16 Celebrities, Cold Seas, And SAS Selection: Everything To Know About Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Season 3

The third season of Special Forces: World's Toughest Test has delivered on its promise of extreme challenges, pushing a new cohort of celebrities to their absolute breaking point. Premiering on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, on FOX, this season transports the recruits to the unforgiving terrain of Wales, the birthplace of the British Special Air Service (SAS) selection process, trading the scorching desert for the chilling reality of ocean warfare and brutal mountain weather.

The latest installment is arguably the most demanding yet, featuring 16 new celebrity recruits who must face classic SAS selection obstacles, including cold rain, unforgiving bogs, and the stormy seas of the Welsh coastline. This deep dive provides the most current information available, including the full cast of recruits, the Directing Staff (DS) team, the harrowing location, and updates on the show’s future.

The Full Roster of Special Forces Season 3 Recruits

Season 3 of Special Forces: World's Toughest Test features a diverse group of 16 celebrities from the worlds of sports, reality television, and entertainment, all of whom volunteered to endure the intense physical and psychological stress of the Special Forces selection process.

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Here is the complete list of celebrity recruits for the third season:

• Nathan Adrian: Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer
• Stephen Baldwin: Actor and Producer (The Baldwin Brothers)
• Alana Blanchard: Professional Surfer and Model
• Landon Donovan: Former Professional Soccer Player (U.S. Men's National Team)
• Carey Hart: Professional Motocross Competitor and Off-Road Truck Racer
• Brody Jenner: Television Personality (The Hills, Keeping Up with the Kardashians)
• Marion Jones: Olympic Gold Medalist Track and Field Athlete
• Ali Landry (Manno): Actress, Model, and former Miss USA
• Cam Newton: Former NFL Quarterback and Heisman Trophy Winner
• Kyla Pratt: Actress (The Proud Family, Dr. Dolittle)
• Denise Richards: Actress and Television Personality (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills)
• Christy Carlson Romano: Actress (Even Stevens, Kim Possible)
• Trista Sutter: Television Personality (The first Bachelorette)
• Golden Tate: Former NFL Wide Receiver
• Kayla Nicole: Sports Reporter and Television Personality

The Brutal Welsh Location: Ocean Warfare and Mountain Selection

Unlike Season 1, which was set in the punishing desert of Jordan, and Season 2, which took place in the rugged mountains of New Zealand, Season 3 moved to the United Kingdom, specifically Wales.

The location is significant because Wales is the official home of the British Special Forces Selection, providing an authentic and historically challenging environment for the celebrity recruits.

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The Unique Challenges of the Welsh Selection Course

The move to Wales introduced a new set of extreme environmental and tactical challenges, focusing heavily on what the DS refers to as "ocean warfare."

• Cold and Wet Conditions: The recruits endured the constant exposure to cold rain and chilling temperatures, a hallmark of the selection process in the UK.
• Rugged Terrain: They navigated unforgiving bogs and mountainous landscapes, battling physical exhaustion and the mental toll of the elements.
• Water-Based Drills: A major theme of the season was water survival and ocean-based missions, pushing recruits to overcome hypothermia and the fear of drowning during complex drills.
• Classic SAS Obstacles: The training incorporated classic selection obstacles designed to test resolve, leadership, and teamwork under immense pressure, mirroring the real-life SAS course.

The Directing Staff: Who is Pushing the Recruits?

The success and authenticity of Special Forces rely on the unwavering intensity and expertise of the Directing Staff (DS), all of whom are former elite Special Forces operatives from various global units.

For Season 3, the recruits were once again led and tormented by the core team of DS agents, ensuring that no celebrity received special treatment. The DS's role is not to train, but to observe, assess, and break the recruits' mental and physical resolve to see who has the inner strength required to pass Selection.

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Key Directing Staff Members

While the full roster of the DS team is consistently composed of the toughest instructors in the world, the following core members are the faces of the Special Forces training:

• Rudy Reyes (Chief Instructor): Former US Navy SEAL, known for his relentless intensity and no-nonsense approach.
• Mark "Billy" Billingham: Former SAS Sergeant Major and a highly decorated member of the British Special Forces.
• Jason "Foxy" Fox: Former Royal Marine Commando and Special Boat Service (SBS) operative.
• Staz (Dean Stott): Former Special Boat Service (SBS) operative, though sometimes the fourth member rotates with other elite operators.

These four entities—Reyes, Billingham, Fox, and Stott (or similar)—are the ultimate judges of the recruits' performance, with their decisions determining who continues the course and who is "withdrawn" or "selected."

What’s Next? Special Forces Season 4 and Beyond

The immense popularity of the show, driven by the public's curiosity to see celebrities stripped of their fame and put through genuine military selection, has ensured its longevity.

Following the intense run of the Wales-set Season 3, FOX has already confirmed the show's future. Special Forces: World's Toughest Test has been renewed for a fourth season, which is currently slated to air in 2026.

This renewal solidifies the show's place as a staple of reality television, proving that audiences are deeply invested in the psychological warfare and physical endurance required to survive the world's most brutal training. The success of Season 3, with its focus on the harsh, cold-weather environment of Wales and the introduction of new challenges like ocean warfare, sets a high bar for the next installment. Fans are already speculating about the next celebrity cast and what new, unforgiving location the Directing Staff will choose to test their limits.