Celebrity SAS 2024 stars' worst injuries from broken ribs to infected wounds

Marnie Simpson was forced to quit after she suffered infected open wounds while Rachel Johnson broke a rib during her time on the show.

Pictured: Marnie Simpson/backwards dive
Marnie Simpson prepares to do a backwards dive on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. (Channel 4)

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins remains one of the toughest reality TV shows and this year is no different, with some of the stars getting some grisly injuries while taking part.

Not everyone completed the tough course either, with Torchwood star John Barrowman quitting after just two hours. The 15 celebrities — which include Strictly's Pete Wicks and Bianca Gascoigne — were flown to southern New Zealand where they took part in gruelling military winter training.

Reality star Marnie Simpson was forced to quit SAS: Who Dares Wins after one of her wounds on her breasts had opened up and got infected. Meanwhile, Rachel Johnson — sister of Boris Johnson — broke a rib during her time on the show.

Here are some of this year's most brutal injuries...

Marnie Simpson on Celebrity SAS. (Channel 4)
Marnie Simpson on Celebrity SAS. (Channel 4)

Geordie Shore reality star Simpson had a breast uplift weeks before flying out to New Zealand for the tough show. In addition to her surgery, it had only been around 11 months since the reality star had a baby and she said her C-section (caesarean) was "still quite sore".

While starring on the show, Simpson said one of her wounds on her breasts had opened up and got infected. With the show's many water-based challenges, she said it only got "worse" and she made the difficult decision to quit Celebrity SAS.

Read more: Celebrity SAS

"[The DS] really wanted us to stay but I think it got to a point where the mental side, it was affecting us," Simpson told Yahoo and other press. "It wasn't doing any good being there physically and mentally. This is just not the right timing. I thought it's doing more bad than good to stay.

"If I’d not had surgery and I'd not just had a baby, I definitely would have stuck it out, but yeah, one of my wounds on my boobs had opened up and it was infected. The more I was going in and out of the water, and then I wasn't drying my body, it was getting worse."

She added: "I love this show but I don’t think it's worth my health."

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 13: Marnie Simpson attends the National Television Awards 2022 at OVO Arena Wembley on October 13, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
32-year-old Geordie Shore star Marnie Simpson is one of this year's Celebrity SAS recruits. (Mike Marsland/WireImage)

She went on: "It's frustrating because I feel like if I had more time and I would have mentally and physically prepared to go in there cos I definitely wasn't mentally right either. I just wasn't in a good head space. Physically, my C-section was still quite sore and my boobs were sore. It wasn't the right timing."

When she went down into a dam, she detailed she was left in "agony".

"Oh god that was awful," she said. "The pain that put on my C-section scar. I was in agony. Honestly, weeks after I left I thought I damaged my scar. My C-section scars were not ready. I had a bad delivery, that was just horrific."

Fellow SAS teammate Rachel Johnson said she was "absolutely horrified" Simpson was taking part in the show and that she felt protective of her like she was her daughter. "I'm surprised that production allowed you to do the show," she added.

Pictured: Marnie Simpson/forward dam run/Clyde Dam
Marnie Simpson faced her fears and abseiled forwards into the Clyde Dam. (Channel 4)

A Channel 4 spokesperson said: "Contributor care and their health and welfare is of paramount importance and all celebrities have to go through strict health and safety protocols to ensure they are mentally and physically robust enough to take part in the course.

"Marnie was cleared by the production’s medical team, who consulted Marnie’s doctors as part of this process, and were satisfied that she was able to take part."

Rachel Johnson on Celebrity SAS. (Channel 4)
Rachel Johnson on Celebrity SAS. (Channel 4)

Johnson also was injured while coming down the dam on day two of filming Celebrity SAS. The journalist, who previously appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, had broken one of her ribs. With doctors unable to do anything about broken ribs, Johnson made her own decision to "power on through" with the Channel 4 show.

"I broke a rib," she told press. "It was a lose-lose situation cos you're in terrible pain and you go to the doctor and you say, 'I can't walk or I definitely can't run. And I definitely can't carry my pack.' And the doctor says, 'Well, you know, there's nothing I can do about a broken rib. I'm not an X-ray machine. Do you want to leave?' So you just have to power on through."

Pictured: Bobby Norris, Ellie Downie, Pete Wicks, Rachel Johnson/trainasium
Bobby Norris, Ellie Downie, Pete Wicks, and Rachel Johnson. (Channel 4)

A Channel 4 spokesperson said: "Contributor care is of paramount importance and we have strict protocols in place to ensure the health and welfare of each celebrity recruit before, during and after filming.

"All tasks and recruit activities are risk assessed before being completed and mitigation measures put in place. We take seriously all injuries and have an experienced health and safety and medical team on location throughout filming to treat all injuries where necessary."

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins returns to Channel 4 on Sunday, 22 September.