Louise Mensch on why she had to pull out of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins

Following on from Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls, Channel 4 is experimenting with its toughest challenge show with a celebrity edition of SAS: Who Dares Wins, all for Stand Up to Cancer.

• Everything you need to know about Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins
• Meet the celebrity contestants of SAS: Who Dares Wins for SU2C
• When is Stand Up To Cancer on TV? Who’s hosting, which celebs are taking part and how much money has been raised so far?

But if you’re thinking that Ant Middleton and the rest of the DS will go easier on the cohort of 12 celebrities just because they recognise them from TV, it seems you’re very much mistaken...

Author and former MP Louise Mensch was forced to ‘voluntarily withdraw’ from proceedings, handing in her number to Middleton after suffering a leg injury following a jump from a helicopter.

“I had to go to hospital and I had a three and a half centimetre rip in the back of my muscle,” she told RadioTimes.com and other journalists at the press day for the programme. “Literally every step was painful.”

But the 47-year-old’s decision to pull out of the show was partly altruistic.

“I had to quit,” she explained. “I didn’t want the team to have to keep taking punishments for me [slowing them down].”

Mensch added that despite it being such a brief excursion out in the Chilean mountains, it was still “an honour” to have worked alongside such dedicated soldiers in the programme.

“After I came out I thanked Ant for his service,” she said. “People haven’t seen enough of that. We got the chance to do our best in front of men who are just heroes.

“I think SAS Who Dares Win is vitally important because young men need something to look up to. I’m really glad these shows are being made so people can see it and aspire to it.

“It was an honour to be in front of these guys who had risked so much for this country.”

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins for Stand Up to Cancer continues Sundays at 9pm on Channel 4