Channel 7 gives Craig McLachlan his surprising big TV comeback on SAS Australia

Craig McLachlan is readying for his public comeback after Channel 7 cast the controversial former soap star on one its hit TV shows.

Channel 7 has given controversial former actor Craig McLachlan a platform for an attempted comeback.

McLachlan has been revealed to be part of the cast of TV competition SAS Australia.

The reality TV contestant, according to The Daily Telegraph, flew out of Sydney this week to train with ex-special forces in the Middle East. It will be his first TV gig in five years.

The article mentioned McLachlan had abdominal surgery last year and has had to pass a fitness test to qualify for the show.

While McLachlan himself wasn’t quoted, his partner Vanessa Scammell said it was a “race against the clock” to ensure his fitness was up to scratch.

The former soap opera star has been embroiled in scandal for five years after he was accused of indecent assault by his Rocky Horror Show co-star Christie Whelan Browne.

He has repeatedly denied the allegations. Charges were filed by Victoria Police and McLachlan was later cleared in 2020.

Craig McLachlan dropped his defamation case on the day 11 women were to start giving evidence against him. Picture: NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard

In her judgment in 2020, Magistrate Belinda Wallington said that while the state’s current consent laws might have yielded a different result if applied to the 2014 incidents, she wasn’t persuaded beyond reasonable doubt that he was aware the women had not consented to the acts.

She said at the time, “The law requires me to apply the law as it stood at the time of the alleged offending. That required me to apply a subjective test to the accused’s belief as to whether a complainant consented to sexual touching.

“The laws have since changed – but do not apply retroactively. The law on consent has been replaced with a more objective test: was the accused’s belief reasonable? Were the current law applicable, it is possible that the result may be different.”

McLachlan later launched defamation proceedings against the ABC and Nine Network but dropped the lawsuit several days into the trial, on the day 11 women would begin testimonials against him.

Allegations against McLachlan, which he has denied, relate to the 2014 Rocky Horror Show production.

The media outlets’ barrister Michael Hodge, QC, told the court at the time, “It is anticipated those 11 women will give evidence about what the defendants say are incidents of sexual harassment, indecent exposure, indecent assault, assault and bullying those women experienced at the hands of Mr McLachlan.”

When he dropped the proceedings, McLachlan had said, “I cannot continue to place my family under that strain, and my own mental health will not withstand the continuing pressure”.

SAS Australia has had multiple controversial contestants in the past, including convicted drug smuggler Shappelle Corby, former NRL player Sam Burgess and former gang member Koby Abberton.

Channel 7 also continued to stand by host Ant Middleton after he was dropped by UK’s Channel 4 over comments he made about Black Lives Matters protests and the Covid pandemic.

Middleton later apologised for calling BLM activists “scum”.