SAS Who Dares Wins set to create another spin-off show in an unlikely foreign country
THERE seems to be something of a transatlantic cultural exchange going on with Channel 4 show SAS: Who Dares Wins.
It was revealed last year that American actor and former US Marine Rudy Reyes was taking over as host of the UK version after Ant Middleton left under a cloud.
In return, we are now developing a spin-off of the series, which celebrates the skills of British special forces, for the States.
And the creators of the military training show have really delved deep to come up with the title which will be . . . SAS: Who Dares Wins In America.
A TV insider said: “The show has been a huge hit on this side of the Atlantic, even spawning a celebrity spin-off which is just as popular as the civilian version.
“Australia and Sweden already have their versions, so taking it to another country is nothing new.
“Obviously, though, it may raise an eyebrow in the States where their elite military men and women are given training by the Marines.
“But there’s a curious love of all things British in the US, which the creators hope to build on.”
The UK version of SAS: Who Dares Wins has become a mainstay of Channel 4’s schedules since it launched seven years ago.
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That was closely followed by the celebrity spin-off in 2019.
The instructors, military hardmen Jason Fox and Ant, became household names on the back of its popularity, though Ant parted company with the show last year amid claims of inappropriate behaviour.
This year the British contest will be fronted by Rudy.
He was born on an air force base in Missouri and his dad was also a Marine — so he’s as American as apple pie.
In return, I would love to see a frightfully English Captain Mainwaring-type figure fronting the US version.
View from the bridge
BRIDGERTON cast members appear to be watching us, watching them in this sneaky glimpse from the period drama’s upcoming second series.
The shot shows the whole family of toffs including central character Anthony Bridgerton, far right, played by Jonathan Bailey, in the follow-up season from Netflix, which starts on March 25.
Despite the fact her character plays a lesser role this time round, the picture also includes Phoebe Dyvenor, second left, as Daphne Bridgerton.
But unlike the rest of the Regency-era clan, her attention seems to be elsewhere .
She’s probably looking for Rege-Jean Page, who plays her love interest the Duke of Hastings.
Good luck with that one, Phoebe. He’s not in the sequel.
Jack has hole lot of fun
JACK Whitehall proudly poses with footballers Mason Mount and Declan Rice during their golf challenge for Comic Relief.
Last week I revealed the comedian would be supporting the fundraiser on March 18 by playing crazy golf with two England stars. Now here’s the proof it wasn’t just a weird dream I had!
Chelsea midfielder Mason and West Ham favourite Declan also joined Jack in wearing red noses.
The Arsenal fan said: “I am a huge fan of both Declan and Mason, despite them not playing for my team, but can only hope they leave all their ball skills on the football pitch, so I can claim victory.”
I’ve a feeling they will be looking to win, while he’ll just be playing for laughs.
Baby Dom the way
LOVE Island couple Jessica Shears and Dom Lever are expecting their second child.
The pair fell for each other on the 2017 ITV2 dating show, got married in 2018 and welcomed their son a year later.
Yesterday Dom confirmed the news on Instagram, saying: “Our family is growing.”
Axe falls for Noel's docu job
EX-OASIS rocker Noel Gallagher has revealed he got the boot from a job for TV.
He recorded a voiceover for a documentary about a legendary British group – before being sacked without explanation.
On The Matt Morgan Podcast, singer-songwriter Noel said: “Somebody asked me to narrate a documentary recently about a band.
“I’m doing lots of different things and I can feel that the director was just going, ‘This was a f***ing s**t idea, whose idea was this?’
“Anyway, they came back and the excuse was brilliant. The excuse was, ‘We’re not going to have a narrator now’.”
Noel gave Matt three guesses who the band was but denied it was The Who, The Smiths or Pink Floyd.
Imagine if it was actually Oasis.
Plea for Oz soap re-runs
YOU have to admire the tenacity of Neighbours fans after news that the Aussie favourite has been axed.
They are lobbying other stations to keep the Channel 5 show’s spirit alive by airing every episode of the soap from the very beginning.
Presumably they also hope the early episodes will remind telly execs just how good it used to be.
UKTV’s Drama Channel has already been bombarded with tweets on the #save neighbours campaign.
One viewer wrote: “Wonder if @dramachannel would just consider buying Neighbours with the rights to show classic episodes?” Another added: “It would be very good to see repeats from the very beginning to the very end.”
Offering a glimmer of hope, the channel replied: “We try to introduce new content into the schedule whenever possible.”
Don’t expect to see Bouncer and Mrs Mangel back on our screens just yet though.
Unexplained expletive
VIEWERS of Saturday Night Takeaway were bewildered after host Ant McPartlin apologised for the airing of a “rude word”.
Co-host Declan Donnelly went so far as to say: “We’re live tonight.”
But after much talk on social media about the mystery, nobody could recall any kind of expletive.
The city bonkers are back
THERE’S good and bad news if – like me – you are a fan of banking-and-bonking drama Industry.
The BBC2 show is coming back for a second series, although we won’t be able to watch it until it has been on in the US.
Even though the drama about a group of young traders making their way in the banking world is set in London, Americans get to see it first as the show is produced by HBO and bought by the BBC.
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It is still to air in the US, so will not be on our screens until the autumn.
This should give Robert (Harry Lawtey) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela) plenty of time to clean that mirror in the Pierpoint bank loos.