Celebrities in need of redemption prime candidates for SAS Australia

When looking for contestants on reality show SAS Australia, it seems producers love nothing more than a celebrity with a controversial past looking for redemption.

Do you have a high profile? Been involved in controversy or in trouble with the law? Looking to quickly rehabilitate your profile? Look no further than a stint on SAS Australia.

It seems that when locking in talent for its top-rating program, Network Seven and production company Screentime look kindly to high-profile people who have been involved in controversy or had a brush with the law.

SAS Australia chief instructor Ant Middleton has his own chequered past.

Former NRL star Sam Burgess won last year’s season, despite his history.

Now airing its third series after debuting in 2020, Screentime and Seven have cast eight people who have either been involved in a controversy or been in trouble with the law.

The show’s chief instructor Ant Middleton has his own chequered past involving scandals, unsavoury tweets and a four-month prison stint for assaulting two police officers outside a nightclub in 2013.

However the British Special Forces agent isn’t the only one known for having a contentious back story.

Contestants Geoff Huegill, Sam Burgess, Richard Buttrose, Schapelle Corby, Brynne Edelsten, Koby Abberton and Dan Ewing have all been charged by police in the past. For Edelston and Ewing, those charges were dropped.

Convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby.

Drug charges against Brynne Edelsten were dropped.

According to a well-known crisis manager, SAS Australia can provide a quick and seamless rehabilitation story for talent.

“You are seeing the other side of people who have been vilified publicly and you are seeing the fact they want to do better,” they said.

“They want to show other people that their dark side doesn’t define them.

“This show seems to rehabilitate the reputations of these people in a space of weeks, instead of a long-running campaign which can take years.

“It is the ultimate rehab. Serve your time then go on SAS.”

However the lengths producers go to in order to “redeem” the profiles of talent doesn’t always go unmissed by viewers.

Swimmer Geoff Huegill pleaded guilt to cocaine possession.

Convicted drug dealer Richard Buttrose.

Last year the show was criticised by many for the “redemption story edit” of the hero of the show Sam Burgess, who admitted to cheating on his wife Phoebe Burgess, and using drugs following the breakdown of his marriage.

He pleaded guilty to driving with cocaine in his system but did not receive a conviction.

Burgess isn’t the only one to have received a rebranding through reality television.

Schapelle Corby, who spent nine years in prison after being convicted of smuggling cannabis into Indonesia, also gave the program a rock bottom-to-redemption narrative.

Being one of the top-rating programs in its timeslot means being cast in SAS Australia is hugely competitive.

One well-known agent lamented yesterday that it’s unfortunate that in some cases a criminal charge seems to help participants to get on the show.

“Getting cast in SAS Australia is a massive profile booster,” they said.

“Everyone wants to be a part of the show.

“And it’s crystal clear now what you have to do to get on the show.”

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