SAS: Who Dares Wins' Mark reveals heartbreaking tragedy caused him to sign up

Completely devastating

Author: Emma DoddsPublished 25th Jan 2019

On each series of SAS: Who Dares Wins, we not only get to see the 30 contestants grow throughout the process, but we also get really emotionally invested in them as people. Not only do we see them open up to the Directing Staff (DS) about what has made them sign up, but they also do video interviews about things that have happened in their lives.

In this year's series, we've seen aviation firefighter Nadine open up about being sexually abused, engineer Milo speak out about losing a brother in Afghanistan and student Nathaniel, who revealed he'd previously attempted suicide.

However, one character on the show who has so far appeared to remain rather stoical towards the challenges is 31-year-old firefighter Mark Peart, who has become a favourite among fans for his determination to do well but also for his kindness towards the other contestants.

Of course, each contestant is on the show for a reason and to prove something to themselves, and Mark is no different - and in this Sunday's episode of the show, we will learn that Mark's wife tragically committed suicide just months before he joined up.

In a chat with the staff about how he is finding the course, Mark - who found his wife in their home six months before signing up to the show - reveals the news about 27-year-old Chelsey to Ant Middleton and Jason Fox.

He says, "She was perfect in every single way. She was beautiful, she was funny, happy, honestly like the fairytale. But she just had these things that ate away on her – low self-esteem and anxieties.

"I’m still feeling lost with it and don’t fully understand. I don’t think I ever will."

He adds, "Why didn’t she ring me that day, or just talk to me and tell me what was happening because I know I could have talked her down."

This news will be particularly poignant for viewers of the show, who watched on as Mark could be seen breaking down in tears on last weekend's show, after Nathaniel revealed in a letter to his fellow recruits that he'd tried to take his own life in the past.

Nathaniel left the show on medical grounds, as the process had started to make him feel uneasy about his mental health, but confessed all to his friends in a letter which he wrote for them.

SAS: Who Dares Wins airs at 9pm on Sundays on Channel 4.

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