SAS: Who Dares Wins has become embroiled in a religious and sexism row after the show’s first female Muslim contestant claimed she was “held back”.
Shireen Khan, 28, said she refused to strip off in front of the cameras and her fellow contestants because of her religious beliefs and complained she was not served any halal food.
Speaking to the Mail Online, Khan claimed the Channel 4 show’s former Special Forces instructors were “patronising” and referred to her as “cupcake” and a “gym bunny” during the punishing challenges.
Khan, from north London, features on the first episode of the show this Sunday, which was filmed in rural Scotland.
“Being on the show was an incredible experience and something that will live with me forever,” Khan, who owns three health clinics in London, told Mail Online.
“But I do believe that cultural insensitivity towards my Muslim faith and being a woman, held me back.
“After a mud challenge, the other contestants were comfortable stripping off in front of each other and the cameras but as a Muslim woman, I couldn’t do it.
“I had to keep on wet clothes, which left me cold and shivering and I was worried that I would catch hypothermia. I had to wait until I could change my clothes privately.”
The businesswoman added: “The toilet was one of two outdoor buckets and I wasn’t able to go properly during my time on the set because men were using an adjoining one.
“Because of my culture I wasn’t comfortable doing that.”
Khan called for more diversity on the show after she said she was forced to eat vegetarian food as there were no halal options available.
“I believe that there needs to be greater diversity on the show and the only way you can do that is by being more aware of cultural sensitivities,” she said.
“These are all barriers that are preventing people from diverse backgrounds from participating in Who Dares Wins and even joining the British armed forces.
“The programme has already had problems around Ant Middleton, and I feel that Channel 4 need to address the issues that I’m raising.”
Being called ‘cupcake’ and ‘gym bunny’ is very patronising and condescending.”
Shireen Khan
Khan also claimed her gender played a role in how she performed.
“What I was carrying should have been proportionate to my body weight. There were male contestants who weighed a lot more than that and it was a lot easier for them,” Khan, who weighs 51kg, said.
“As a woman who is not very heavy, that exercise was unfair and impossible to complete. The programme makers need to take these kinds of things into consideration.”
Khan added: “Being called ‘cupcake’ and ‘gym bunny’ is very patronising and condescending.
“I wanted to say to them that I’m a lot tougher than you think.
“Even to get to this stage of the show is very difficult because you need a lot of mental and physical strength.”
Despite the challenges, Khan said it was a “real honour” to feature on the show.
“Experiencing what the SAS go through has left me with nothing but admiration for them and the British armed forces as a whole for the work they do in protecting our country,” she said.
“It was a real honour to be on the show but it’s a pity that there are not more Muslims and other communities on it.”
A Channel 4 spokesperson told the Mail Online: “SAS: Who Dares Wins is now in its sixth series. All the recruits are fully aware that by being part of the programme, they will be immersed in an authentic SAS Selection experience.
“They are fully briefed about what to expect and encouraged to watch previous episodes of the series, where they will see that all recruits are treated the same, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity.
“Shireen’s dietary requirements were discussed with her prior to taking part in the series and she requested a vegetarian option, which was honoured.
“However, as she was only on the course for a very short time, she did not have the opportunity to eat her chosen meal.”
The Sun has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
Ant Middleton – who launched the Channel 4 show in 2015 – was axed from his role on SAS: Who Dares Wins over his “personal conduct” earlier this year.
Middleton, 40, was understood to have left the show after a series of high profile gaffes.
A Channel 4 spokesperson said at the time: “Ant Middleton will not be taking part in future series of SAS: Who Dares Wins.
“Following a number of discussions Channel 4 and Minnow Films have had with him in relation to his personal conduct it has become clear that our views and values are not aligned and we will not be working with him again.”
In a statement, Ant said: “After five years on the show it just felt like I had achieved everything I could with the format.
“There’s so many other formats that I am working on now that feel more suited to who I am today.
“It’s been a brilliant experience being on that show but I’m honestly happy to let some new blood come in and put their own stamp on it.”
Veteran Ant also resigned from his role as the Royal Navy’s Chief Cadet after bosses were left unhappy over his now-deleted tweet about Black Lives Matter protests.
A TV insider said producers realised what a great asset Ant was to the show but felt he had made one mistake too many.
Ant hit headlines in March 2020, when posted a “tough love” video message on social media urging his followers to carry on as normal despite coronavirus.
As the world rapidly went into lockdown, he faced a backlash and posted an apology.
There was more social media backlash in June after Ant posted a video of violence at anti-racism protests in London.
He tweeted: “The extreme left against the extreme right. BLM and EDL are not welcome on our streets, absolute scum. What a great example you are to your future generation. Bravo.”
However, he later defended himself, telling The Sun: “If you have half a brain cell you will realise what I was talking about.
“It was the protesters fighting and violence and rioting in broad daylight. Everything I fought for abroad to stop happening on our shores.”
