The cast of SAS Australia has teased a new season will be with Aussie fans “soon” in a cryptic photo shared to social media.
Taking to Instagram on January 31, Chief Instructor Ant Middleton and DS Ollie Ollerton posed for a smiley selfie taken at an undisclosed location.
“Finally caught up today! Long time overdue ✊ @antmiddleton 😎,” Ollie captioned the post.
“An hour of relentless power discussing exciting projects in the sand. 🐪 I won’t say standby, I’ll say watch the outcome. 😎😎✊✊”
The reality star then tagged @sasaustralia and hashtagged #sbs and #original
While many fans were confused about the hashtags and believed them to be a reference to the television network SBS, the station has previously denied that SAS Australia will be moving across to them from Channel Seven.
It is also worth noting that SBS also stands for ‘Special Boat Service’ – the arm of Britain’s special forces where Ollie and Ant first met.
After months of speculation that SAS Australia had been cancelled, it was finally confirmed that the popular reality series would be returning to Australian screens for a new season in October 2024.
The star-studded military-style show was reportedly axed by Channel Seven earlier that same year, despite previously confirming at their Upfronts 2023 event that it would be returning.
Given a premiere date wasn’t set, many fans assumed the show had run its course.
Has SAS Australia been cancelled?
Thankfully, Chief Instructor Ant Middleton confirmed in August 2024 that it would be returning, and had “gone nowhere” despite the speculation.
“We just need to make sure we’ve got the right cast, that we’ve got the right location, and with SAS Australia you can’t rush it,” he shared with Yahoo Lifestyle at the time.
Who are the Directing Staff on SAS Australia?
Fast forward to October 2024, more news came about the upcoming season five.
Speaking with the Herald-Sun, Ant revealed that comedian Merrick Watts – one of three participants who passed the course in the 2020 season – would be “coming on as one of the [Directing Staff].”
“He is going to be by my side on the next SAS. I guess the cat is out of the bag now. We have to keep evolving it (the show), keep it fresh.”
However, mere days later Merrick denied these claims while appearing on FOX FM’s Fifi, Fev & Nick, telling the radio hosts that the claims made by Ant were “unfounded” and “untrue.”
“Not only have I not been spoken to about it, no one has been spoken to about it. It’s never come up. I don’t know how this came about. I barely made it through as a recruit. I don’t think I’m in a position now to become a teacher about it.”
Even if Merrick isn’t on board, we do expect DS Ollie Ollerton will come back on board alongside Ant, especially after they shared the above selfie together in January 2025.
Who has been cast on SAS Australia 2025?
While Channel Seven has yet to confirm when the next series will air or who has been cast, Ant has previously revealed which celebrity contestants he would like to take part.
Specifically, contestants from the 2024 season of Dancing with the Stars which he starred on and finished in a respectable third place.
“James Stewart, Samantha Jade – she’s like a little pocket rocket. I can just envision her going zoom,” he also shared with Yahoo Lifestyle.
“I’m always recruiting, everywhere I go. Especially at the Logies!”
When will SAS Australia 2025 premiere?
The show’s highly anticipated return was expected to be formally announced by Channel Seven at their annual Upfronts event in November 2024. But sadly for fans, there was no update.
Speaking with TV Tonight, Seven Chief Content Officer Brook Hall hinted discussions about a new season were still ongoing.
“We’re still in active discussions with Endemol Shine. We’d love to bring the cost down a bit. If one of our tentpoles fell over, it’d probably be the first thing we commissioned within reason.”
It is currently unclear if season five will also be filmed in the Middle East like its predecessor or return to Dapto or Capertree Valley in regional NSW like earlier seasons.
But given Ollie added a camel emoji to his January 2025 Instagram post, something tells us it will be filmed in the Middle East once more.
