EXCLUSIVE: Channel 4 is resting SAS: Who Dares Wins for the foreseeable future as it “shifts focus” to the celebrity version.
An extended eight-episode run of Celebrity SAS will start filming in the coming weeks but the original ‘civilian’ version, which most recently aired its eighth season, will likely not return to screens for some time, if at all.
A Channel 4 spokesman said the decision was being made “due to the huge success of Celebrity SAS” and insiders stressed the move isn’t being made for cost-cutting reasons. “We have shifted our focus to prioritise this strand,” added the spokesman. “As a result, a longer run eight part series is due to commence filming in the summer whilst ‘Civilian’ SAS will be rested.” The latest season of Minnow Films’ ‘civilian’ version finished in February and was watched by around 1.5M viewers per episode, while last year’s celebrity version secured approximately 2M for each instalment.
AJ Pritchard, Ferne McCann, Calum Best and Maisie Smith were victorious in the latter. Today’s news comes around two years after the UK ‘civilian’ version was beset by scandal.
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