[narrator] Sixteen celebrities have enlisted in real military training.
Ten days to prove they can endure physically and emotionally.
No prizes, no special treatment.
This is Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.
[Remi] Let's go!
[narrator] The final stage of special forces selection...
-[Billy] Stand to! -...has begun.
[Remi] Grab your Bergen. Go! Run! Hurry up!
The camp has come under attack.
We're gonna withdraw through a safe passage.
Trusted agents will give us directions
to cross the border to safety.
[barking]
[Hannah] I can't tell where we are.
That's a flare. Come on, baby girl.
[narrator] A few hours ago, the last four recruits...
-[Danny] Get down. -...were sent on the run...
-That's the rendezvous point. -...in the Wadi Rum Desert.
This way.
Nothing sharpens the mind more,
than being hunted by the enemy.
Helicopter. We're like sitting ducks.
[Billy] Get the vehicles and lights over here!
[Danny] Put your light off. They can see us.
[narrator] Both teams were caught by enemy forces.
To be captured, it's every soldier's worst nightmare.
They have to go through the worst phase of selection:
interrogation.
[Billy] When I personally got captured,
I went through an array of emotions.
And the first one was disbelief. It didn't seem real.
But then when I've got an AK pushed in my mouth,
and nearly breaking my teeth,
see the captor's finger on the trigger,
then it became very real.
[narrators] Recruits are headed
for 12 hours of military-grade interrogation.
Once complete, the DS will decide
who has passed selection.
For this phase of the course,
the DS have enlisted a team of specialist interrogators.
Our work 90% of the time is behind the enemy lines.
Interrogation's the worst scenario
a special forces operator will find himself in.
You need to know how to survive it.
-Good seeing you. -How you doin', man?
-Well, thanks. You? -Good, good, good.
[Billy] Grab a seat.
[narrator] The interrogation team have
30 years' combined experience in war zones,
led by an adjudicator, known as The Umpire,
whose identity must be protected
due to the classified nature of his work.
[Rudy] Number 4, a beauty pageant queen.
Her career is all built on her looks and her presentation.
However, every task that she's gone into,
she's given it her everything,
and she's stronger even than she gives herself credit for.
16.
[Foxy] He is obviously the front-runner.
[Remi] Physically, he's crushed it,
but we don't just judge on that.
The chink in his armor is psychological.
Stressed, tired. That's his weakness.
Number 8, she's Stone Wall, that's what we call her,
because she shows no emotion.
She has been taught to not show people your weaknesses,
to not be vulnerable, you know.
But what are you gonna do
when something triggers everything off?
-Yeah. -She's physically one of the strongest people.
However, she's failed a lot of tasks.
OK, 13, he's our problem child.
Incredibly physically talented, incredibly big.
We expected him to be this guy,
'cause of his size, that's gonna crush it,
but he's half-assing it, or showing attitude, or being rude.
One thing that bothers his ego, he's ready to flare up.
[Umpire] All right, guys, thanks. Let's get them processed in.
Being in interrogation is brutal.
A lot of these celebrities will have watched films,
played video games.
[Dilksy] [bleep] move.
[Foxy] Then they think they know what it's all about.
They're gonna be in for a very, very rude awakening.
[Dwight] Ah, [bleep].
Step over.
This is where it counts now, you know.
This is psychological stuff.
It's the hardest fight on the course,
is the fight in the mind.
[narrator] Due to the high risk involved, The Umpire...
...is responsible
for the safety of the phase.
I am The Umpire, and I'm in charge of this phase.
Yes.
Raise my hand and ask for The Umpire.
[narrator] After being hunted across the desert,
recruits will now be subjected to 12 hours of interrogation.
Step up.
They will be closely monitored
to see if they can endure the mental duress.
The first stage is processing.
[Debs] Take it off, then.
Now we can talk face to face, can't we?
[Umpire] So this is about making the recruit feel vulnerable.
All right, start taking everything off now.
Go on, hurry up.
[Umpire] We make the recruits strip off all their clothing.
It ensures they understand that they're not in control.
-Who are you? -Danny.
-Who? -Danny.
Danny? How are ya?
-OK. -You don't look OK.
-Are you lying to me? -No.
Don't mess me about.
-I'll make your life a misery. -I know.
As a player going into a hostile environment,
a lot of drunk NFL fans talking about how bad you suck,
and you've just kind of gotta block it out.
It's not the same as war, but it's close.
-Bigger. Bigger. -Bigger.
You know it. Do you want some clothes?
Do I need 'em?
You wanna stay in your underpants for the whole time?
I'll take some clothes if you'd like to give them to me.
It's a wise guy smile...
...which can get you your teeth knocked out.
You know as well as I do,
a good big man beats a good little man.
-Don't piss me off. -I won't.
Don't mess me about. Let's not ruin these beautiful looks.
All right?
[Danny] I've never been interrogated before.
I feel like, given the opportunity,
I will not break.
So, how are you feeling?
-I'm OK. -Tough cookie.
[Carli] If I'm struggling, if I'm stressing,
I hide my emotions.
But people take that as being cocky, as being arrogant.
[Debs] Tell me a little bit about you.
-What would you like to know? -No, no, no.
I'm asking the questions.
[laughs] Yeah?
[Umpire] I think she's struggling with the lack of structure.
She doesn't know what this is about.
Completely out of her element.
OK, put that on.
OK, you need to start moving a little bit quicker, Hannah, OK?
-Do you understand? -Yes.
[Rudy] Throughout the interrogation,
the recruits must build rapport
so that they can make themselves
valuable enough to not be killed.
[Debs] Take your hood off, big boy.
[Rudy] And extend the time it takes
so that coalition forces can mount up a rescue team
to get them out of there.
I mean, how tall are you?
God. How tall?
Five eleven.
Five eleven?
I don't know what that means. What d'you mean, you wear stilts?
There's a lot of dark art in basketball.
It's all little mind games.
One of my methods is just saying crazy things on the court
that don't make sense.
You'll never know if I'm playing a game or if I'm being serious.
-How many children have you got? -20.
What are you, some kind of sperm donor?
His attitude is just bad.
Did you just kick your clothing then?
You told me to put it to the side.
I didn't tell you to kick it.
Don't tell me what I said and didn't say to you!
I don't like you. I do not like you at all.
He is not gonna do well with a woman screaming at him.
I think you're in a little bit of trouble,
so I think making people not like you is not helping.
Do you understand?
[Remi] He's been able to rely on his height and physicality,
and that's it, but it's just a big show, right?
He's not really showing that critical thinking
and mental toughness.
Absolutely.
[Umpire] If you enter the process
thinking that you're just gonna
butt heads with the interrogators,
you're not gonna get far into it
before you are punished.
And in the real world,
you make yourself a problem rather than an asset.
That only has one outcome.
Put your shoes on. Put your shoes on!
Quickly!
Now [bleep] move. Move.
[narrator] Number 13's uncooperative response
to the first stage of interrogation...
[Dwight yells]
...has led to cold-water punishment.
[yells]
Have a good think about it, all right?
-Gotcha. -Think, think, think.
You can start by [bleep] moving properly when you're told. Move.
[narrator] Recruits have been moved into a holding cell...
-Sit! -[groans]
...for the duration of the process.
-[baby cries on headphones] -[groans]
[narrator] When in here,
recruits will be subjected
to recordings of harrowing sounds
and held in stress positions.
[baby screaming on headphones]
[Danny] Dear God.
[narrator] All of which is designed
to break their resolve.
[Foxy] If you're not in an interrogation,
you're in the holding cell.
[groans]
[Foxy] The whole process catapults each recruit
into a space that they've never been in,
physically and psychologically.
It's hell.
[baby screaming on headphones]
-[fax bleeping on headphones] -Step up.
Step in.
[narrator] Recruits are entering
the second stage of interrogation.
Step up.
[narrator] They will now be questioned to uncover
why they were in the desert at night.
"You are in Wadi Rum for a celebrity photo shoot."
[narrator] 24 hours ago on camp,
recruits were given a cover story
as part of their evade-and-capture training.
[Danny] "The American Ambassadors for Animals project
for the Arabian wolf."
[Billy] The cover story, it keeps you alive
for a prolonged amount of time.
They key is build a rapport,
but don't get [bleep] cocky.
If you have a [bleep] attitude, say goodbye to your toenails.
[narrator] First in, Number 8, Carli Lloyd.
Sit down there.
[narrator] And Number 4, Hannah Brown.
[clears throat]
Carli. What you doing in this country?
It's a celebrity photo shoot.
Um, it's a campaign, Forget the Fur,
with, uh... Alberian, um...
Albanian... gray wolves.
Albanian gray wolves?
-Arabian gray wolves. -Arabian gray wolves.
Oh.
Why are you doing a photo shoot?
So, I'm a public figure, in a way.
I was on a few TV shows and...
Are you famous?
I don't like to use that word, but people know who I am.
It's a good answer. Modest.
For me, my whole life, it's been to, like, smile
and pretend like everything is OK.
But when I started getting, like, negativity
and trolls on social media,
I think I hit my rock bottom.
And it was like, OK, I can either, like, sit here and sulk,
or I'm going to climb my way out.
So, what were you doing out in the desert?
We were just going to try to find these wolves,
see if we could see them.
-Just on your own? -Yes.
-At night? -Yes.
Without a guide?
Yes.
Unbelievable.
This whole story.
Ah...
[Umpire] This is painful.
Say tonight you bump into poachers.
Poachers have guns.
What do you do?
Well, the guy that I was with is pretty tough.
What was your friend called?
Uh, his name's Danny.
What's his second name?
Amendalo.
Armadillo?
Close enough.
So why did you guys go out at night
into the desert without a guide?
I think because we are all celebrities
and maybe a little bit too confident.
And then we ended up getting lost.
She said off their own back, we did go out, we weren't prepared,
we weren't good, and we got lost.
[John] There's another word for it, and it's not "confident."
Idiotic. Stupid.
Most likely, yes.
-[Hannah] What are you drinking? -Coffee.
-Is it time to drink coffee? -Always time.
She's keeping him away from the story.
[Dilksy] Have you got anything else for me?
Mm-mm.
Anyway, that's enough for me for now.
[narrator] Despite an uncertain start, Number 8, Carli Lloyd...
Hopefully we can get all this sorted out.
...and Number 4, Hannah Brown,
managed to keep their cover story intact.
[baby screaming on headphones]
[Foxy] Number 16 looks to be in a right state.
He's not holding the positions.
Well, he does have the shoulder injury.
[groans]
[narrator] Recruits are now halfway
through the interrogation process.
They've not eaten in 12 hours.
[Dilksy] Sit up.
[narrator] And Number 13,
NBA All-Star Dwight Howard...
He's on the floor talking to the big guy. Why?
...is passed out on the floor.
[Dilksy] I think he needs a check with the doc.
[Dilksy] Sit up.
[narrator] Number 13, NBA All-Star Dwight Howard,
is unresponsive.
Sit up. Sit up for me.
Do you need to see the doctor?
The doctor.
Do you need to see the doctor?
All right, stand up. Up.
Right, step up and mind your head.
Lean against this wall.
Number 13, how are you feeling?
OK. Just lift up your T-shirt for me.
[Billy] Part of the interrogation process
is about breaking you down.
Take a deep breath in.
[Billy] Making you feel weak.
[doctor] And out.
[Billy] Making you feel exhausted.
Trying to catch your breath?
And it's at their most vulnerable times when we strike.
[Billy] And at that point, then we'll push you to a limit
that will create that crack in your mindset
where you will give up the truth.
[doctor] You were cold.
Everything else for you is good.
Hood on.
-[grunts] -Stand up here.
[narrator] Number 13 has been declared fit to carry on.
Step up.
So now he's being pulled in for questioning.
[Billy] Right.
Dwight, isn't it?
Right.
Are you cold?
A little bit.
Do you want some dry clothes?
I could use a dry shirt.
If you want a dry shirt, let's have a chat.
All right, we can have a chat.
It's amazing how much he's perked up.
[Dilksy] So how come you're here?
What's the photo shoot for?
Have you heard about the Arabian wolf?
Yeah.
A lot of people want their fur, basically.
All right, he's trying now.
Are they big?
I would say about 26 inches.
-Like a fox? -You can say that.
[Debs] It is really rare to see somebody
that is better at the cover story, building rapport,
than they are about... talking about themselves.
You need anything else?
Any more information?
You are being honest with me, aren't ya?
I don't even know you. What's the reason to lie?
Why'd he have to be such a dick at the start?
[Umpire] Yeah.
Do you wanna change the top?
I would love to.
He's like a different person.
I really think it's 'cause it's you.
[both] 'Cause it's a female.
[baby screaming on headphones]
[grunts]
[narrator] Seven hours into the interrogation phase,
the intense pressure of the holding cell
is taking its toll.
[fax bleeping on headphones]
[Foxy] Those noises are really getting to Number 16.
[Danny] That's too much.
[baby screaming on headphones]
[Danny grunts]
[narrator] NFL star Danny Amendola is struggling.
He's taken his hood off, though.
[Billy] He's only really done
the first part of the process, right?
-Yeah. -Do you reckon this is it?
[Danny] This is a personal challenge.
It's all about completing this thing, man.
I wanna get to the end.
[Billy] This'll be interesting.
[Danny] I will do everything in my power to finish,
but will I have the intangibles to get through
is... is something, you know, that we'll find out.
Yes.
I can't stand it anymore.
The noises.
No, I mean, my hips are hurting and my shoulder's [bleep] up.
Yeah, I'm done. Thank you.
I'm ready to go.
[groans]
[Billy] Interrogation is designed
not to see how physically strong you are
but how mentally strong you are.
It doesn't matter whether you're the biggest, the strongest, the fittest.
You need to be strong mentally to make it as an operator.
[bleep] you doing in here?
-Get back in there. -No, [bleep] no.
Give me your armband.
Yeah, it's tough, innit? You gave it a good shot.
I know you've had a bad injury.
-Great effort, mate. -Thank you.
[narrator] With only five hours to go,
Danny Amendola becomes the 13th recruit to leave selection.
[Danny] The hardest part of this whole process
was the interrogation.
That was the hardest thing I've ever done.
I couldn't do it. So they got the best of me there.
But I am proud of making it this far.
-[baby screaming on headphones] -[Dwight grunts]
[Hannah groans]
[fax bleeping on headphones]
[grunts]
[narrator] One recruit gone, and four hours remaining.
Move.
Number 4 and 8 are back in for questioning...
Steps up. To the side.
...with a new ploy from the interrogators' playbook.
Over.
We're gonna do a simple question and answer session.
When I tell you, write your answer on there.
-Do you understand? -[Carli] Yeah.
Yes.
[John] This is your chance now
to tell us what's happening.
OK, so your first question.
I want the name of your emergency contact. Go.
[narrator] According to their cover story,
the emergency contact is Olivia Webber.
All right, let's have a look at your answers, then.
Who was your emergency contact?
I said: Olivia Webber. No contact info.
Right. You, read out your answer.
So, I mistakenly put my husband.
[John] That's quite interesting.
Question two.
What was the name of your local guide?
My days. This is painful, isn't it?
You either know or you don't know.
[John] You know what, Number 8, if you just continue
to stare at that piece of paper,
I'll say that you've written your answer and that's it then.
This is crap! Absolute bull!
-You're lying to us! -We're not.
I know for a fact you are!
Do you want me to keep going at you?
Or do you want me to go at you?
-Do you want some as well? -No.
I know it's absolute crap! You're lying!
[John] Has that refreshed your memory a bit, has it?
You're lying to us!
[John] Has that refreshed your memory?
We're telling the truth.
You didn't tell the truth there, did ya?
Look at me. You carry on smiling, this'll all change.
-Do you understand?! -Yes.
[narrator] Nine hours into interrogation...
[Dilksy] You've had your chance.
...and the recruits' cover story has crumbled.
Step down.
[narrator] The remaining recruits now enter
the final stage of interrogation,
facing a threat to their life.
[Rudy] Once the interrogators find cracks in the cover story,
they will ramp up the pressure.
The key in staying alive is making themselves
valuable enough to not be killed...
Sit down.
...so the interrogators think
that you still have more to give.
[John] Stay still.
[Rudy] If these recruits fail to come clean
when their life is in danger,
they will fail this course.
Me and my colleagues think
that you're very disrespectful towards me.
Is that the case? Look at me when I'm talking to you.
-Is that the case? -No.
-No? -Not at all.
You're not giving me any attitude? No?
Taking ages to do things when I tell you to do them.
The thing is, I want to help you,
but you're not... you're not getting it up here, are you?
I want you to recognize that you shouldn't be rude to me.
-Do you understand that? -I think I do.
Do you understand that?
Not just the big, bald guys
with big tattoos and big muscles.
'Cause it's got nothing to do with brute force and muscles.
It's got to do with what's in your head,
and there's not a lot going on in your head.
Throughout my lifetime, I've been heckled
by the worst of the worst.
I've been called the worst type of names.
So on the course I'm probably not going to let people see
that it's affecting me.
I want you to get in the box.
And for me it's just... stay locked in.
Sit down.
Dwight, can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
Oh, yes, ma'am.
[Debs] Yeah, speak and answer me more quickly!
He needs to talk.
[Debs] You're in a box in the ground.
You're in trouble now, Dwight, aren't ya?
[narrator] Number 13 is in the last stage of interrogation,
but in order to survive, he must now reveal
he is training with the special forces.
[Remi] It may feel like it's the right thing to stay silent,
but you have to give something.
Dwight, I don't know whether you are genuinely dumb
or just pissing me off on purpose.
[Remi] I don't think he fully understands what's going on.
You give me a bit of information.
If I like it, I will let you out.
I wanna hear something
that's gonna make you interesting to me.
Go!
Is that the end of our conversation?
[narrator] For Number 13...
Have you got anything else you'd like to say to me?
...it's his last chance.
I'm ready to die.
He'd have been surely executed right now.
-[sand thuds] -[Debs] Dwight.
Dwight, I wanna hear something
that's gonna make you interesting to me.
Go!
I'm ready to die.
[Debs] Stand up.
[narrator] Number 13, NBA All-Star Dwight Howard,
has reached a critical point in interrogation.
-[groans] -[Debs] Put that on your head.
As a special forces operator, you should think very carefully
about how you act.
Stand up.
[Foxy] Interrogators aren't gonna waste
much time over you.
If you annoy them, it could cost people their lives.
[Remi] We're here to help you understand why you failed.
We gave you guys the training yesterday on what to do.
The key thing was to keep yourself alive.
You had to build rapport.
I thought I did with the one guy.
I really just didn't wanna talk to the lady that much.
Why didn't you wanna talk to her?
-She just annoyed me. -That's their job, brother.
What do you think would have happened
if this was a real-world scenario?
Well, I probably would have got killed.
You would have been killed.
This is where the road ends for you.
But it was an honor and pleasure training you.
Thank you.
13. I'll need your armband.
[Dwight] The lessons that I've learnt from this experience
will really just help me become a better teammate,
a better man, a better father.
And my heart is full with gratitude
because of this opportunity.
It was awesome.
[narrator] With just an hour to go,
Dwight Howard is the 14th recruit to leave the course.
Now only two recruits remain.
Number 4 and 8 will face
the final threat-to-life test together.
[Debs] Down.
These girls are tough.
[John] Step.
[narrator] To survive, the recruits must now disclose
their link to the special forces.
[Debs] Move forward. Move.
-[grunts] -OK, down.
[Debs] Move, move, move.
[Dilksy] Take your hoods and blindfolds off for me.
Now, then, my little pedigree chums,
why do you think you two are sat in a hole?
Do you think it's good news or bad news?
You're absolutely right.
'Cause I think you two little rascals have been lying.
What happens next?
What happens?
You two have a little chat about how you want the outcome to be.
'Cause it's totally in your [bleep] hands, isn't it?
-Isn't it? -[both] Yes.
Lid.
[Foxy] If you find yourself buried in a box
in 110-degree heat...
[Dilksy] So, if you have a chat
and then tell me when you're ready.
...it's then that you start talking about
being in the special forces.
Come on, girls.
Because, ultimately, if you don't,
the interrogators will kill you.
[Dilksy] You getting things sorted in there?
She's looking at her like, "Should we say something?"
-Oh! -OK?
-OK. -OK. OK.
[knocking lid]
Don't you look a picture!
Now, come on. What have you got to tell me?
The lid'll close again.
We're in, um... Jordan
working with the British and American special forces.
[Billy] Bingo!
-Is this the truth? -[both] Yes.
You may have just saved your own lives.
-[Rudy] To the wire. -[Umpire] Good girl.
-That was really good teamwork. -It was.
Really good teamwork.
Put your hoods and your goggles back on.
But at the end of the day, our decision is not just based
off of interrogation.
If a recruit survives interrogation,
that is not a guarantee that they will pass this course.
We have to decide, does this recruit have what it takes
to be by my side or to watch my back?
I mean, multiple-time Olympian athlete, World Cup champion,
and Miss Alabama.
You would think they would be nowhere near
the same level of grit, of toughness, of intelligence.
Stellar performance by both of 'em.
Four's been consistently good.
We're gonna run it right up!
[Rudy] That's it! Excellent technique.
-That's the best one so far. -Thank you.
She's had her wobbles, but we all do, and they all have.
It all comes back to,
"Would I wanna go to war with this person?"
And for her, she does have a restriction.
She needs more confidence.
-Why are you crying? -I'm good.
[Billy] Get your head up there now!
Stand up straight! Now!
Number 8... the fact that a number of challenges
she hasn't got through.
That could be, "Where's the explosives?
We can't get into the building."
[Rudy] Gas, gas!
-[coughing] -[Rudy] Fail!
She failed a lot, but, at the end of the day,
we're looking for a person at times
who learns from their mistakes
and then gets back into the fight,
and that's what she has done.
Fight! That's it! Let's go, Eight!
Punch! Punch! Winner!
Go! Keep pushing!
[Billy] Well done.
[sighs]
-What time is it? -I have no idea.
[door opens]
[man] Stand up.
[narrator] Having given up their cover story
with only moments to spare,
Number 4, Bachelorette Hannah Brown,
and Number 8, former soccer star Carli Lloyd,
have successfully completed the final phase
of the Special Forces: World's Toughest Test.
[Foxy] Now we as the DS have to decide
whether they are worthy of standing next to us in battle.
Step down.
[Carli] If I complete the course,
I would probably feel more satisfied
than what I did in my career.
I've played on so many incredible teams,
but I'm doing this on my own.
[Hannah] I want to win,
I want to have that recognition,
because I've let fear hold me back for a long time.
Number 4, Number 8,
you have passed this phase.
But passing one phase is never enough.
Number 4, step forward.
Number 8, step forward.
We have assessed you physically, mentally and emotionally.
Do you possess the grit,
the determination and the toughness
to be by our side?
Congratulations.
-You've just passed our course. -Oh, my...
Number 8, your ability to bounce back from failure
is utterly commendable.
You are truly stoic.
[Remi] Your ability to take on instructions,
apply them and get the job done,
that's why you're here.
Thank you, staff.
Number 4, we underestimated you. We were proven wrong.
Your effort, your attitude, it was exceptional.
I asked you a question: why are you here?
And the answer's simple: 'cause you deserve to be.
-Well done. -Thank you, staff.
[Rudy] Come on up on the platform.
This side.
-Congratulations. Well done. -Thank you.
-Congratulations -Thank you so much.
[Rudy] These fortunate recruits
now have an insight into our world.
Through this process,
they've become better versions of themselves.
-[all laugh] -[Foxy] Awesome.
[Rudy] It's a change that will impact their lives
and affect all those around you.
You put a shift in and you both deserve it.
Get yourself into the accommodation and get yourselves changed.
-Away you go. -Thank you, guys.
Well done.
I'm so proud of us.
[Carli] I think I realized a lot more about myself.
Throughout my soccer career, I was numb to a lot of things.
[Remi] Great work. Time to go home.
[Carli] Now I feel like I just have
a totally different perspective on life,
letting my emotions flow
and enjoying everything that I have.
[Hannah] I have let fear win in the past,
but I just feel so much more confident.
I'm just really proud to be standing here,
making it to the end.
But I cannot wait to have a real shower
and wash my hair.
[Foxy] For these celebrities to pass this course
takes grit and determination.
It's not about being the fittest,
the fastest, the strongest.
It is all about what you've got in your head.
It's about character.