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Kerry Katona quits 'Celebrity SAS' after show triggers flashbacks of domestic abuse

Watch: Kerry Katona quits SAS: Who Dares Wins

Kerry Katona has quit Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins after the treatment she was subjected to triggered memories of domestic violence.

The 40-year-old mother-of-five became the first contestant to leave the latest series of the Channel 4 reality show - handing in her armband after she was shown struggling with the physical challenges.

But Katona has told the Mirror that she had not slept on the first night after being shouted at by ex-Royal Marine Ant Middleton - which triggered flashbacks to abuse she suffered at the hands of ex-husband George Kay, who died in 2019.

Read more: Kerry Katona says Celebrity SAS was a form of therapy for her

The former Atomic Kitten singer said: “There was one point where Ant grabbed me and he said: ‘You’ve got f***ing more to prove than anybody else, just own that.’ I couldn’t sleep that night.

Kerry Katona on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins (Channel 4)
Kerry Katona was the first contestant to quit the latest series of 'Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins'. (Channel 4)

“He didn’t mean to... he just kind of catapulted me back to when George used to spit in my face."

Katona said she was "not ashamed that I came last, not ashamed I didn’t last longer.”

She added: "I was just thinking to myself, ‘You’ve got through so much in your life, well f***ing done.’

“I did not need to continue to be shouted out, and fail, and collapse, and get told, ‘Oh you’re s***.’ I’ve been through all that in real life.”

Katona has previously spoken of the show as being a positive experience and told how it helped her gain closure over many past traumas.

She said: "I think I got so much closure from doing that show for my own personal life.

“It really opened my eyes up to who I am, and the worth of who I am and about not having to prove anything to anybody."

Watch: Kerry Katona recalls domestic abuse

TV presenter Ulrika Jonsson also left the show after developing hypothermia on the first day or military training in the freezing conditions of the Isle of Raasay in Scotland. After receiving medical treatment, experts advised the 54-year-old former weather presenter could not continue on the next challenge.

Jonsson said: “They were made to go in the water first, then run up the hill and I would have died from the cold.”

Kerry Katona (far right) Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins (Channel 4)
Kerry Katona and Ulrika Jonsson have already left 'Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins', while Ore Aduba claims he almost drowned. (Channel 4)

And Strictly Come Dancing champion Ore Aduba has told how he became unconscious in a river and almost drowned while taking part in the show.

The TV presenter told The Sun On Sunday: "They pulled me out and got me in the Jeep. The guys told me I was unresponsive for about 30 seconds.”

Former Loose Women panellist Saira Khan recently revealed she was left scarred by injuries incurred during filming for the survival show.

Read more: Kerry Katona claims she 'literally died' after cocaine overdose

She said: "I was left with life-long scars, physical ones. That’s very hard to cope with.

“I am a very fit individual and to go onto a show and then have experienced what I did, I was in real shock.”

Other celebrities taking part in Celebrity SAS include X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, Olympic rower James Cracknell, reality TV star Vicky Pattison, X Factor contestant Jake Quickenden, ex Love Islander Wes Nelson, footballer Kieron Dyer, Welsh Paralympic athlete Aled Davies and BMX champion Shanaze Reade.

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