‘Deteriorating’ Erin McNaught almost quits SAS Australia after being put through a death-defying ‘drown proofing’ on show… the most terrifying and dangerous exercise yet
After failing a hostage rescue exercise on Monday’s episode of SAS Australia, the show’s DS (directing staff) admitted they had some concerns about Erin McNaught.
‘Seven went to rat s**t,’ DS Billy Billingham said bluntly of the 38-year-old former Miss Universe contestant, quoting her course number.
‘I don’t think she really knew what to do, and she just didn’t quite get the reactive sense of urgency and instinctive decision we were looking for.’
Losing steam: After failing a hostage rescue exercise on Monday’s episode of SAS Australia, the show’s DS (directing staff) admitted they had some concerns about Erin McNaught
Added chief instructor Ant Middleton: ‘She’s slowly deteriorating, I think. She’s slowly crumbling.’
Unable to understand what’s ‘holding her back’, the DS then decided to pull Erin in for interrogation.
DS Jason Fox told Erin she’d started off looking ‘quite promising’ and was ‘high up the pack’, but was now ‘slipping away’.
Words of encouragement: Before jumping into a water tank for a drown proofing exercise, Erin got a pep talk from Ant Middleton, who warned her not to panic or she’d ‘start to take water in’
Jumping in: The recruits were subjected to a ‘drown proofing’ exercise, which saw them repeatedly submerging themselves in a water tank and pushing off the bottom of it
‘I feel like you’re slowly reaching your limit,’ he told her, prompting Erin to confess she’s always struggled with ‘self-doubt’.
‘Stop that little bit of hesitation… because you are a frontrunner on this course, and you’ve got the capability to be here at the end,’ added Ant.
‘But if you hesitate with what’s coming up, you’re not going to do it. You’ll be off the course, it’s as simple as that.’
‘My biggest fear physically is being in an underwater cave where there’s no air. The thought of not being able to break the surface and come up for air just terrifies me,’ confessed Erin
Later, the recruits were subjected to a ‘drown proofing’ exercise, which saw them repeatedly submerging themselves in a water tank and pushing off the bottom of it with their hands bound.
The exercise required Jason to be on hand in the water tank in case anything went wrong, ‘with drowning a very real possibility’.
‘My biggest fear physically is being in an underwater cave where there’s no air. The thought of not being able to break the surface and come up for air just terrifies me,’ confessed Erin.
Ready to go: Despite managing to successfully complete the task, Erin admitted she was convinced she wouldn’t make it
Before jumping into the water tank, Erin got a pep talk from Ant, who warned her not to panic or she’d ‘start to take water in’.
Despite managing to successfully complete the task, Erin admitted she was convinced she wouldn’t make it.
‘Out of everything we’ve done, that’s the most terrified I’ve ever been. I was so sure I was going to have to VW (voluntarily withdraw). I was that scared,’ she confessed.
‘Out of everything we’ve done, that’s the most terrified I’ve ever been. I was so sure I was going to have to VW (voluntarily withdraw). I was that scared,’ she confessed