CURTIS PRITCHARD – RECRUIT NUMBER 9
Category: Press Pack ArticleAge: 26
From: Stoke on Trent
Occupation: Professional dancer and TV Personality
Having lost the competitive edge his older brother AJ has during his teenage years and sometimes putting others ahead of his own ambitions, Curtis wants to use this opportunity to show he is also capable of pushing through and putting his own success first.
You’ve done many shows on TV, why did you say yes to Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins?
Well, to be fair, out of every show I've done, I'm going to say this was one of my biggest passion projects. Mainly because I've always been into pushing myself to the extreme, whether it's through extreme sports or whether it's just through doing different challenges that I've done in my past. And Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, let's be honest, it’s pushing yourself to the utmost extreme, in the most extreme environment, in the most extreme cases possible to see if you cope with it. Plus, it’s all about seeing if you are strong enough and can come out the other side a stronger and better person or if you can come out on the other side at all, really!
Did you feel like you had something to prove going onto Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins?
No, I didn't feel like I had anything to prove. I just wanted to do it and complete it and prove to myself that I could complete it. Bar that, no, I didn't really feel like I was trying to show the world I'm capable of this or that. I try and just do it for me and the closest people around me. Don't get me wrong, if somebody gives me a bit of a gratification, I always blooming love it!
Did you do any preparation to get yourself ready for it?
We did gym workouts, runs, just all of that stuff. More power lifting exercises so it works your entire body rather than just individual core groups. I feel like if you're in the SAS and doing all of that training, you don’t need to just have a strong bicep, you also need to have strong arms or a whole body and legs because you're working everything together and you're taking yourself to the extreme.
What was your biggest fear before starting the course?
You want the honest truth? My biggest fear I would say was, is my body going to be up to it? I broke my shoulder the year before, mountain biking, so I had a slight injury there. Going on the show, I wasn't a thousand percent perfect. I still had remnants of an injury. I could feel it, I was still aware of it and still had to protect it and look after it. So I thought to myself, “if that gives in on me, I'm screwed”. But thank God, I kept it strong, I kept it stretched every single day. I kept on top of all of my rehab for it to make sure it would withstand what was going on and it wasn't a problem, to be fair.
How did you feel about being with loads of new people?
No worries about the people that I didn't know because, do you want the truth? Most of the TV programmes I do, it's people I'm not aware of, so I've got used to that a little bit now. But having AJ there, obviously that was always nice. Gives you somebody to talk to, somebody to help support you if you need anything or vice versa. So really, overall it was just one of the best experiences I've ever blooming done, I've got to say.
There's a lot of sports people in the show, did that bring a competitive element to the show?
Yeah, a very competitive element having all of those competitors there, myself, AJ and the other guys. We've all been brought up in an environment where we're having to push ourselves mentally and physically so we all had that competitive element. Fatima, can I just say, she is an animal, an absolute monster. I don't mean that in an offensive way, I mean that in the best way possible. Nothing could stop that woman. Even if she'd been shot in both her legs and both her arms, that woman would continue moving forward. Whether she's injured or not, that woman will march on. Absolute hero and trooper. People should take a leaf out of her book, if that's the saying.
How did you feel meeting the Directing Staff for the first time?
So obviously we had the new two DS this year with the American dudes. Legends, Remi and Rudy. I honestly loved them to bits. What was weird though, was their accent. We're used to the British accent, the British guys are stern when they're talking. When the Americans started to speak and they were being strong and stern, you want the honest truth? The first time they started doing it, a slight smile came on my face because I just thought to myself one, you've got an accent doing it and two, it's just making me smile for some reason and I couldn't stop. As I got to know them more, they were a fabulous element to the show, brought a whole new dynamic. The stories that they told, the things that they've done and been through, absolute heroes, honestly. Super troopers.
Are they all intimidating?
When they're doing their thing, yeah. I would lie if I said they're not intimidating. No, they definitely are intimidating people. They have to be to be able to do what they've done. Did I feel intimidated by them? I didn't because if you want the honest truth, I was open to learning so much from them and I didn't always feel I had time to be intimidated by them because of all of the knowledge they were giving us. And it's more just about survival. I had to keep moving forward and I didn’t have time to think about being intimidated by somebody else. We were constantly moving forward onto the next thing, thinking what are they doing? How are they doing that? How can I do that? I was constantly thinking and trying to progress forward.
Was there anything that you did that scared you?
I had adrenaline going and I felt a buzz on everything I did. I felt nervous, I felt slightly scared about everything I did in a way. But nothing petrified me to the point where I thought I couldn't do something or was too scared to do something. There was one challenge where we had to climb through a small, tiny, tight tunnel. I was dreading that challenge. That's all I'm going to say! Watch for that!
Did you have a laugh with the other celebs in camp?
Yeah, nonstop. We got told off so many times for laughing. We got our water cut after the shower because we were having too much fun! In the camp we were nonstop having fun. You have to. I know a lot of paramedics, policemen, all of these different people, they say the only way to get through these traumatic situations that we're all put in is through comedy. And that's the best way to do it because it makes you forget, it releases positive endorphins and it just puts you back on track and keeps you grounded.
How would you sum up the whole experience?
Amazing. That's it. Just fabulous. Once in a lifetime experience that everyone should go and do. It would teach people respect and it'll teach you a skill.