Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins has received more than 1,100 complaints to Ofcom over allegations of racial stereotyping in a war simulation task. The episode, aired on 11 January on Channel 4, featured celebrities facing simulated hostile attackers wearing keffiyehs, a traditional Middle Eastern headdress.
The broadcasting watchdog Accountable Media condemned the use of the garment, stating it reinforced a harmful stereotype that associates Arab cultural markers with danger and aggression. The group urged viewers to complain to Ofcom, leading to a flood of complaints.
Channel 4 defended the show, saying: 'SAS Who Dares Wins seeks to accurately replicate real life SAS training which takes place in diverse environments around the world. The participants used in the training scenarios in this series, filmed in North Africa, wore garments typical of the region and appropriate to the prevailing weather and desert conditions.'
Ofcom's weekly audience complaints list recorded 1,126 complaints for the episode. The series, which pits British and Australian celebrities against each other, has also seen nine recruits quit so far, including three in the latest episode.
