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00:04Selection for the SAS is cloaked in secrecy.
00:12No one knows what it is we do.
00:16We're the thinking soldier.
00:26And the truth about what it takes might surprise you.
00:33An elite team of ex-Special Forces soldiers is putting 30 civilians through the key stages of selection.
00:40At the end of the day, would I have this guy next to me in a war zone?
00:45What? What? What?
00:46Each task taken from the real process.
00:49Let's get the dogs out!
00:52Physical fitness is no more than a starting point.
00:55I've got my shoulder and crying.
00:58The true test is of the mind.
01:01Fear inadequacy.
01:02The only thing I'm really afraid of is rejection.
01:05I don't really believe that there's such a thing as a completely weak person or a completely strong person.
01:11As each recruit is stripped back to their core.
01:16There might be strong characters.
01:18Fully submerged!
01:19Thunder!
01:20Once we start unchipping their armor, we'll find out exactly who they are.
01:25Feel like a boy in a man's world.
01:27No other test asks as much.
01:30Well done.
01:31Or means as much.
01:33Still alive!
01:34To the few who make it through.
01:37I know this works.
01:38Show me that this works.
01:40示 falan.
01:56I know this work.
01:56I'll be with you.
01:56Let us know this one is the best you've got in it, though.
01:56From here to see what is going to happen.
02:08And you hope I am looking for you very well.
02:20What would you do normally?
02:21Trader, but I'll work at the city.
02:23Okay.
02:24How old are you?
02:2519.
02:26Dude, I'm twice as old as you, man.
02:28That's good.
02:31Selection is the most difficult thing I've done in my life.
02:34It pushed me both to my physical and mental limits.
02:38You can never be fully prepared for something like that.
02:41Ant Middleton was in the Army and Marines for eight years
02:44before passing selection
02:45and becoming a sniper in the Special Boat Service.
02:49On this course, he's the chief instructor.
02:54Passing selection brought out a confidence
02:57in being able to tackle any task,
03:00especially with the operations that we've been on
03:02and the situations that we've been in.
03:03So you have this sense of feeling invincible,
03:07and I suppose it helps you through what you do.
03:11Ant has assembled a team of directing staff,
03:14soldiers with a combined experience of 27 years in the Special Forces.
03:20It's their job to decide if any of the recruits has what it takes.
03:25Some of the pressures that selection brings,
03:27whether you're cold, wet, tired, hungry,
03:31those bring someone's natural character to the surface.
03:35The whole point of selection is to actually break down the facade,
03:38this facade we all carry around.
03:40It will show every weakness and it will show every strength.
03:43You wouldn't want to be in operations with someone who's mentally not strong enough
03:47to deal with what's ahead of them at that moment in time.
03:51For the next eight days,
03:53the 30 recruits will have no contact with the outside world.
03:57Their home will be a remote military base in Wales.
04:04Follow the DS now.
04:06Can with me, come on.
04:07Let's go.
04:09They will eat, sleep, and train together.
04:14Come on, come on.
04:21Take your fucking cap off.
04:23Where do you think you are?
04:24Put it on the floor.
04:27Take this opportunity.
04:30This is the closest thing as a civilian
04:32that you're going to get to the Special Forces world.
04:36Throughout this course, I will be your chief instructor.
04:39This is my team.
04:40You will address us as staff at all times.
04:43Is that understood?
04:44Yes, staff.
04:45We're not your part-time fucking Special Forces, guys.
04:48We're not your SF wannabes.
04:50We were all fully-fledged badge members
04:52of the Special Forces community.
04:54So when I say that we've been there and done it,
04:56trust me, we've been there and done it.
04:59If at any time during this course
05:02you want to quit,
05:04you might not be physically fit enough,
05:05you might not have it up here,
05:06you might not have the combination of both of them,
05:08I can guarantee you that'll be most of you.
05:11You simply take your number off,
05:13you're gone.
05:15There's no shame in it, guys.
05:16There's no shame in it.
05:18Because trust me,
05:19202 guys started on my course,
05:2114 of us finished it.
05:26I don't know if I've got what it takes to get through it.
05:29I think if you come down here and say
05:31you definitely did know what it takes to get through it,
05:33you haven't really thought it through,
05:35or you're maybe lying to yourself.
05:38I lived in Lebanon until I was 16.
05:41I think my experiences, you know,
05:43growing up, you know, in a conflict zone
05:45will probably give me the edge in some situations.
05:51Ultimately, it's up to us who passes.
05:53It's not about who's first or who's the strongest,
05:56it's about who's made of the right stuff.
05:59At the end of the day,
06:00would I have this guy next to me in a war zone?
06:04Right, you're all going to be allocated numbers,
06:06and from now on, you'll be known as that number.
06:08Any questions?
06:10No, sir.
06:12Right, identify your number, identify your bed.
06:15The directing staff, or DS,
06:18will assess the 30 recruits over the next 48 hours.
06:22Only 20 will make it to the next stage.
06:26Most of the recruits will be expecting their first task
06:28to be physical,
06:29which is why I want to start with something different,
06:32something they're not expecting.
06:34Guys, listen in.
06:35You've got a blank piece of A4 paper
06:38on a clipboard and a pen,
06:40and I want two sides of that A4 paper
06:43filled with an essay,
06:45a story about your life, about yourself,
06:47whatever you want, OK?
06:51The essays for the recruits
06:53gives us an indication of who they are,
06:55but it also gives us an indication
06:57of how much they want to give away.
06:59So, big letters, guys.
07:01I'm triple-spacing the lines.
07:03They're keeping their cards close to their chest,
07:05but the course is designed to find out
07:07exactly who these people are.
07:09Are we weighing the stuff now, yeah?
07:11Yeah, it's weight checks now.
07:13Everyone out front looking pretty.
07:15Essays done.
07:16The recruits are instructed to fill their rucksacks,
07:19known as bergens,
07:20with exactly 30 pounds of weight.
07:23Once you've had your bergens weighed, guys,
07:25and the DS are happy,
07:27put your kit on.
07:28Yeah, you've fucking seen yourself off, but, yeah.
07:31What was it?
07:32Doesn't matter what it is.
07:32You've seen yourself off.
07:33To get here,
07:34each recruit has passed a physical fitness examination,
07:37but the DS have their own,
07:40known as the Combat Fitness Test.
07:42Right, OK, you're all good for weight.
07:44However, some of you are nearly 40 pounds.
07:47What?
07:47So you're just going to see yourselves off.
07:49I'm not going to get you to take kit out
07:50because that was the detail.
07:52Right, face this way.
07:55Let's go.
08:01Come on, close it up.
08:03The recruits don't know the DS expect them
08:06to complete the eight-mile course
08:07in under 90 minutes.
08:09Catch it up!
08:14Hello, my name is John Calloway,
08:1528 years of age,
08:17born and bred in Berkshire.
08:18Back at base,
08:19Foxy and Colin work through the SAs.
08:22I started gym training around 16, 17,
08:24moved on to jiu-jitsu wrestling,
08:27kickboxing,
08:28but my main goals
08:29is now in the film industry.
08:32Come on, John.
08:34Yeah, man!
08:34Hey, John.
08:35Fuck you.
08:37SAs are elite.
08:38I class myself as, like, a civilian elite.
08:41I'm not the same as everyone else.
08:43Something that's tough for me
08:44is something that's impossible for somebody else.
08:46And I'm currently working on my stunt registration
08:49and working on making some awesome scenes.
08:51Right, fuck me.
08:53I've got film star stunt, man.
08:55Yeah, fucking Hollywood wannabe.
08:57He's coming in.
08:58He's coming in, man.
09:01I don't mean to say it arrogantly,
09:03but I should squash every single person on it.
09:06I should be doing better than everybody else.
09:10Big egos stick out in these SAs.
09:12People that talk about all their achievements,
09:14about how they're the number one.
09:15Those kind of big alpha males,
09:16they're not good team players.
09:18They're the ones that tend to fail
09:19quite early in selection.
09:22Single file.
09:23Watch your foot in.
09:26Come on.
09:28After 40 minutes of running,
09:29a huge gap opens up between the front and the back.
09:33I need to come first.
09:35Not till the final round
09:37and go all out on the last challenge.
09:39You can die on it.
09:41How are you feeling?
09:42Yeah.
09:42All right, with me.
09:43With me?
09:44Ollie is sweeping up any stragglers.
09:48Take your pack off for two minutes.
09:50Yes, sir.
09:51God, this sucks.
09:5336 pounds.
09:54Have you got 36 pounds in there?
09:55Yes, sir.
09:56You were told 30 pounds.
09:58If you're giving the detail,
09:59you should be sticking to it.
10:01Start thinking while you're here, all right?
10:03Get your pack on.
10:05Life story, Matt Cust.
10:07I went to primary school from an early age,
10:10was bumped up one year.
10:12He thinks he's clever.
10:12I had a few friends and a happy childhood.
10:15I am very proud of the fact
10:16that I'm a research scientist.
10:18I mean, I've got more book smarts
10:20than street smarts or common sense,
10:22as you might say.
10:23I still hold the school record
10:24for most trips to McDonald's in one day.
10:27He's actually written in the end.
10:29At the front is 33-year-old builder, Dan Reynolds.
10:33I raced triathlon for a hobby.
10:35I've been a stay-at-home dad.
10:37It's been the best year of my life.
10:38I did quit the army when I was 17.
10:41It eeps me up.
10:42I quit.
10:43I don't like that I quit.
10:44I want to do this to make it right.
10:46I want to finish.
10:48Number seven.
10:49Hi, my name's Philip Hoban.
10:50I'm 38 years old.
10:51My story is how I met my wife.
10:53When I first seen Lakita,
10:55I thought, wow, she looks fine.
10:57I'd love to stick it...
10:58I'd love to stick it in her.
11:00So you're a romanticist, dude?
11:02Yeah.
11:06Recruit number seven, Phil Hoban,
11:08is on the course with his 19-year-old son, Callum.
11:15It's something I've always wanted to do from being a child.
11:19And then it's just a way of punishing him, legally.
11:24I then went into high school,
11:25and by that time the PS3 had come out.
11:28One downside to staying in all the time
11:30was I lost all my confidence.
11:31I didn't really like speaking to anybody new
11:33because I was scared how people would talk to me or look at me.
11:36I'm quite excited because it's really the first thing
11:39we've done together, to be honest.
11:41We will have to stick together
11:42and help each other as best as possible.
11:44I don't want to go first,
11:45and I don't want to see him go.
11:47Hopefully it will bring us closer together
11:50and he'll respect me a lot more after this.
12:04Fucking hell!
12:07He's not going to crack eight miles at that pace, is he?
12:09No, no.
12:10He's not running properly now, is he?
12:12He might be used to the weight either.
12:14Medic Chantel and Steve
12:15are travelling behind the group in the safety car.
12:21I just can't do it.
12:23Fucking hell!
12:24His head's gone.
12:25Get your head up.
12:26Get your head up.
12:31He's fucking stopped.
12:33I ain't going to talk to him because he's stopped.
12:40Come on.
12:45I can't realize he's gone.
12:48Take your kit off.
12:49Put your bag in the back of the van.
12:51Get in the seat.
12:55Get in that side.
12:56For his own safety,
12:57Callum is pulled off the run.
13:00It will be up to Ant and the DS
13:01to decide whether he can stay on the course.
13:05Keep drinking your water.
13:10I'm not making excuses.
13:11That was hard.
13:13I'm not going to lie.
13:23Number 26, Michael Patrick Dyer.
13:26I'm 35 years old.
13:27Mum and Dad bought a pub when I was seven.
13:29By eight and a half, I'd pretty much seen it all.
13:32My 20s were a blur.
13:33Plenty of parties and with it booze and drugs.
13:35I was also a heavy gambler.
13:37Seems like a normal sort of bloke.
13:41My family are really proud that I've turned it around like this.
13:45I can go out, I can drop ten miles, no worries.
13:48You know, I can get up, I can be a good dad.
13:50I can be a good husband.
13:51And then I just started, you know,
13:54getting a bit of pride back, you know, by pushing myself.
13:59If I manage to get through the eight days,
14:01then I think I'll have an inner peace.
14:06Well, I hope.
14:09Got it.
14:11It's a lot harder than you thought, isn't it?
14:13Joining Callum off the run
14:15is recruit number one,
14:17Naval Cadet Lawrence.
14:19Well, that's the first bit.
14:20I dread to think what rest of it is, aren't I?
14:25That is one hour and 28.
14:27Only half of the recruits have covered the eight miles
14:30in the hour and a half time limit.
14:34Can we carry on?
14:35No, you can't carry on.
14:36The rest are ordered to stop.
14:39I'll fucking do it again if you want, you know.
14:41No, just...
14:43Including number seven, Phil,
14:46and number 21, Matt.
14:48Fall in here.
14:50Two files.
14:51A decision about their future
14:53will be made when the DS meet tomorrow.
14:56This is a basic combat fitness test.
15:01And you fuckers are taking the piss.
15:04You think this is a fucking game, don't you?
15:07Yes, you fucking do.
15:08If you don't want to be here,
15:10give me your fucking numbers and fuck off.
15:16When I was on selection,
15:17every task, every test march that was in front of me,
15:21I took on with a full heart.
15:23If you don't go in with the right frame of mind,
15:26then you're going to suffer.
15:29Don't worry, just fall in.
15:31After being taken off the combat fitness test,
15:3419-year-old Lawrence is hyperventilating.
15:38Right, don't give up, don't wrap.
15:40Feet out in front of you.
15:42Knees up.
15:44Stand your head and neck.
15:46Right, now, listen to me.
15:48Slow your breathing down.
15:50The team struggled to get his breathing under control.
15:55Emergency medics are called.
15:59Look at your head on, mate.
16:00That's it.
16:01Selection is designed to push people to the absolute limit.
16:06And that is always a risk.
16:09Deep breaths.
16:10That's it.
16:11You just never know how far people can go.
16:15You don't know where their breaking point is.
16:23After struggling to breathe following the combat fitness test,
16:26recruit number one, Lawrence,
16:29is taken to hospital as a precaution.
16:30He'll play no further part in the course.
16:3529 recruits are now left.
16:39Oh, you didn't really come in last.
16:40I come in last.
16:42Phil is with his son,
16:4419-year-old Callum,
16:46who was also pulled off the fitness test by the medical team.
16:50So, did this help to you?
16:51Who?
16:52Anyone?
16:54With Callum's, man,
16:55we were only young, weren't we?
16:56So we split up.
16:58That was a big mistake,
16:59because I lost out on a lot of time with Callum.
17:02Just do it.
17:03Keep going.
17:04Do it.
17:05Do you know, and just...
17:06Yeah, I was because I was at the back.
17:08Yeah, you try to catch up,
17:09and it puts pressure on you to fucking catch up.
17:11Yeah.
17:11It affected Callum not to have him in his life.
17:14This is why, to do this.
17:17Give us that bond,
17:19that trust where he can trust me again.
17:20Callum, get your water, pal.
17:22Is everyone taking water?
17:23Yeah, take your water.
17:24At the end of the day, you're out there.
17:25You want a drink, don't you?
17:28Number six.
17:36Sit yourself down.
17:42Right, as the Chief Instructor,
17:44and after today's performance,
17:47I can't let you carry on with the course.
17:52So if you'd like to pass me your number...
17:57Um, you're a young lad,
17:59so don't take it too harshly,
18:02you've got age on your side.
18:06It's gone.
18:11Hey, you might as well have that.
18:13What?
18:14Are you for?
18:15I swear to God.
18:15Why?
18:16Why do you feel my number is?
18:18You've just handed it in?
18:19No.
18:20He asked for it.
18:20It's at the run this morning, pretty much.
18:27Man, I'm having a fucking life, man.
18:29Callum, are you being serious, Ruben?
18:30Well, I'm not joking, am I?
18:35I'm having a problem.
18:36When I went to Afghanistan,
18:36I didn't have photos up on my walls,
18:38or my wife or children.
18:39I didn't make phone calls that often back home to my loved ones.
18:43I very much cut myself off from the outside world.
18:46Callum.
18:49I'll just concentrate on the missions ahead.
19:09He's out there already.
19:10Oh, is he?
19:11Yeah.
19:11Where have I got to go?
19:11Where is he?
19:12The remaining 28 recruits are told
19:14they must man an observation post, or OP.
19:17To test their attention to detail,
19:20they will have to log any movement on the base 24 hours a day.
19:25Yes.
19:25Yeah.
19:26Each recruit will take an hour-long shift through the night.
19:30You reckon he'll stick out?
19:32Oh, there's no way I'll call you.
19:34But then you have to get to a point where they decide,
19:37I'm not up to you anymore.
19:39Some people never went physically up to it, wouldn't they?
19:42No, but the only age can't listen to try them.
19:45Whose dad's here, so I don't know if that's going to help his dad.
19:52Yo, Mel, turn on the radio.
19:55Beep on the radio.
19:58The DS prepare for the next stage of selection
20:01by taking a deeper look at the recruits' backgrounds.
20:06First on the list is 24-year-old insurance broker,
20:09Dwayne McDade.
20:11What the fuck is that?
20:13It's a fucking beatbox, mate.
20:15Get this out.
20:20One of the things that we look into is open-source information.
20:23Anything that's on the internet,
20:24you can dig and dig and dig
20:26and find out who that true individual is.
20:30At any point, recruits can be called in for TQ.
20:34Tactical questioning.
20:3614!
20:39They have no idea where
20:41or why they're being taken.
20:57You're down facing the shot.
20:59Hands be on your back.
21:29What did you say?
21:29You perform well under pressure
21:32What's wrong with you? What's wrong? What's wrong with you eyes?
21:36Fidgeting what's wrong? I seem agitated we put them under certain
21:41Pressures to see how they cope. That was a funny story. It was a joke
21:47What's the body language like how do they fill silences?
21:57Thanks
22:00Talk to me about your experience so far
22:02This course it's absolutely incredible. Yeah, it's more I can see for you
22:08How incredible do you think you are not that incredible just an old man you've broken already, haven't you?
22:16Self-doubt will be going on. What's the correct answer? What should I be saying? What should I not be
22:20saying?
22:21Grew up in Adelaide Adelaide is a small town
22:25So I'm used to big audiences like this
22:30Is that the joke?
22:31Self
22:34Beatbox for me
22:48What the fuck is all that about?
22:51Being able to show initiative, be a leader. How far down the list do you think fucking beatboxing is?
23:00I don't think there's anything wrong with it
23:02I don't think there's anything wrong with it
23:29Oh I know romantic bro
23:36Let's talk about addictions
23:41I think everyone's got some sort of skeleton in their closet
23:44that they're really not too keen on talking about.
23:51It doesn't really float around to me anymore.
23:54What do you mean by anymore?
23:56Well, I knocked a booze on the head about two and a half years ago now.
24:01Have you got an addictive personality? Would you say that you're easily led?
24:04I have addictive personality, but I'm not easily led.
24:07When you look back at people's history, stuff they've done, criminal records,
24:12it's not about judging them.
24:13It's not about judging what they've done in the past.
24:17It's about how they react to it.
24:19If they're lying about that, for example, what else could they lie about?
24:29Do you recognise this room?
24:32What does it remind you of?
24:39Like, police are watching or something?
24:42Why have you just mentioned the police for?
24:46It just reminds me of an ID parade or something.
24:49Anything personal?
24:50No.
24:51No?
24:52No.
24:52Be very careful how you answer this question.
24:56I can't remember. I don't think so.
25:02You've never been in trouble with the police?
25:05I've been in trouble with the police, yeah.
25:08Okay. Do you want to talk about that?
25:11How long do you want to talk about it for me?
25:13Mate, I've got all the fucking night, so you can fucking tell me all night if you want to.
25:17I've been done for stealing the cash machine.
25:21Stealing the cash machine?
25:23Yeah.
25:23Otherwise, you go round with the chains and you pull out the fucking wall and shit like that, do you?
25:27Yeah, or something like that.
25:29Okay.
25:31Tell me more about this cash machine.
25:34My dad had just died.
25:35I wanted money to be able to get a nice gravestone and I couldn't get it on my wage.
25:40Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
25:43Your dad had just died.
25:44Yeah.
25:45Is that a sensitive subject?
25:46Yeah.
25:47It is, isn't it?
25:48Because I can see that you're getting a bit twitchy.
25:50Mm.
25:53I understand where you're coming from.
25:55Because believe it or not, in the ESF world, half us are without our dads.
26:02Because half us are degenerates.
26:05Half us come from broken families.
26:08I've been through a lot, but my mate died in my arms.
26:12Do you know, he got stabbed.
26:14That must be difficult.
26:15Yeah, it was.
26:16That was my best pal, though.
26:18Do you dwell on that?
26:19No.
26:19Do you have, like, flashbacks or anything?
26:21I wouldn't say I've, well, I've moved on, but it's still there when I think about it.
26:25It still hurts us as much, you know what I mean?
26:28It's, they say time's a great healer.
26:30It's healed, but every night, I say a prayer to him every night before I go to sleep.
26:35Okay.
26:35Guard!
26:43What is refreshing about selection is actually, regardless of what went before, whether good
26:50or bad, it's now that counts and the future, move on, you know, past is your past.
27:00The recruits have been awake for 17 hours.
27:11Right, everyone up.
27:13Get all your PT kit on and make sure you've got your head torches with you now as well.
27:17Oh, I knew it.
27:24Fucking freezing, man.
27:27Recruits are given no information about what's coming next.
27:31They don't know when they will eat or sleep or what the next task will demand of them.
27:36Lift up position.
27:37Let's go.
27:39It's important that the recruits don't really know what's going on, because it gives us a
27:44good indication on how they deal with the unknown.
27:47Get in the fucking slow motion.
27:49Fire!
27:51In the battlefield, it happens all the time.
27:54We get off the helicopters, we run towards our target.
27:57It will be different to how we've structured it.
28:00The building might be different.
28:01There might be doors missing, and you do start to shit yourself.
28:04But then everything slows down.
28:06You start to think about your training, and it starts to kick in.
28:11Fight, fight, fight!
28:13It just becomes an everyday part.
28:15You don't have to live on the edge.
28:17Kicking doors down every night, you know, being in firefights every night, you get used
28:21to it very quickly.
28:27By the end of tomorrow, the directing staff will have to decide which recruits can stay,
28:32and which will be sent home.
28:36Fucking block out the plane and get moving!
28:47All right, then, emergency.
28:49You press this, and what I mean by emergency is if you're lost on the hill, you can't see
28:53no one, you're totally disorientated, just stuck up there, okay?
28:56You press that, okay?
28:58After just four hours sleep, the 28 remaining recruits face one of the toughest challenges
29:02in SAS selection, a gruelling march over the highest peak in South Wales, Penny Fern.
29:12They will be carrying 35 pounds of weight in their Bergens over the 21 and a half kilometres.
29:19For us, it's called the fan dance.
29:21At any stage, we pull you off, it's for your own safety, okay?
29:26Because we're literally going to be going up and down, up and down.
29:29Foxy, good to go.
29:32The march will be led by former SBS operator, Foxy, a veteran of multiple tours in Afghanistan.
29:39All of us versus the hill.
29:42Oi, fat boy Slim, you better start moving.
29:47The fan dance is notorious on selection.
29:51Not only do the recruits have to go up and over the 3,000-foot peak, they then have to
29:56come back up and back over to where they started.
30:04The penny fan isn't just a physical test, it's a mental test as well.
30:09When you get to the halfway point, you look back up there and you think, right, I've got
30:12to do that all again.
30:13It can be demoralising, it can break a lot of people, and it does break a lot of people.
30:19For weeks, I was excited about this.
30:21And now I'm here.
30:23It's fucking awful.
30:26Stop the fucking chit-chat.
30:29You've got fucking energy to talk.
30:31You should have the energy to get up this fucking hill.
30:35Unbeknown to the recruits, the DS don't expect any of them to keep up with Foxy and complete
30:40the march in four hours.
30:43They are being judged on whether they have the mental resilience not to give up.
30:48We're looking to put them in a situation where they feel physically and mentally drained,
30:53but they still understand they have to keep pushing themselves on.
30:56I can remember a time where I was literally having to run for my life, and I'm sure I was
31:01almost in tears, and I was just like, I was in the middle of a marshy, boggy land,
31:07just pumping my legs, and I was like, there's two ways to go.
31:11So you either quit, and in that situation that I was talking about personally, you get
31:14killed, or you decide not to quit.
31:18Your survival instinct kicks in, and you fight on, you know, whether that's on a course
31:22where you're getting fragged a little bit by the directing staff, or whether it's you're
31:26in a ditch somewhere, getting shot at.
31:30Foxy covers six and a half miles and 6,000 feet in 75 minutes by the time he reaches the
31:36halfway checkpoint.
31:41He's nearly 30 minutes ahead of the frontrunners.
31:44From the beginning, they spread out, because I sort of wanted to give that quick, sharp shock
31:49into it, basically.
31:50It was like two frontrunners, then there was a sort of gaggle of maybe about seven to ten,
31:56perhaps.
31:57And then after that, it was pretty much Dunkirk.
32:05Fuckin' Nora.
32:07I feel like my laser's not moving.
32:09Brew on it?
32:10Yep.
32:12Horrendous.
32:13Messes with your head.
32:16Some of the recruits have yet to make it to the summit of the mountain.
32:21It's all in your mind.
32:22Come on, man.
32:22Just come back with me now.
32:23I can't, mate.
32:24I can't.
32:24You carry on.
32:25Recruit number 18, Chris, and number 13, Alexander, drop out of the march with injuries.
32:36I'm hooked.
32:40Tired.
32:43Just hungry.
32:44Recruit number seven, 39-year-old MMA fighter Phil, whose son Callum was kicked off yesterday,
32:51is struggling to keep going.
32:54I think I'm done, I miss.
32:59Just come off the comms.
33:00Yeah.
33:00Number seven, kind of flagged.
33:03Oh, no.
33:04Yeah.
33:05I like he's got a good character.
33:07Yeah, he did.
33:08He had a good character.
33:09I think he's got, like, something that is in his mind that he thinks, well, I can't do this.
33:14I think, I believe he can.
33:15He's overcome quite a lot of stuff.
33:17I've taken a bit of a shine to him.
33:21There'll be definitely people that are amongst the recruits that I probably see a likeness
33:26to myself in.
33:28The person that fails and picks himself back up and gets back into the arena and continues,
33:33you know, continues scrapping, continues pushing on, because at one point or another,
33:38on selection, you will do something where you question whether you should actually be there.
33:48That's it, fellas.
33:50You need to fill your water bottles up when you get a chance.
33:54The front runners have reached the halfway checkpoint in under two hours.
33:59The DS give the first five the chance to make it back up and over the mountain.
34:09One of the first to begin the march back is recruit number two, 24-year-old landscape gardener,
34:16Freddie.
34:18I was very keen to join the military when I was at school.
34:21I didn't join because I wanted to travel.
34:25I was deep-sea tuna fishing in Australia.
34:27After two months on the boat, it was the mental stuff that got me.
34:29You know, it's just not sleeping.
34:31You've got, like, sores all over your hands and your feet because you're constantly wet.
34:36Um, yeah, it's just worn down, knackered.
34:41How you feeling?
34:42Fuck, mate.
34:43It's a good effort, though, mate.
34:44You should be proud of yourself.
34:46I can't say I've spent my life trying to push myself that hard, you know.
34:50I think maybe that's the reason why I am doing this, you know.
34:54With the front runners continuing to the finish line,
34:5720 exhausted recruits push themselves to halfway.
35:02Single file.
35:03Three hours after starting.
35:0521.
35:0621.
35:08You'll be the last guy in.
35:09Oh, thanks for stuff.
35:11For safety reasons, the medical team pull the remaining recruits off the march.
35:17I've definitely got a blister.
35:18I can feel everything squishy in my feet.
35:27Phil makes it to the summit.
35:30But he's told he can't continue because he's so far behind.
35:34You've got all your kit on.
35:36There's no wonder you're going slow.
35:38You're perfect.
35:38You've got a hat on.
35:39Fucking hell, I didn't even wear that shit in the Arctic.
35:42Just, uh, I can't finish this walk.
35:46Do you know what I mean?
35:47Because I don't quit.
35:48I never quit, man.
35:49I keep going.
35:51This wouldn't be a dream, man.
35:57Got three of them coming up.
35:58One of them's coming down now.
36:00Freddy finishes just 25 minutes after Foxy.
36:04Good.
36:05Spacey falling there.
36:07Followed by three other recruits.
36:09Good afternoon, mate.
36:12The only frontrunner left on the mountain is number eight, John.
36:17Fuck me.
36:18Should have eaten breakfast.
36:24Mate, I'm fucked.
36:26I'm on fucking legs.
36:27After 16 kilometres and on his second climb, the DS pull him off.
36:33He's driven to the finish line.
36:35I, like, died that close up the mountain.
36:38Mate, I had no energy.
36:39I didn't eat any breakfast.
36:40I couldn't get out of the mountain.
36:41I was fucked.
36:42So I still got all the way up twice.
36:45Just saying.
36:53Back at the barracks, the recruits think the penny fan task is over.
36:58Oh, I went, oh, crap.
37:01Oh, that is not pleasant.
37:05Maybe afterwards, you'll look back on it differently, but at the time, you just feel like it's grueling shit.
37:13Just because you're doing something physically demanding doesn't mean you should switch off mentally, you're always looking where you are.
37:20You're looking at exits, you're looking at what people are wearing so that you can recall that information if the
37:27shit hits the fan.
37:29I'm going to ask you.
37:30I'm going to ask you a series of questions.
37:32I'm going to ask the question, and then I'll choose someone to answer the question.
37:37I'll be shout-out.
37:39Does everyone understand?
37:39Yes, sir.
37:42At the bottom of the penny fan, behind you there was a sign.
37:46There was a fine for litter.
37:49Put your fucking hand down.
37:51Do you not understand what I said at the start?
37:55You.
37:58I'd be taking a guest staff.
38:00I didn't read the number.
38:02Wrong.
38:03What was the VRN?
38:05That's registration number of the green vehicle at the turnaround point.
38:13You.
38:14I don't know, sir.
38:16Wrong.
38:18What was the colour of the medic's watch?
38:21You.
38:22Black staff.
38:24Wrong.
38:26Get into your PT rig.
38:27You've got two minutes to get into your PT rig and to be here.
38:29Move it, let's go.
38:32That's how you want to play it.
38:34That's how we play it.
38:35The recruits don't realise it,
38:37but with the threat of another brutal PT session hanging over them,
38:41the DS are about to offer them a way out.
38:45They can quit at any stage.
38:47People that just mentally can't go any further.
38:51They've reached their break point,
38:52and that's as far as they can go.
39:01The 28 recruits left on the course
39:03are facing another physical thrashing.
39:07They've had four hours sleep in the last 40
39:09and have no idea what's to come in the next six days.
39:14The DS want to see if this is enough to make anyone quit.
39:19I'm going to give you the chance now
39:21to VW, to voluntarily withdraw yourself.
39:27There'll be people that you think are strong,
39:29you think that they're coasting it,
39:31they're doing really well,
39:31and then all of a sudden they just quit.
39:36There's plenty of times where you do contemplate quitting.
39:39You know it's there, you know it's an option.
39:42If you want to voluntarily withdraw yourself,
39:45hand your number in off your own accord.
39:49Is there anyone that wants to do that?
39:51Thank you for going to your accommodation.
39:5428-year-old farmer Chris is the first to withdraw.
39:59Anyone else?
40:02Yes.
40:0730-year-old Stephen, a personal trainer, is next to go.
40:18Yes, staff.
40:20Scientist Matt also voluntarily withdraws.
40:24Sorry, staff.
40:3325 recruits remain.
40:36The rest of you get outside now, move it.
40:42I'm not jogging on the spot.
40:44The recruits don't know that only 20 of them
40:47will make it to the next stage.
40:50Before the DS make the decision about which five will go,
40:55there is one recruit they want to bring in for tactical questioning.
41:03I'm currently working on your stunt registration.
41:05Have you got your stage combat?
41:07I've got, um, I've got, um, I've got, um, two, um, uh, British Action Academy.
41:12Done two stage combats for that.
41:14Okay.
41:15You look at, like, you know, all the Jason Stathans, you look at people like that.
41:18I mean, it can, that can set you up to be, like, a pretty top star.
41:22That's the plan.
41:23That's the plan.
41:24It is the plan.
41:25Okay.
41:27I want to overtake Jason Statham.
41:29You want to overtake him?
41:30Yeah.
41:31Get better him.
41:31He's got a good 20, 24 years on me.
41:34Catch him by then, I think.
41:36I can see myself within some of the recruits as a young soldier.
41:41I was sort of cocky and, you know, cocksure of myself, shall we say.
41:45I'm in the SAS.
41:46We've been all right.
41:48I think this is something that I could have done or could have worked for if I wasn't doing what
41:53I was doing.
41:56Once you've identified the weaknesses in individuals, especially looking back at yourself, thinking, well, I had that weakness,
42:02you know it's possible to focus him in a certain direction.
42:04You know, there's cockiness and arrogance that can get you in trouble, but there's cockiness and arrogance that, you know,
42:11that can also change a situation.
42:13Every time I went on to operations, I never thought that I'd get hit.
42:16I never thought that I would get shot.
42:18I never thought that I'd get injured.
42:20I never thought, you know, I just knew that I'd go on there and I'd be on that helicopter on
42:25the way home.
42:31Always at the back, always limping.
42:33Yeah, putting a face on.
42:34From day one, it's been the same.
42:36Right, let's fuck him off.
42:37At the end of every key stage of selection, directing staff come together for what is known as a prayers
42:44meeting to discuss which recruits are making the grade and which aren't.
42:52He's got some good qualities at this stage.
42:55I think he's a bit cocked for himself, but I'll take that one for now.
42:59The prayers meeting is very important that we get a collective decision together so we're not missing anything.
43:05He's there to stay, yep.
43:07We all see different things, different attributes or different characteristics on certain individuals.
43:12Number eight, again, I've had limited exposure in what I have had.
43:16He's got an attitude, big time.
43:18For me, he's a fucking show pony.
43:20He does put himself on a pedestal and he's come on this course and, you know, he's like, I'm the
43:25man here, you know.
43:26Right, this is it.
43:27But they're starting to chip away at his armour now.
43:30I'd really like to see that switch happen.
43:32Whether he can do it in time to make it to the end, I don't know.
43:37Foxy.
43:38At times, I hate his guts.
43:40But would you like to see him suffer?
43:43I do want to see him suffer, so, yeah, keep him on.
43:46Oh, fucking hell, do you think they'll let us go to sleep now?
43:50I'll go with number seven.
43:54He's not the quickest learner.
43:56You know, if you used to put him on a learning curve, he wouldn't go up and slip straight off
44:00of it.
44:00I am on the fence with him.
44:02He's very passionate about being here.
44:05Yeah.
44:07Unsure.
44:07Obviously, I've fucking taken a shot into him and fuck knows why.
44:11I would say yes, but not for the right reasons, probably.
44:16I'll play devil's advocate with number seven.
44:18If we put him against tests about everything that he's been through, he comes up short on quite a lot
44:23of them.
44:24I'll put this to you.
44:25Out of all of the ones that are up there on the wall, you're pinned down with fire.
44:29Who's the first guy up there that's coming to get you?
44:32Out of all of those.
44:34All of the ones that are up there on the wall.
44:35Yeah, it'll be him.
44:37He'd come right through a heel of fucking bullets to get you.
44:39Put a different spin on him.
44:42Lights out.
44:43Hi.
44:43What's the time?
44:4520 to 1 in it.
44:46Quarter past one.
44:47Quarter past one.
44:48Oh, he can't have fizz.
44:56Guys, all of you out here now, fell in, two ranks.
45:02Two ranks.
45:07Some of you will be going home tonight.
45:13Just simply haven't made the grade.
45:16If I call your number out, you step forward, you walk towards the DS, you hand him your number.
45:23Is that understood?
45:25Yes, sir.
45:25Your ultimate question that you ask after you've measured physical capability, tactics, is, would I have this guy fighting alongside
45:37me?
45:3924.
45:42Would I trust this guy to have my back when I kick that door, when I go round the corner?
45:4813.
45:50Do I trust this guy as part of my team?
45:5517.
45:58If the answer's yes, then he should get in.
46:039.
46:06If the answer's no, then he won't make it.
46:1120.
46:17Some of you were very close.
46:20Just have a good look at yourselves.
46:23And ask yourselves if you want to be here.
46:25It's only going to get harder.
46:29Away you go.
46:30Start, sir.
46:35Salia, can't believe it.
46:38Keep buzzing.
46:41Next time.
46:42We keep going or we withdraw.
46:44I'm going to drill this attitude out of you tonight.
46:47Pick the weakest member of this course.
46:50Number seven, sir.
46:51This will not stop until one of you give me your armband.
46:57The worst thing is the mind games.
46:59And once we start planting that seed of doubt into their mind, we'll find out if you will break mentally.
47:05Fuck it out.
47:06I can tell that you've never grafted in your life.
47:09Feel like a boy in a man's world.
47:12Next week, Monday at 9.
47:14Next week, Monday at 9.
47:14Tonight, it's a brand new story.
47:16A brand new season starring Kirsten Dunst and Ted Danson.
47:19Season two, Fargo, has just arrived.
47:22And it's here on 4 next.
47:24Then you next week.
47:27Bye-bye.
47:27And, uh, 1002
47:27And so year, if we take care of you tonight, alright.
47:38I'll see you next time.