Sam Burgess opens up on divorce from Phoebe Burgess in SAS Australia promo

Sam Burgess admits he ‘turned to drinking, drugs’ amid his divorce from Phoebe Burgess in the upcoming season of SAS: Australia.

The promo for the second season of brutal reality show SAS: Australia has landed – and it teases former NRL player Sam Burgess copping a grilling from Ant Middleton.

During an intense interrogation by the fiery British television personality, a despondent Burgess reveals he “turned to drinking, drugs” amid his tumultuous divorce from Phoebe Burgess and subsequent police investigation.

As Middleton attempts to break the controversial sportsman in the clip, Burgess eventually admits he’s “lost it all”.

RELATED: Sam Burgess choked out SAS instructor

Burgess features heavily in the first promo for SAS: Australia season 2. Picture: Channel 7

RELATED: Nude Sam Burgess snapped on SAS set

Channel 7 released the first trailer for the new season on Sunday, and judging by the terrifying footage, the gruelling challenge promises to torture familiar faces including Burgess, socialite Brynne Edelsten, actor Dan Ewing and tennis champion Alicia Molik.

Burgess – who has already made headlines for his appearance on the show amid claims he “choked out” an instructor – features heavily in the promo, opening up about his scandal-plagued NRL career and personal life.

“So tell me, what have you got to prove,” Ant is seen spitting into the camera before slamming a disguised Burgess into a chair and removing his hood.

“I’ve lost my career, my kids and marriage … there was a police investigation into me. Turned to drinking, drugs. I’ve lost it all,” Burgess says as footage rolls of him sinking underwater in a car and receiving a spray from chief instructor Ant Middleton alongside the rest of the cast.

Burgess is shown enduring the insane SAS: Australia challenges in the snippet. Picture: Channel 7

Burgess is one of the 18 celebrities who will appear on the second season of the Channel 7 show, but if the footage is anything to go by, he’s set to be the most talked about.

Burgess’ turbulent past

The South Sydney captain retired from the NRL back in 2019 due to a shoulder injury, but his personal life has kept him in the headlines.

In February, Burgess was found guilty of intimidating his estranged father-in-law, Mitchell Hooke, as the aftermath of the troubles in his and ex-wife Phoebe’s relationship played out publicly. However, that conviction was overturned on appeal in March.

Sam Burgess seen leaving Moss Vale court in relation to an AVO taken out by his ex-wife Phoebe’s father. Picture: David Swift

The ugly headlines came after explosive drug and domestic violence allegations were levelled at the footballer last year. Burgess strenuously denied the claims.

In May, Sam pleaded guilty to three driving charges following a February 22 police traffic stop where he tested positive for cocaine. He landed two $581 fines and was ordered to complete a traffic offenders program.

Sam has since revealed he has stopped drinking completely in an attempt to change his life for the better.

Burgess with ex-wife Phoebe and baby Poppy during happier times. Picture: Instagram @mrsphoebeburgess

Claims a ‘kidnapping’ exercise sees Sam explode

According to Fox Sports, one of the challenges on the show saw Burgess and seven other celebrities being ‘kidnapped’ by two SAS instructors.

They were put in a car and were driven at speeds of up to 100km/h. The point of the exercise was to see which of the contestants would step up and set the other hostages free.

“Sam took matters into his own hands, ordering (John) Steffensen to pull the handbrake,” Fox Sports’ James Hooper claimed. “Burgess reached over and put the soldier in a head lock, choking him out, before climbing in to the driver’s seat and taking the wheel.”

An ambulance reportedly had to be called to treat the SAS instructor and producers were left “dumbfounded”, Hooper wrote.

Burgess’ fellow cast members

The other celebrities on season two are: Alicia Molik (tennis champion), Bonnie Anderson (singer/actor), Brynne Edelsten (socialite), Dan Ewing (actor), Emma Husar (former politician), Heath Shaw (AFL star), Isabelle Cornish (actor), Jana Pittman (dual Olympian), Jessica Peris (sprinter), Jett Kenny (ironman), John Steffensen (Olympic runner), Kerri Pottharst (beach volleyball Olympian), Koby Abberton (bra boy), Manu Feildel (celebrity chef), Mark Philippoussis (tennis legend) and Pete Murray (singer-songwriter).

Elsewhere in the new trailer, Geoffrey Edelsten’s ex-wife Brynne, 38, is seen jumping out of a helicopter and exclaiming: “I am more than just Geoffrey’s ex-wife. I’m not a gold digger – I can get through anything.”

The full cast of SAS: Australia season 2.

Ant, 40, is also heard asserting: “To Australia, you’re a celebrity. I don’t care.

“No matter how hard you’ve ever pushed, how much fear you’ve ever faced. That’s nothing. Because you’re going where you’ve never been before – to your breaking point.”

Middleton told Kyle and Jackie O in May that the season two cast pushed his buttons.

“There’s been some tears, there’s been aggression,” Middleton said on KIIS FM. “But I shut them down straight away.

“You get a different setting, a different group of people and personalities and it’s gonna be a different show, but a lot of people still pushed my buttons,” he said.

The new season of SAS Australia is set to launch after the Olympics on Channel 7 and 7plus