Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins contestants have described suffering from “horrendous” trench foot.
The condition, which was known to have affected soldiers who were located in trenches during the First World War, occurs when the feet are wet for long periods of time and begin to feel painful.
The final episode of the military-style series, airing on Channel 4 this Sunday, will see former health secretary Matt Hancock, singer Gareth Gates, TV personality Danielle Lloyd, Olympic track and field athlete Perri Shakes-Drayton and Love Island star Teddy Soares questioned by a specialist team of interrogators.
Speaking about what the show has been like and how it affected her physically, English model Lloyd said: “I was just black and blue all over and I had this bruise the size of my whole right calf.”
She added: “In normal life, I probably would have been laying in bed for a week with my leg up like crying my eyes out.
“I mean you just don’t get that time to recover there. They’re just like, ‘There’s no pain, just keep going’, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I’m gonna die.’
“And apart from that the trench foot was horrendous.”
Lloyd added: “I’m still getting regular treatment on my feet now.”
Athlete Shakes-Drayton had a similar experience and said: “It was like burns on my feet.
“It was like sand and knives in between my toes. That’s the best way to describe it.
“I was unable to walk. It was bad.”
Soares said it took him about a week to recover from the process and described how he found it difficult to shower after the challenge due to trench foot.
“I think all of us agreed that we couldn’t shower straightaway as much as we wanted to,” he said.
“We just couldn’t bear to just stand there and do it because even when the water hits your feet it’s like putting alcohol to an open cut, it was painful.”
In the series finale, the final five competitors will take part in resistance to interrogation, a key stage of SAS selection.
Over 14 hours they will be subjected to punishing interrogation techniques, including being held in extreme stress positions, while using a cover story to hide their true mission.
The final episode of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins will air on Sunday November 5 at 9pm on Channel 4.