Entertainment
SAS: Who Dares Wins viewers praise contestant Holly for representing trans people on show
SAS: Who Dares Wins viewers praised show bosses for including transgender contestant Holly on the Channel 4 show.
Some fans asked for more trans representation on the primetime action-packed series which returned to screens on Sunday night.
Project manager Holly, 32, said she wanted to ‘make her parents proud’ after admitting she’d struggled to fit in all her life.
Holly collapsed on a Scottish hillside in the cold due to dehydration during the first challenge but she was given the chance to stay in the competition after getting the all clear from the doctor.
Opening up on why she decided to apply for the show, she said: ‘I’m at a stage in my life where I feel comfortable with who I am.
‘I need something that’s going to set me up for the next 20 years.’
She added: ‘Growing up was s**t to be honest. I wasn’t really one of the boys; I wasn’t really one of the girls.
‘If I was to tell the world who I was, I was going to let my family down. I just let it build and build until I hated myself.’
Viewers took to Twitter to praise the show for featuring Holly, with one person writing: ‘It must take absolute courage as a trans female to go on #SASWhoDaresWins take my hat off to Holly, she should be proud to even be there sharing her story to the world!’
Another person added: ‘#SASWhoDaresWins Good on her for coming out in such a masculine environment. Ant’s puzzled face was hilarious though.’
One other viewer posted: ‘I think it’s very brave of a trans person to do this show. I hope she does well #SASWhoDaresWins.’
‘So chuffed to see Holly competing on the hellscape #SASWhoDaresWins More trans representation on prime time tv please,’ another said.
Opening up before the series launch, Holly said she hoped to make her parents proud.
‘I turned 30 not long before signing up and as a transgender woman with mental health issues, who has been single her entire life, I guess I was really insecure in myself,’ she said.
‘Plus what woman wants to date a 6’4 trans muscle queen?
‘So one of the reasons I signed up was because with my mental health issues and feeling like I was going to be single for the rest of my life, having never had a relationship, I needed to do something to prove to myself that no matter what life throws at me I’m going to be okay.
‘I also wanted to make my parents proud and prove to them that I’m strong mentally.’
SAS: Who Dares Wins sees ex-Special Forces soldiers recreate the SAS’s secret selection process.
Ordinary people are put through the ultimate test of their physical and psychological resilience as they compete to stay in the game.
SAS: Who Dares Wins continues on Sundays on Channel 4 at 9pm.
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