Reformed drugs mule Michaella McCollum has said she signed onto Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins to “push” herself, and not to try and change public perceptions of her.
McCollum, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, in Northern Ireland, was caught trying to smuggle 24lb (11kg) of cocaine worth £1.5 million out of Peru with accomplice Melissa Reid in 2013.
The pair, known as the “Peru Two”, were jailed for six years and eight months after admitting the crime but were freed in 2016 after striking a deal with Peruvian authorities.
McCollum told ITV’s This Morning: “Reality type TV series, I’ve never really been interested in doing anything like that, but I think SAS, there’s no other show like that.
“So I thought it would be a really good way to test myself and try and push myself and do something completely different.
“So it was the one show I was like, you know what? I feel like I’ve been pushed to my limit through other experiences. Why not try this? Never in my life am I gonna face these type of challenges.”
The Channel 4 reality spin-off series follows 14 famous faces as they endure special forces training in an attempt to make it through SAS selection.
McCollum said: “I did that show for me. I wanted to improve myself and push myself. It wasn’t, ‘I’m doing this because I want people to like me.'”
Asked if she was worried about being subject to scrutiny, she said: “Not really, because I know that’s always going to exist.
“And any kind of decisions and things I make, there’s always that kind of scrutiny. So I thought, whether I do the show, there’ll always be some kind of talk about that.”
Speaking about what it was like to stay in prison, she said: “It’s obviously extreme, but I feel like I was incredibly adaptable, like I just kind of got along with it.
“And I think for the first part, I felt so guilty and bad. I kind of just thought: ‘OK, I deserve it. I’ll just suck it up. I’ll just get along with it.’
“But I feel like it made me an amazing person. I came back when I was 23.”
Among the other famous faces taking part in the programme are professional boxer Conor Benn, S Club star Hannah Spearritt and the first celebrity deaf recruit, Love Island star Tasha Ghouri.
Airing across eight one-hour episodes, the seventh series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins will be available to watch on Channel 4 every Sunday and Monday from 9pm starting on August 3.
