo boxes

between checkpoints four and five.

With a total weight of 35 kilos,

for Thomson this represents half her body weight.

For Onyiuke it's further strain on his injured shoulder.

As well as getting the words in the correct order,

you must get the words on the correct line.

Downham has reached checkpoint three,

and is committing to memory the passage she must later recall.

With each error costing a two-minute time penalty,

a word-perfect read could keep her in the running.

After 8.9K,

a weary-looking Onyiuke is at the last checkpoint,

and asked to write down and recite the passage he was given earlier.

-OK, yeah. Are you all right?

-I am, yeah.

-I'm just looking for a place to sit down, quickly.

-OK.

With those cold and timid souls,

who neither know victory nor defeat.

OK, unfortunately, you've made mistakes.

OK.

Disappointed, he heads off

knowing his errors will affect his overall time.

Thomson has also made mistakes.

But undeterred, she picks up the pace and gives it one final push.

Good job, Onyiuke. Let's go, mate.

After almost four hours,

Onyiuke is first to finish.

-Is that a good feeling?

-It's a really good feeling.

Yeah. If you collapse now, you will be allowed.

I don't think anyone will begrudge you that.

How tough was that?

I think that was by far the most physically challenging exercise

we've had to do.

It's just a long trek.

Thomson is next over the line.

With neither knowing how many errors they made in recall,

they are unaware as to who's posted the quickest time.

Well done, babe. Well done.

-Good job.

-Thank you.

Danke schoen.

-Cheers, man.

-It's all right.

-Whoo!

How are you feeling, going into the final three?

Me, I'm super content.

Wherever I fall in now, I've got two amazing people.

-So, wherever, I'm happy.

-OK. Well, we're going to find out soon.

-So I'll see you at the final parade.

-Thank you.

But someone is missing...

-Downham.

-Mm?

Downham...

on medical grounds, we are going to pull you from the race,

because you're never going to make the time at the pace you are moving.

So let's take off the kit

and you are done.

Having battled on across the terrain,

she's been beaten by the final exercise.

SHE SNIFFLES

We've just, er...

..decided that...

..I'm done.

Just in a pretty bad way,

with the bag and...trying to move.

Just well and truly broken.

With the last challenge complete,

it's time to evaluate each recruit's performance over the past 12 days.

To help Jason make his decision to find a winner,

the eyes and ears across Hell Week,

DS Andrews and Driscoll will assist him.

So, final task.

Things didn't go exactly as I expected them to.

I'd have liked to have seen Downham finish.

What happened?

I think she gassed out, to be honest.

Well, if we're going to rule Downham out at this stage,

that only really leaves two recruits,

and that is obviously Onyiuke and Thomson.

So let's start with Thomson.

What are our thoughts on her?

Because she has been pretty solid for the entirety of this process.

Yeah, she's been consistent throughout.

You know, if you've noticed, she always has a smile on her face.

She is not failed any of the tasks.

She definitely shows her prowess in her physicality.

Like, her ability to...

You know, that PT session, it was a pretty bad PT session,

and she revelled in it.

It's pretty difficult to pick fault in her performance.

Is that fair? There was one notable thing where, in the kill house,

she lost control of her team.

During the interrogation last night, she was...

She was a little bit focused on that

and didn't pick up any of the intelligence

and she came away empty-handed.

Right, let's move on to Onyiuke.

Now, he's been on our radar as one of the stronger recruits

for quite some time now.

Can you sort of highlight some of the things

that really shone for you with Onyiuke?

Yes, I mean, his strength overall,

he was definitely one of the top flyers in his physical performance,

both strength and cardio ability and endurance ability.

We'd have liked to have maybe see him

show a little bit more aggression, a bit more leadership,

be a bit more vocal in certain sort of phases, if you like.

But, you know, that's all mouldable and workable.

Yeah, for someone like yourself,

who's seen so many new people entering into the special forces,

what is it that makes a winner stand out for you?

Things like teamwork, leadership, the perseverance and resolve,

self-discipline, all of those things that we really want to see,

especially the toughness.

Both of them exhibit those characteristics and attributes,

and it's kind of tough picking one from the other.

So I suppose it's time to head to the parade ground

and let them know what that final decision is.

Recruits Onyiuke, Downham and Thomson,

you can breathe a sigh of relief,

because we're not going to make you run, jump or swim

through anything again.

It is officially all done.

Congratulations and well done for your efforts.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Now, that last navigation task was incredibly difficult.

And, Jason, details and the results for you.

Yeah, first of all, I'd like to congratulate all of you

on just such a great effort on that task.

A super challenging task.

Even though you didn't complete the course, Downham,

a stellar effort anyway.

But the times...

Thomson, four hours 20, you completed the course in.

And three hours and 55, Onyiuke.

So well done there. Good job.

Now, before we get to our ultimate winner,

myself, Jason and DS Driscoll and DS Andrews

spent a long time going through everything that's happened

through the entirety of this process,

and the last 48 hours, as well,

and it wasn't an easy decision by any means.

So...

the top recruit

and winner of Special Forces - Ultimate Hell Week is...

..Onyiuke.

Well done, babe. Well done, mate.

I feel proud of my accomplishments.

Never, in a million years, would I have imagined sort of standing here,

being the winner.

I couldn't be happier for him.

He's kind of been on top of his game from the very start.

I don't think he even knows himself how amazing he is.

Well done.

12 days ago 22 recruits started this process.

And after blood, bruises and plenty of blisters,

we're left with one.

Everyone along the line has helped me to be here tonight.

It just feels good to do something different, something great

and have that memory for the rest of my life.

Congratulations, Onyiuke.

He is our winner of Special Forces - Ultimate Hell Week.