Television series
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins for Stand Up to Cancer
- Survival adventure
- Relentless
Twelve celebrities endure the gruelling SAS selection process in the Chilean Andes, stripped of privilege and comfort. Instructors led by Ant Middleton push them to breaking point across brutal physical and psychological challenges. It's voyeuristic and oddly moving—watching famous people crumble and occasionally discover steel they didn't know they had, all for Stand Up to Cancer.
If you liked this
The Traitors2022
Reality competition that cuts deeper than most. Psychological pressure, genuine jeopardy, and real blindsides. It finds the same truth about character under duress that SAS chases, but through betrayal instead of exhaustion.
But Slow-burn plotting means early episodes feel padded. Some seasons are stronger than others depending on cast chemistry.
Love Island2015
The gold standard of celebrity-watching reality. Compulsive, beautifully edited, and genuinely funny. You'll hate yourself for caring about people you'd never otherwise meet, but that's precisely the appeal.
But Requires sustained attention across a full series. The premise—attractive people in a villa—sounds shallow, and sometimes it is. That can be grating.
Fear Factor2001
Primal, no-pretence challenge television. People fighting their genuine terror for money. It's cruder and faster than SAS but hits the same nerve: watching someone's face when they discover their own limits.
But Relies heavily on disgust humour—eating insects, drinking unpleasant liquids. If you find that tiresome rather than funny, this won't convert you.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins for Stand Up to Cancer
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
An Idiot Abroad2010
Both strip away comfort and watch what emerges. But where SAS is designed cruelty, Idiot Abroad is comedy chaos—same pressure, opposite tone.
Karl Pilkington sent to uncomfortable places with minimal resources and guidance. Hilarious and oddly poignant. There's real discomfort, genuine culture shock, and Karl's deadpan suffering is oddly humanising.
But Relies entirely on Karl's persona. If you find him annoying rather than endearing, you'll find nothing to grab onto here.
More like this (6)
Survivor2000
The template for everything since. Thirteen seasons deep and still finding new ways to break people through hunger, exhaustion, and social intrigue. Better at character development than most dramas.
But The newer seasons lean harder on advantage idols that feel like game-show nonsense. Length commitment is significant if you want the full picture.
Gogglebox2013
Famously British comfort television. Ordinary people watching telly together, and somehow it's captivating. A perfect palette cleanser after anything intense, including survival shows.
But Gentle, meandering, deliberately low-stakes. If you need plot momentum and stakes, this will feel like watching paint dry.
The Great British Bake Off2010
Proof that competition TV doesn't need cruelty to create tension. The challenges are genuinely punishing, the judging is rigorous, but the atmosphere is supportive rather than carnivorous.
But Feels saccharine to some. The relentless politeness can read as manufactured rather than authentic.
Fortitude2015
Dark, claustrophobic, with the same ex-military cast members you'll recognize. Survival under different circumstances—psychological and physical torment in an Arctic setting with a murder mystery wrapped around it.
But Tonally bleak and occasionally gratuitous. It commits hard to bleakness in ways some will find exhausting rather than compelling.
A League of Their Own2010
Sports comedy panel show that's genuinely hilarious. Better banter than most scripted comedy, and the sports knowledge is matched by actual funny people who can write jokes in real time.
But Heavily male-skewing humour in the earlier series. If you're after inclusivity and sensitivity, this will frustrate you.
The Act2019
Both examine how extreme conditions reveal or create character. SAS tests your breaking point; The Act shows what happens when someone's entire world is designed to control and break them from the start.
True-crime limited series that's expertly acted and genuinely disturbing. Gypsy-Rose Blanchard's story told with real sympathy for how constraint and control can warp a person's sense of reality.
But Deeply uncomfortable family pathology. Heavy subject matter about abuse and exploitation. Not remotely light viewing.
People
Cast
Shaun DooleyNarrator
