ORE ODUBA – RECRUIT NUMBER 2

3 September 2021

Why did you sign up to the show?

Do you know what? It was so whimsical. I didn't think that they would select me but I just thought “I've got no job. I need the income”. And genuinely, even getting beasted by some ex-Special Forces sounds more interesting than what I was doing. Also, the school that I grew up in, you had what they called CCF, Combined Cadet Force in the later years of secondary school. You had the opportunity to learn some of the basics of being in the military. When I was at school I was a prefect, so I was basically a leader. I was captain of the school sports team and there was a belief that I should've gone for the Royal Marines. But as a teenager, I thought do you know what, it's a bit much. We've got exams, there are girls, the summer's coming up. I just don't think I need it, so I bottled it. Since then I’ve always wondered whether I could have done it, could I have cut it? So this was the closest opportunity I’ve had to see if I could answer that question.

Did you do any preparation for the show?

We had to go into quarantine for a week beforehand because of Covid, so I watched every single episode, both celeb and civilian, from series two. I wanted to know everything and took notes! You're watching very differently when you know that you're going into that hell! You literally are walking into the lion's den, I wanted to be as prepared as I could be. But, and this is the thrill of the show, when you take on your biggest fears or you're so far out of your comfort zone, and you survive them, it makes you realise you’re capable of so much more than you ever imagined.

How would you rate your mental strength going into the course?

I think that is probably the only reason why I was confident enough to say yes. That was actually what gave me the blind faith to go, "I thought that you could do all right here." Because physically, I've got attributes. I'm strong and I knew I had leadership qualities that I knew they'd be looking for and various things like that. I knew it would take a lot to break me.

What did you think when you found out who you were going to be with on the show?

A bunch of them I already knew, a bunch of them I was lucky to get to know. But I think there was something so brave from all of us, we were exposing ourselves to everything that makes us vulnerable, our biggest fears, there’s something in that that bonds you as a group.

What was it like being gassed?

I can't believe that was the first day! That still blows my mind. I was in all sorts of bother. I didn't know what was left or right, right from wrong, and I just remember Ant grabbing me on the shoulder and going, "You will recover. Your body is capable of recovery. You think that you haven't got any more to go, but your body can recover.” And I was like, "Really?" And the fact that 20 minutes later I felt pretty close to normal, I was like, "that is staggering." Because half an hour ago I was in this room, I was told to take my gas mask off. I was unable to breathe. My eyes were seizing up. I was on the floor. I didn't even know how to get out of this place, let alone save the hostage. At the time, I didn't identify what the gas was. It was a complete unknown. And that was really, really terrifying. But then you get a slap in the face and are told you’ll be fine, and I was. It was a very powerful lesson to learn on what was the first day.