Original subtitles

This programme contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing

and strong language from the outset.

Selection for the SAS is a test like no other.

We are looking for people that don't fit the mould.

That are willing to break the rules.

That have got a maverick element about them.

To find that, it takes men to a world far from our own.

In this series, an elite team of ex-special forces soldiers

is putting 25 civilians...

Submerge yourselves!

..through the toughest stage of selection.

Jungle phase is selection.

If you can soldier in the jungle,

you can soldier anywhere.

Let's go!

Each task based on the real process.

You are fighting for a place on this course.

Operating in the harshest environment known to man...

Some of us are that close to passing out.

..each recruit must go beyond the physical...

How many chances do you want? One more, staff.

..to come face-to-face with their true character.

In my head, the demons are there, always saying,

"Am I good enough to be here?"

GUNSHOT, SCREAMING

This is where we find out, do people run,

or do people fight?

I just want to see your heads.

No other test asks as much...

SOBBING

..or means as much...

..to the few who make it through.

I was an active member of the SAS for 18 years.

My first mission was during the Bosnian campaign.

I actually got captured

and taken for interrogation.

I remember seeing people kneeling in the mud, shaven heads,

skinny as hell, thinking, "What the fuck are they doing?"

And then realised, "Shit, they're prisoners of war."

While we were being taken away,

one of the security guards, who did the torturing,

put an AK-47 in my mouth and cocked it.

I was thinking, "Hang on a minute, this is in my mouth,

"and the safety catch is off."

Then it kind of became real. "Oh, fuck, I'm in trouble."

Because of the training that we do,

you never look at a situation of...

this is where you're going to be killed,

this is where death is going to be taking place.

It's always about, "How do I get out of this?"

"What's the best move for me now?"

RAISED VOICES

The selection course is nearing its end.

The remaining recruits now face

the most psychologically demanding 24 hours.

Hurry up! Stop sparking.

Hurry up. Get up here!

Eight days ago, 25 men entered the jungle.

Only six are left.

Stop!

Go. Argh!

They were ambushed this morning, returning from an exercise

SHOUTING

The recruits will now be detained

and interrogated.

The key components to interrogation is to stay alive,

to buy yourself as much time as possible.

DOG BARKS

And do not antagonise your interrogators.

The interrogation is run by a specialist unit

with more than 30 years' experience in war zones and SAS selection.

After completing a river trip today, they've been ambushed.

Their aim is to expose the recruits' lies,

or force them to reveal too much personal information.

The more we can mess you up, mentally and emotionally,

the more it's going to work in our favour.

The process is overseen by one man,

known as the umpire.

He cannot be identified for security reasons.

Take off your hood.

I'm the umpire for this phase.

Anything that affects my family,

whether it being someone bad-mouthing,

or something bad that's happened to my family,

it really...angers me.

Controlling my temper, I just try my best.

If you need to see me,

raise your hand and ask for the umpire.

The next time you see me

should be at the end of this phase for you.

Do you understand?

I'm happy with my personality, I'm happy with my character,

I'm happy with my fitness.

Not one thing that stands out that would be a weakness for me.

Step.

Step! Step!

Walk.

The interrogation starts with what is known as harshing.

THEY ALL SHOUT

Straight away, we need to get

your fight or flight chemicals rushing around your body.

You are not in control.

Your body is telling you to fight or run away,

but you can't do either,

so it's confusing,

um, the shock of capture.

THE SCREAM AND SHOUT

The DS and umpire observe the recruits

and will remove anyone whose performance might get them killed

in a real-life situation.

He didn't know what the fuck was going on there.

What's your name?

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

You should never piss the interrogators off.

Facial expressions, the tone in which you answer.

The standard stuff that pisses people off.

Deciding how much information to release is critical.

Too much could compromise others.

Are you going to make me ask for a second time?!

Too little could antagonise the interrogators.

WHAT'S YOUR FUCKING NAME?

Stephen. Stephen what?!

Compton.

What is your NAME?

Mo. What's your surname?

Musa.

Musa?

What's your full name?

Charlie King.

Both Moses and Charlie have given false surnames.

It's completely pointless to lie about your name.

They find out that you're lying,

you could potentially have a bullet

in the back of your head before you know it.

What's your name?

Andy. Andy what?

Just Andy.

No, it isn't "just Andy".

On your passport, was not stamped "just fucking Andy".

So, just Andy, full name.

Full name.

Name.

Name. Name. NAME. NAME.

FUCKING NAME!

It pisses me off just looking at him. He needs to start

thinking a bit more on his feet. He's a bright lad.

HE GRUNTS Fucking hell.

Last in for harshing is number 19, Mohammed.

Oh, fucking hell, chill, man.

Fucking English? Sorry?

ARE YOU FUCKING ENGLISH?! I am, yeah.

WHAT'S YOUR NAME? Mohammed.

Mohammed what? Abdul Razzaq.

Right, where are you from, Mohammed?

I'm from Manchester. Really(?)

I do my best to be in control.

I fight with myself mentally. "Mohammed, you're a grown man."

You fucking twat. Hood him.

When something happens and it's a shock,

my emotions do kick in.

He is fragile.

He's not liking it at all.

He's hating every minute of it.

So he would be a one...

After each phase, the interrogators

mark the recruit's performance out of four.

Number 19 has been a right fucking pain.

He didn't like that bag over his head,

he didn't like the hostility

of a different person taking control of him.

He's going to upset a few people.

Let's see what he's like on the next one.

Resistance to interrogation was the hardest phase for me.

The only thing that you're in control of is your own mind.

And that's a very, very scary situation to be in.

LOUD RECORDINGS PLAY: BABY CRYING, HAMMERING, DRILL

Between phases, recruits are held in stress positions

and subjected to loud and deliberately distressing noise.

I had a constant audio clip of a woman being attacked.

And a little girl, her daughter, being there, watching the assault.

I think they done it because I have family,

I have children, I have a wife.

And it did really, really grind me down.

I think another hour or two of that

would have really damaged me psychologically.

The next stage of interrogation is processing.

Processing is non-confrontational.

It's designed, basically, to disarm them, because they're expecting

people screaming and shouting in their face.

What I suggest we do, Mohammed,

is you stand up first, take off your top.

Once again, Mohammed must choose how much to give away.

What I want you to do is to give me a name

of somebody

that can verify who you are.

One person.

What about your parents?

I don't...I don't remember mobile numbers, to be honest.

Where do your parents live?

In Manchester.

Whereabouts?

In Sale. In Sale? Right.

His brain is ticking over, isn't it?

He is digging himself a bigger and bigger hole.

If you give away your family's information straightaway,

then all they're simply going to do

is divert their attention onto your loved ones.

Onto your family.

And that will get any man to talk.

And what is your dad's name, please?

Razzaq.

Good lad.

HE CHUCKLES

He's not thinking on his feet, is he?

You can tell he's mentally drained.

I've got a cut...as well.

What?

I'm just very tired. Mohammed. I'm not been treated very well...

Mohammed, stop pissing me about.

I need a wee. I've not had anything to drink.

You can have some Earl Grey, if you like. Do you want some Earl Grey?

Oh, that would be great, to be honest. Right, then. OK.

Frankly, I've had enough.

Scores speak for themselves. His attitude and his demeanour,

he's constantly thinking he can do was he wants.

Realise where you are.

He'd probably have a fucking bullet in the back of his head.

And they'd probably do it in front of the others

just to fucking wake them up a bit.

Mohammed's deteriorating performance

has forced the DS to make a decision.

Take your hood off.

You have been withdrawn from this phase.

Fuck's sake!

Mohammed, come this way.

Listen, relax. You just weren't coping well.

Or you didn't cope in the right manner.

Basically, from the moment you were captured,

you were showing aggression, resistance.

You were effing and blinding.

HE EXHALES

It's like you're putting up a red flag.

Drawing attention to yourself every time.

I hate failing. But you haven't failed,

that's the thing about it, mate, you haven't failed.

Your integrity is unquestionable.

Look how far you've come.

I showed no emotion in my selection.

I couldn't afford to show any emotion.

I'm quite aggressive.

When people provoke me,

I can sometimes react in a way that wouldn't favour me.

And that's what selection is all about.

Can you turn your emotions off?

But yet still have the intellect to be able to give them what they want?

We do this sort of training because

the chances of getting captured in the Special Forces are high.

Half the time,

you're in a country where everyone pretty much wants to kill you.

We want to see if they can adapt to being in that situation.

The prestige behind capturing and killing an SF soldier's big.

We're a trophy prize, I'd say.

RECORDING OF BABY SCREAMING

Ten hours into interrogation, and five recruits are left.

Before being captured, they were given a briefing by the DS.

During your mission,

if you are captured...

..you have to have a cover story.

Where have you come from?

How do you know each other?

And don't give us out some bullshit, cos they're going to dig deep.

Get them talking.

Make sure your cover story's tight.

Is that understood?

ALL: Yes, Staff.

To conceal that they are on a military course,

the recruits have come up with a cover story

that they are charity relief workers.

What are you doing in this fucking country, you twat?

I... I volunteered to help the relief effort

for the earthquake.

The interrogators now test how well they can defend that cover.

Working for a charity.

Is that your bag? Yes or no?

I have had a bag like that before.

I don't know if that bag is specifically mine.

What are you doing here?

Today, we were trekking.

So you're walking through the jungle...

I know it sounds a bit...

It sounds a bit what?

Sounds strange, but...

It sounds a lie.

HE EXHALES

Sit yourself down.

All right.

Can I have your name, please?

Earlier in the course,

recruit 16, cyclist Andy,

was forced into an admission.

So, yeah, I'm serving a four-year ban for taking banned substances.

Did you take them?

Yes.

Fucking let your team down, didn't you?

But they got fucking stripped of their medals, didn't they?

Yeah. Yeah.

First name's Andy.

Second name?

I can't answer that question.

What's your birthplace?

I can't answer that question.

He's not going to do it himself any favours, there, is he?

Andy's military-style response

is at odds with the group's cover story

that they are civilian charity workers.

All right, then. Take that shirt off.

Why have you got an American supply kit?

Standard issue from the charity.

Standard issue?

That was a bit military sounding, wasn't it?

Have you got something to hide?

I've got nothing to hide.

So why are you being evasive?

I think all the choices that you make in life

are to do with you as a person.

Put those on.

The trait I like the least about myself

would be my sort of lifestyle and selfishness.

Although I'm not racing any more,

I still train a lot.

And it doesn't really sort of fit in with everyone else's lifestyle.

So that's probably the...

the part that most people don't like about me.

You are that shining fucking beacon

that's telling us there's something more about you lot

than meets the eye.

You've been very fucking helpful, Mr Evasive.

Guard!

Mentally, he's bolshie and antagonistic.

He's shit on himself, he's shit on his mates,

he's the guy that has totally fucked up.

You two gentlemen, look towards him.

You two gentlemen,

do you know who that man is?

On operations, teamwork is vital.

It's the only way.

Do you know who this gentleman is?

If you're not a team player,

you're going to fail miserably.

Because it literally comes down to life or death.

Everything he's been asked,

he's responded with some sort of military response.

And as you've all been together...

..we now suggest that you're some sort of military operation.

This gentleman

has blown your cover.

This is the man who's going to make you suffer from now on.

RECORDING OF BABY SCREAMING

You've got no idea of time,

you just don't know how long it's going on for.

You're trying to guess,

and trying to make up your mind what time it could be,

but you just don't know.

And it just goes on and on and on.

You just don't know how you're going to sit in the stress positions,

and the constant noise in your ears.

And you take it step-by-step.

You know, and you break those minutes down into seconds,

and you break it down even further and further and further.

I just thought about simple things in life.

Soon I'll be in the pub,

I'll in the supermarket...

It's freedom.

I used to have that trolley going down the aisles.

I used to stop at certain products,

the ones I used to really like,

and, "Yeah, I'll put that in the basket."

Cadbury's Fruit And Nut. Yeah.

A captive should try not to stand out.

If you're disliked,

usually because you've shown a flicker of arrogance

or non-compliance,

then it makes it far easier

for somebody to decide that they will dispense with you.

Your only ammunition is your personality.

What's your name?

Andy.

Andy is given one final chance.

If he doesn't give his name,

and he doesn't start talking,

he's off the course.

I want your full name, Andy.

Your full name.

Andy Hastings.

Good boy.

Andy's given his name.

Date of birth?

You thinking about pissing about again?

Are you?

He needs to start talking a little bit,

even if it's irrelevant information.

Give...her...something, number 16.

What are you going to do

to get yourself out of this mess?

I want your date of birth.

Date of fucking birth!

Oh, he didn't like that!

You've just had your last chance, love.

He was strong throughout the course... Yeah.

but his situational awareness is fucking...DOA.

I believe we're actually wasting our time on him.

Take off your hood.

It is now over.

Andy is the second recruit to be culled.

HE SIGHS

How you feeling, Andy?

My fucking body is shutting down.

Come on over here, mate.

Oh, that is just brutal.

Once I gave them my name, it was...

You're meant to give them your name. It's fine.

That's when you have to think outside the box.

If you think you're doing well by giving them no information at all,

that's not the thinking soldier that we're looking for.

Because all that's telling us is when you're at your lowest ebb,

when you're physically and mentally drained,

you can't think on your own two feet.

Nothing's worth dying for. Yeah.

If you got a fucking gun at your head,

just killed your fucking mate in front of you,

going to fucking do you next...

Why are you here?

"OK. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

OK?

Just humanises them, just chatting fucking shit.

The recruits have now been deprived of sleep and food

for more than 24 hours.

Hoods and blindfolds off.

Welcome, gentlemen.

Have a good look round.

The interrogators use their fatigue to see if any of them trip up.

'You've got to downplay what it is you actually are there for'

and make yourself less important.

This is where you have to be savvy

and understand what it is that you're giving away.

You have to try and make it something

that's just not really going to have any effect.

When you were a child, where did you live?

There was... I can't remember, but it was, it was East London.

Did you go to school there?

I was at school for a year, then I got kicked out.

Which school did you go to?

They had... Their logo was on the left, it was round.

And there was, like, a woman praying in the middle.

Was it a Catholic school? Is that your religion?

What religion are you?

I don't, I don't define religion.

Good man. Well done.

Guard!

Moses stays close to the truth

and, by keeping his answers vague, buys time.

Step.

Charlie has a different strategy.

What's your full name?

Charlie King.

He's created a cover story and is using the pseudonym Charlie King.

Hi, Charlie. All right?

Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you.

You feel what? Fine, thank you.

Earlier in the course,

Charlie was identified as emotionally vulnerable.

The big "but" with him, in terms of emotional stability,

he's lowest of the group.

But went on to impress with his leadership skills.

We're on 18, so for about another 120 metres.

There are penalties to be paid if you lie to us. Yeah? Understood.

Let's start with a blank sheet of paper.

'There's no denying I had a very fortunate upbringing.'

I have very loving parents who loved each other.

Where did you go to school?

Garendon School. Garendon?

I got lots of opportunities at school.

My father-in-law is a bit of a character

and...he calls me "a posh one".

What sort of school's Garendon?

It's a comprehensive. It's a comprehensive?

Where?

In Leicestershire. Right. OK.

The problem I have is I don't believe you, I'm sorry.

If he's sticking to the Charlie King story,

then he's doing well with it.

He really needs to turn up the fucking...whoosh.

Guard!

THUNDER RUMBLES

BABY CRYING RECORDING

After 21 hours, the stress is taking its toll.

It's designed to ground you down.

MAN GROANS

Stripped down to your bare essentials,

both physically and mentally.

And before you know it, you're either handing your armband in,

or you're just opening yourself up to a whole world of pain.

Hot in here, isn't it?

It is. INTERROGATOR GROANS

Number ten, Steven, is struggling mentally.

So, where do you live?

HE SIGHS AND MUMBLES

I can't think straight.

Number ten.

He's in shit state.

He's running on empty, I think.

He's hit a brick wall, hasn't he? And he fucking knows it as well.

MAN GROANS

Number 20's physically fucked. Can't sit up.

He's groaning and "urgh".

The condition of Jon is worrying the DS and the medics.

JON PANTS

'I was involved in a road traffic accident.

'I was cycling home from work,

'a car pulled out into my path,

'and I basically had nowhere to go.'

The result of that accident was I suffered quite bad head injuries.

I had bleeding of the brain.

OK? I'm fucked. Fucked.

You're fucked? What, literally?

JON SIGHS

'It's made me refocus.'

I don't want to look back on life and regret not pushing my limits

and seeing what I could've achieve.

I'm in so much pain. Pain? Pain. Where?

Everywhere. Stress positions.

Number 20, if he goes on any more,

he's just going to do himself a whole world of pain, you know?

And also, number ten, mentally, he's just in bits.

He's spent.

I think their time's up. They can't go any further.

They can't go any further, no.

I have to inform you that you are being

withdrawn from the exercise now.

Jon, how you doing?

Gutted. Come on.

You are being withdrawn from the exercise now.

Steven, how you doing?

How you feeling? Fragile?

You all right? STEVEN CLEARS THROAT

'The addictions, the gambling'

has taken away a lot.

'Pride and my self-confidence.'

You've done well. Come on.

Can only get stronger, and I will, yeah,

eventually 100% gain everything back that I lost.

It's a lot to fucking learn. I never want to hear a baby cry again.

I know, it's horrendous, isn't it?

Fucking hell. It's fucking horrendous.

The way that you've just dealt with things and got on with things,

and...it's just...

I really, really hope that you go back

and you hold your head high - both of you.

Just two recruits remain - Moses and Charlie.

Watch it...

Over the last eight days, they've forged a close friendship.

Based on my upbringing,

I don't often hang out with people like yourself.

MOSES LAUGHS

And it's vice versa, though. You would probably cross the road

if you saw me in the street, wouldn't you?

Put your phone away, everything.

Moses also revealed that he'd spent time in prison.

In 2012, I got a four-year sentence for bank robbery.

Armed?

There was no weapons involved. I was just a snatch and grab.

'They put me inside the segregation unit,'

and I spent a lot of time in there.

I think the longest I was in at any one go was 28 days.

I structured myself. I gave myself things to do.

I got a newspaper.

You know, I would read a section every hour

I'll read a line every five minutes.

It took me two days to read a paper, but it saved my life.

Moses has been keeping his answers vague.

Now the interrogators want to pin him down.

Mo?

You all right?

Have this. Sip it.

He's playing. Fucking playing. Yeah.

I think you're really struggling today cos it's hot.

I'm struggling cos I think I don't I deserve to be here.

I remember, from the age of six, seven,

arriving at Heathrow at the airport from Nigeria.

The first thing that I will never forget was it was cold.

Smoke coming out my mouth. And I was like, "What is this?"

And everywhere I go, I just kept blowing

and I saw white smoke coming out my mouth,

and I didn't understand the concept of that.

It was a whole other world for me,

and it took me a good couple of years to adjust.

I must have done something wrong to deserve this.

Do you think it's got anything to do with the fact that

you were in trouble a few years ago?

I was in trouble a few years ago,

but I have given back so much of me to the world.

He's not changing his demeanour.

It's always really slow movements, slowly talking.

He's mirroring the approach.

'If you mirror a person's'

tone, register -

as in the words that they choose to use -

it's a way of feeling an affinity with somebody else.

And if they can do that, as a prisoner,

it's going to be a big advantage to you.

Are they your brothers, then?

They're my biological Mum's kids.

I went out there to build them a house.

He knows how to work people,

and whether it's manipulative or not, it borders that.

I reckon he's picked that up through the life experiences he has.

He's a survivor. Yeah.

So far, Charlie has defended his lies.

But the interrogators have a new line of attack.

Can you confirm to me that your name is Charlie King?

That's right.

Garendon school? That's right.

Leicester? That's right.

Because, do you know what?

My sources have come up with something very fucking interesting.

There is a Charlie King...

..at that school.

But they're a teacher.

He is now in a fucking world of pain, isn't he? Yeah.

He's going to have to dig deep now to fucking stay in this game.

RECORDING OF BABY CRYING

Two recruits remain

on the resistance to interrogation phase of selection.

Number six, Charlie...

and number nine, Moses.

The 24 hours are nearly up,

so the interrogators have one last push

to see if they can break either of the men.

Guard!

You fucking twat!

Your fucking fault!

Fucking enjoy it, you fucker...!

They use aggression against Moses to see if he'll lose control.

Your fucking fault! Your fucking fault!

He's just a fucking waste of fucking space!

He doesn't seem to get flustered.

He'd obviously sussed out that you're going to get shouted at,

accept it, take it on the chin.

They take a different approach with Charlie,

probing his lies one last time

to see if he finally cracks.

What's your name?

Charlie King.

Strike one.

What's your name?!

Charlie King.

Strike two.

(What's your name?)

What's your fucking name?!

Charlie Krarup.

GASPS

Fuck me!

Sit down.

You'll see people lie,

and you see how much it destroys what they're trying to achieve.

And you'll see them fall apart.

And once you've lied, you can't go back on it.

Take off your hood.

Who am I?

The referee.

I'm here to tell you

that you have been withdrawn from this phase.

The advantage I have,

from a loving upbringing,

is it's reasonably positive,

and you've got a support network of people helping you.

How you doing, Charlie? Come with me.

But the disadvantage of that is, you perhaps aren't prepared for

some of the stuff you might encounter later in life.

And when things start to go wrong, it's,

"I've not been here before, so how do I react, what do I do?"

How are you feeling?

I had a target there.

I didn't reach it. What, number one?

We thought you would've been able to think a lot quicker on

your feet and been able to adapt a lot quicker than you did.

But, listen, you've done fucking so well throughout this course.

You should be walking out here with your head held massively high.

Charlie, listen, let's get you away, man. Thank you.

To me, the definition of being a man isn't lots of muscles.

It's always been - and I guess it's my upbringing -

creating a loving environment for your family to grow.

That's what I think being a man is all about.

Let's have a final discussion on number nine.

When he first tipped up, his attitude was questionable.

Get in here. What's different about your bed space?

I leant my bag against there. Put your bag there then.

Everyone's the fucking same.

I was like, "I wonder how long he's going to last?"

But he just continually took on challenges.

Fucking do as you're told!

Yes, sir!

And all of a sudden, he just clicked.

He's a great people person, he's very humble.

This stuff is not just for feet, is it? Yeah.

I've just put it all round there.

You fucking idiot!

His ability to mirror image was phenomenal.

He just adapts.

He's not afraid to use his past to better his future.

You've passed this course.

With fucking flying colours.

You are the only man standing.

HE SNIFFS

You've overcome so much in your life.

All those negative events, all those negative situations.

Do you know what you've done?

You've fucking tipped it into a 180,

and you've just turned it into a positive.

HE SOBS

Once you've passed selection, there's a sense of...

Such a sense of achievement.

All those hard times that you went through, you, all of a sudden,

feel like...

I'm worthy now.

It felt like I was being accepted.

People say, in the special forces world,

that we look for the grey man.

You've sort of been anything but the grey man.

You've been like a chameleon, and adapted to every situation

that was in front of you, and absolutely fucking annihilated it.

From behalf of myself and the team,

you are part of the team.

Thanks, Moses.

Well done.

Once you've been to selection, you create this family.

The people that shared everything with you.

And forevermore, they'll always be close friends.

As close as your family.

We meet these guys, and we work with these guys

that we've stood next to, and fighting next to,

and all of a sudden, our life makes sense.

It's an amazing feeling, we are a bunch of rogues that have found

the people that we want to be with.

Subtitles by Ericsson