The Ultimate Guide To Special Forces TV Shows: What’s New For 2025 (US & UK)

The global obsession with quasi-military training and extreme endurance tests is reaching a fever pitch, and 2025 is set to deliver the most intense seasons yet for the world's top special forces reality TV shows. With two major series—the US-based Special Forces: World's Toughest Test and the UK's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins—launching new seasons, fans are eager to see a fresh batch of celebrity recruits pushed to their absolute breaking point.

As of December 10, 2025, the newest details confirm a shocking line-up of athletes, actors, and reality stars who have volunteered to face the brutal gauntlet of the Directing Staff (DS). From a Super Bowl-winning quarterback to a former Love Island star, these shows offer a rare, unscripted look into the physical and mental fortitude required to survive the world of elite military selection, proving that fame offers no protection against the harsh realities of the course.

The Complete Roster of Celebrity Recruits for 2025

The core of any special forces show lies in the vulnerability and resilience of its participants. The 2025 seasons feature some of the biggest names to ever attempt the course, creating high-stakes drama and answering the curiosity of whether celebrity grit can match military discipline. The sheer volume of high-profile entities ensures a season packed with unforgettable moments.

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Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Season 3 (US)

Premiering on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, on FOX, the third season of the American iteration, Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, boasts a massive cast of 16 celebrities. The recruits will face a grueling, authentic military training course designed to break them down and rebuild them, testing their inner strength and mental toughness.

The full list of celebrity recruits for Special Forces: World's Toughest Test Season 3 includes:

• Nathan Adrian: Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer
• Stephen Baldwin: Actor and Producer (of the famous Baldwin family)
• Alana Blanchard: Professional Surfer and Model
• Landon Donovan: Legendary Soccer Player (USMNT)
• Carey Hart: Professional Motocross Competitor and Off-Road Truck Racer
• Brody Jenner: Television Personality (The Hills, Keeping Up with the Kardashians)
• Marion Jones: Former Track and Field Athlete
• Ali Landry: Actress and Former Miss USA
• Cam Newton: Former NFL Quarterback and Heisman Trophy Winner
• Kyla Pratt: Actress (The Proud Family)
• Christy Carlson Romano: Actress (Even Stevens, Kim Possible)
• Denise Richards: Actress and Reality Star (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills)
• Trista Sutter: Reality Star (First The Bachelorette)
• Nick Viall: Reality Star (The Bachelor)
• Tyler Cameron: Model and Reality Star (The Bachelorette)
• JoJo Siwa: Dancer, Singer, and Social Media Personality

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins 2025 (UK)

Across the pond, the UK’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins returns for its seventh celebrity series, scheduled to begin on Sunday, August 3, 2025, on Channel 4. This season marks a significant change, as the course was reportedly filmed in the harsh, unforgiving terrain of Morocco for the first time for the celebrity version, introducing new environmental challenges to the recruits.

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The line-up of 14 celebrities for the 2025 series features a blend of sports stars, pop icons, and reality TV favorites, many of whom have already faced intense public scrutiny, but nothing compared to the DS:

• Adebayo "The Beast" Akinfenwa: Former Professional Footballer (withdrew during the course)
• Troy Deeney: Professional Footballer
• Conor Benn: Professional Boxer (medically withdrawn)
• Louie Spence: Choreographer and Reality Star (withdrew)
• Tasha Ghouri: Reality Star (Love Island)
• Harry Clark: Reality Star (The Traitors)
• Hannah Spearritt: Pop Singer (S Club 7) and Actress
• Rebecca Loos: Media Personality
• Dani Dyer: Reality Star (Love Island winner)
• Ben Cohen: Former Rugby Union Star
• Lucy Spraggan: Singer-Songwriter
• Michaella McCollum: Media Personality (known as one of the "Peru Two")
• Gareth Gates: Singer-Songwriter
• James Argent: Reality Star (The Only Way Is Essex)

The Directing Staff: Who is Pushing the Limits?

The backbone of both shows is the Directing Staff (DS), a team of former elite special forces operators who bring an unparalleled level of authenticity and intensity to the celebrity recruits. Their goal is not to train soldiers, but to strip away the celebrity persona and test the true character and leadership qualities of each participant under extreme pressure.

The Special Forces DS Team

The US version, Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, is led by a core team of highly decorated veterans who also feature in the UK version, ensuring a consistent level of brutal reality. The Directing Staff for the 2025 season includes:

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• Rodolfo “Rudy” Reyes: The Chief Instructor is a highly decorated former United States Recon Marine. His leadership style is known for its intense psychological pressure and unwavering demands for discipline.
• Jason “Foxy” Fox: A former UK Special Boat Service (SBS) operator. Foxy is a veteran of the franchise and a fan-favorite for his grounded, yet intimidating, presence.
• Mark “Billy” Billingham: A former SAS Sergeant Major and one of the most decorated members of the British military. Billy’s experience in hostage rescue and counter-terrorism operations provides a deep well of knowledge.
• Chris Oliver: A former Special Boat Service (SBS) operator who brings a fresh, yet equally demanding, perspective to the team.

This team of DS agents ensures that the training is conducted with the utmost fidelity to real-world Special Operations Forces (SOF) selection processes, focusing on critical elements like teamwork, stress inoculation, and the ability to make split-second decisions under duress. The DS members are the ultimate arbiters of the recruits' fate, determining who has the mental resilience to continue the challenging course.

The Brutal Authenticity and LSI Keywords

What sets these special forces reality shows apart from standard celebrity competitions is their commitment to authenticity. The experience is essentially a condensed version of a military selection course, often referred to as a quasi-military training program. This is not a vote-off show; recruits can only leave by voluntarily withdrawing (VW), being medically withdrawn (MW), or being dismissed by the DS.

The challenges are designed to test every facet of human endurance. LSI keywords that define the core experience include:

• Interrogation Phase: A crucial element of the course that tests the recruits' ability to withstand high-stress questioning and isolation, a hallmark of real SAS selection.
• Stress Inoculation: Techniques used by the DS to expose recruits to controlled levels of stress, helping them develop coping mechanisms for high-pressure situations.
• Survival Skills: Essential training in navigation, shelter building, and fire starting—basic requirements for any elite operator.
• Mental Fortitude: The true test of the course. The DS consistently emphasizes that the physical pain is temporary, but the psychological endurance is what separates the survivors from those who quit.

The 2025 seasons promise to escalate the difficulty. With the UK version moving to the extreme heat and rugged mountains of Morocco, and the US version featuring one of its most star-studded, yet physically diverse, casts, the stakes are higher than ever. Fans can expect to see incredible feats of determination, dramatic medical withdrawals, and the raw, unvarnished truth of what it takes to survive the world’s toughest test. The journey of these celebrity recruits from the red carpet to the brutal training ground will be the definitive television event of the year, providing a compelling look at the limits of human endurance.