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Privacy NoticeCelebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is back in our screens, putting a whole host of scared new faces through the gruelling process, including Love Island’s Georgia Harrison, TOWIE’s Bobby Norris and Geordie Shore’s Marnie Simpson. The new series hasn’t been without drama, with John Barrowman quitting after 32 minutes after refusing to eat tofu and ‘realising he didn’t need people shouting in his face to realise who he was’. The show, as everyone knows, is tough – in fact, last year’s surprise winner Gareth Gates revealed he needed six weeks of therapy afterwards because it brought back memories of childhood bullying. The singer, 39, was put through his paces with tricky challenges, from crossing a 300ft ravine to enduring mock gas attacks and vicious fights. However, the toughest part for Gareth was the interrogations with the Directing Staff, which forced him to face his traumatic childhood.
Gareth Gates was asked to do the previous series of Celebrity SAS, but had to pull out after catching COVID
(Image: Pete Dadds/Channel 4)
“I’ve had a stammer my entire life, and it was mainly lads at school that mocked me for it,” explained Gareth to OK!. “But there was one boy that would sometimes hold me down and say, ‘I’m going to beat the words out of you.’ That would get a rise out of the rest of the kids, so it became entertainment. “I was five years old and it went on for about two years, so school was a very lonely place for me. Fortunately, my mum saw that something was wrong. She actually went into the school and managed to get to the bottom of it. Shortly after that, I figured out I was able to sing, and that was a big game changer for me. I could actually get words out for the first time. And more importantly for me, I gained the respect of my peers.” Gareth went on to compete on Pop Idol in 2002, where he came runner-up to Will Young. While he didn’t win the show, Gareth was signed by Simon Cowell ’s record label. “One of my greatest achievements from Pop Idol was that I was able to heighten the awareness of stammering,” says Gareth. “And to give anybody who has any form of affliction, to give them hope that you can achieve everything you’ve dreamed of and that you can be the person you want to be even though you have these things that hold you back.”
Gareth Gates in the 2002 Pop Idol final with Will Young
(Image: Fremantle Media/REX/Shutterstock)
Since Celebrity SAS aired, Gareth has received a huge number of messages on how he’s “inspired people to never give up” – but having to talk about his speech impediment, and the bullying that went on during his childhood years, left Gareth seeking therapy. “I needed to go to therapy afterwards because they tapped into it again,” he says. “I’ve hidden the trauma for so long and not talked about it. I’ve never let people see those scars, ever. On Pop Idol, I spoke about my speech, but I never told people the true extent of it. It’s a very personal thing, and so to do it in such a public way, I had to make a decision in my head to do that.” Gareth was actually asked to do the previous season of Celebrity SAS, but after training, he had to back out two days before filming because he got Covid. “I was so fortunate they asked me to do it a year later,” says Gareth. “But I had to start all my training again. I do think you train as hard as you can for the physical elements of the show, but I think it’s the mental resilience that gets people right through to the end. My speech was at its worst in the camp, and I think the reason for that is because I’m not great at confrontation, at being put on the spot. However, somehow, I dug deep, I managed to tap into that, and that’s what got me through it.”
Gareth Gates wrestling Amber Turner on the show
(Image: Pete Dadds/Channel 4)
As tough as it got, Gareth confesses he was never going to quit the process unless he had to. “It’s odd, I had something in my head where I told myself the only way I would leave is if I was to become injured, and they tell me I can’t go on,” says Gareth. “Leaving wasn’t an option for me. I can’t explain that, but that’s how I felt.” At home, Gareth has a huge support system, including his daughter Missy, who he shares with his ex-wife Suzanne Mole. “My daughter’s really, really proud of me. She loves watching the show – the whole family does,” says Gareth. “We have a family WhatsApp group and every time an episode is on, we all chat on there. The amount of support my family has given me is huge, and of course, it’s them who are the closest to seeing the hurt I went through as a kid. My dad had a stammer up until the age of 21, so he understands those feelings.”Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnGareth GatesPrinceSimon CowellWill YoungPop IdolCelebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins
