Gallery Producer / Director

Channel 4 | 8 × 60’ | 2025

A long-running Channel 4 documentary/reality format that puts civilian and celebrity recruits through a brutal, Special Forces-style selection process, SAS: Who Dares Wins remains one of British TV’s most intense and talked-about unscripted shows. The eighth celebrity season, featuring recruits from the UK and Australia, amplified the emotional and physical stakes with a head-to-head team format that kept audiences gripped through moments of triumph and real emotional breakdowns.

Filmed in the unforgiving Moroccan desert in peak summer, with temperatures regularly exceeding 45°C, the production required a directing approach that was both observational and agile. The authenticity of the SAS experience relies on maintaining a credible ‘bubble’ around recruits, meaning minimal producer interaction and a heavy reliance on fixed-rig gallery coverage.

Working as a gallery producer/director, I was responsible for editorial leadership across the fixed-rig system. With only four streams available to record at any time, decisive instinct was essential: identifying emergent story arcs, knowing which characters to prioritise, and relaying clear, distilled information to off-rig shooting teams so they could capture narrative-rich moments without being buried in logs.

I was also gently persuaded to go off-rig to shoot in the field, covering recruits in gruelling, hostile conditions, which gave me further perspective on the balance between intensity and empathy this show demands.

Critics and fans alike describe Celebrity SAS as one of the toughest shows on television.

Special Forces: World's Toughest Test

Gallery Producer / Director

FOX US | 9 × 60’ | 2025

An American adaptation of the British SAS: Who Dares Wins format, Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test pits celebrity recruits against militarised, hostile challenges designed to push them to their mental and physical limits. Across multiple international locations, including the brutal terrain of Morocco for Season 4, the series tests resilience, teamwork, and adaptability in a format built around the real rigours of special forces training.

Like its UK counterpart, the show relies on sustained immersion and observational coverage to capture unscripted reactions and authentic breakthroughs. As gallery producer/director, my role was to make rapid editorial decisions from live feeds, shaping the sequence of challenges into coherent narrative arcs while maintaining fidelity to the brutal demands of the course.

With no requirement for formal eliminations (only voluntary or medical withdrawals, and the occasiaonl culling at the DS’ discretion) the emotional and physical stakes remain raw throughout, and the editorial challenge was always to balance momentum with depth.