Just how brave could she be?
That was the question on Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s mind when she signed up to face the gruelling challenges of SAS: AUS v ENG. And after passing tests that included being tied up inside a plane as it sank in the ocean, she has her answer.
In this weekend’s Sunday Times Magazine, the actor and singer revealed she had been approached to do the show in the past, but never felt mentally or physically strong enough.
But after spending recent years facing life’s challenges and her own fears — the end of her marriage to her Rogue Traders bandmate Cameron McGlinchey in 2022, an unexpected same-sex love with now-fiancée Pip Loth, and writing her raw memoir, Love Like This, to name a few — this time, the 50-year-old felt ready for the “bucket-list moment”.
Bassingthwaite had just three weeks to physically prepare before filming in Morocco started but said she was most intrigued to test whether her mental health “toolbox”, including box breathing, meditation and affirmations, would hold up in such an intense environment.
“I guess I just wanted to see how strong and how brave I could be,” she said.
“And you know what? I am actually very proud of myself. It took me nearly 50 years to feel like that.”
The series, based on tests from the real SAS selection process, pitted seven Australians, including Neighbours icon Ryan Moloney, performer Axle Whitehead, Olympian Mack Horton and reality TV’s Jessika Power, against seven British celebrities, such as Love Island’s Dani Dyer and Gabby Allen, social media stars Cole Anderson-James and Jack Joseph, and rugby legend Ben Cohen.
Read the full story in STM. SAS: AUS v ENG starts April 29 at 7.30pm on Seven and 7Plus.