Neighbours star Ryan Moloney has revealed that he had a “giant hole” in his stomach whilst filming the Channel 4 reality series, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, in North Africa.
In an interview with HELLO! and other press ahead of the new season, the 46-year-old actor said he had to undergo surgery weeks after filming had wrapped after doctors discovered a hernia.
“I learned that about three or four weeks after [the show] that I actually had a giant hole in my stomach, and I had half of my stomach contents shoved up underneath my left lung,” explained the actor, who is likely describing a hiatal hernia, which is when part of your stomach moves up into your chest.
“The doctors were like, ‘You are so lucky that nothing happened while you’re over there because things twist and all that kind of stuff. We need you to go into surgery now,” continued Ryan, who is best known for playing Jarrod ‘Toadie’ Rebecchi in Neighbours from 1995 until his departure in 2025, when his emotional departure storyline highlighed mental health issues and saw Toadie leave Erinsborough for a new start in Colac.
Chiming in, his co-star, TV personality Dani Dyer added: “He had a hernia we didn’t know about, it was awful.”
© Pete Dadds/Channel 4Opening up about why he signed up for the show, Ryan revealed: “It’s a once in a lifetime experience. You’ll never get this type of experience outside of this show. It’s really about finding out stuff about yourself, trying your hardest and seeing what comes out of it. It’s for the challenge.”
During his time on the show, Ryan encouraged his fellow contestants to follow the rules set by Chief Instructor Billy Billingham MBE and his team of Directing Staff , including making sure their water bottles were full at all times in case of inspection.
“I wanted everyone to be able to do their best and to be able to stick around for as long as they could,” said Ryan when asked about his approach to the experience. “As soon as we [mess] up and don’t do something right, then we get drilled. That’s when people quit.”
He continued: “I kind of live by the mantra of, ‘If not you, then who. If not now, then when’. So if it has to be me to speak up and say, ‘Hey guys, we should be doing this, we should be doing that,’ then okay.”
© Pete Dadds/Channel 4Ryan went on to add: “I probably got a bit frustrated because I kind of felt like a lot of time that I was on everyone’s team, but it didn’t feel like there were a lot of people on mine.”
What to expect from Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins
The new eight-part series, filmed in North Africa, sees 14 British and Australian celebrities pushed to their limits, as they embark on a condensed version of SAS selection.
Split into Team UK and Team Australia, the contestants go head to head as they undergo the brutal physical and mental course, led by Chief Instructor, Billy Billingham MBE and his team of Directing Staff, Foxy (Jason Fox), Rudy Reyes and Chris Oliver.
© GettyBut will any of the celebs complete this physically demanding and psychologically gruelling course?
Who is in this year’s line-up of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins?
Joining Ryan in the line-up are TV Personalities, Dani Dyer, Gabby Allen and Jessika Power; social media stars Jack Joseph and Cole Anderson-James; Home & Away star Axle Whitehead; Neighbours actors, Ryan Moloney and Natalie Bassingthwaite; rugby player Ben Cohen; Gladiator and Olympian, Toby Olubi; International cricketers, Graeme Swann and Brad Hodge and Olympic swimmers Emily Seebohm and Mack Horton.
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is available to stream, and watch live, on Sundays and Mondays at 9pm, from 4 January on Channel 4.
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