Meet the Directing Staff: Jason Fox "Foxy"

19 January 2023

Foxy is a former Royal Marine Commando and Special Forces Sergeant, serving with the Special Boat Service. Jason has planned and led operations including hostage rescue, counter terrorism, counter insurgency, maritime counter terrorism, surveillance, body guarding and counter narcotic missions. Jason is also trained as a combat swimmer, demolitions expert, Special Forces dog handler and jungle survival expert. After leaving the Special Forces, Foxy moved into the TV and Film industry, initially using his wealth of experience in the Special Forces to support production crews who were working in environmentally hostile areas, such as the jungle, the Arctic or the desert.

This series is going look very different to previous series. What can the recruits expect?
Well, this series is going to be way more brutal. Mainly because, quite frankly, the terrain, and the environment is going to try get to you before we do. This is jungle hell. It's going to be hot, humid, and the most intimidating environment.

You've been in really hot locations before, what's different about this, what makes this much more brutal?
It's more intense and it's more claustrophobic. You've got the jungle around you with all the plants, all the animals, all the insects that try to get you. And then to top it all off, the humidity feels like another creature. An alien one that's just trying to suck the soul out of you. It’s a horrible place.

How does the humidity affect somebody in the jungle?
The humidity is what makes it feel claustrophobic, because you feel tight. It draws all the moisture out of you. It just makes you sweat more. It’s worse than the desert. The wet makes it even more draining.

Between hot and cold weather, which makes the course tougher?
They’re both tough in different ways but if not shown the right respect, this environment is way more dangerous.

What do recruits need to do to make it to the end?
They need to succumb. They need to give in to the jungle. They need to embrace it. They need to become one with it and accept that their life for the next however many days they’re there, is just going to be uncomfortable. If they keep trying to fight it, they will lose.

So are the recruits who make it to the end, the ones who don’t fight it?
Yes, the people will get to the end are the ones who embrace it. They become one with it. They actually enjoy it. They love it.

How can you actually enjoy this?
You've just got to give in to it. To really enjoy it, you've got to accept it's going to be horrible and then once you’ve accepted that, it becomes normal. You’ve sweated, you’re hanging, you’re tired, you’re thirsty, you feel drained but you've already accepted it, so it's fine.

Do you find that real people, real civilians, who become recruits on the series, do succumb to it in the same way that a proper soldier would?
Yeah, the people who actually have got the ability to switch off the noise and the discomfort, are the ones who do alright.

You have a new member of the DS, Chris. Having been an SAS: Who Dares Wins DS for so many years, what advice have you got for him?
I don't need to give him any advice. He's a switched on, extremely professional soldier. I would just advise him to bring his usual level of intensity.

Did you paths ever cross during your time in the military?
Yes, we know each other from before, so it's great to have him on the team. We get on well together, we have a laugh but we take this job seriously.

Did you serve together?
Yes, we did serve together. He was in another squadron. But I've been in the squadron that has taken over from his and vice versa.

What was it like to be back together again?
It’s brilliant. To actually be working closely together again, is a privilege and it's going to be a lot of fun. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a while since I've found out he was coming on board.

Billy is the new chief instructor this year. What experience will he bring to this particular course?
Billy is the only natural Chief Instructor really. He’s run and chief instructed courses in the jungle before. It’s almost his natural environment. He has a wealth of experience and knowledge and I'm happy, as always, to follow him into any environment or situation.

How different do you think the series will feel with Billy as the Chief?
I think it will be realistically horrendous for the recruits, but realistically great for us as a DS.

What can we what can we expect from this series?
JUNGLE HELL! This series is going to be brutal, intense, the tasks will be even more realistic. They're more military in their look, feel and what they're trying to bring to the party.

Will it be tougher than previous series?
Yeah, easily tougher. The recruits can’t just turn up and do a task, they’ve got be thinking for themselves on each task. They need to really embrace everything that we're saying, and take it seriously. They need to act as if every scenario, every task, every situation is for real, because everything the viewers see them doing, we have done for real in our lives, and we take it very seriously.

How brutal will it really be?
It'll be horrendous. We're basically taking one of the toughest environments on the planet and setting them tasks that are real combat style, Special Forces tasks.

Which tasks are remaining from previous series?
We’re keeping some of the high obstacle tasks but obviously, we're going to be adding a different element, an extremely realistic element to them. There's going to be spectacular events - we've got things like combat lanes, hostage rescue tasks, hostile environment training, as part of the course. There's going to be all sorts going on.

Did you have to adapt the course to cater for the Vietnam jungle warfare experience or are you just embracing the environment you're going into?
We, as the DS, just embrace it.

What will make this course a true jungle hell and more punishing than ever before?
Us as the DS will obviously make it punishing. The environment, the weather, the terrain, it will all just take its toll on the recruits. It’s going to be horrendous if they don't look after themselves, because we won’t be, the jungle definitely won’t be, so they’ll just fall apart and disappear.

You experienced a major injury prior to filming the series. How did you manage to get yourself fighting fit in order to return and carry out your DS duties?
I'm really pleased to have got myself back up to full fitness for this series. I injured myself reasonably badly earlier in the year and I'm proud to say I'm here and a part of this amazing thing. I was worried about not making it back to take part in this series but I was strict. I knuckled down, worked hard though my rehabilitation, trained safely and I got back where I wanted to be, which is great. So I'm really proud of myself.