Flemish Celebrities Face Grueling Special Forces Training in Moroccan Sahara

The eleven celebrities recruited from the medical, culinary, showbiz, political and sports worlds will start their training in Morocco on May 1st, as part of the new VTM program "Special Forces: Who Dares Wins". They are Francesco Planckaert, Steven Laureys, Nick Bril, Hannelore Simoens, Dirk Van Tichelt, Davy Parmentier, Laura Tesoro, Francisco Schuster, Georges-Louis Bouchez, Ann Wauters and Koen Wauters.

Four former Special Forces members will confront the stars with ruthless physical and psychological tests, regardless of their status and fame. In the Sahara desert of Morocco, these Flemish celebrities will exchange their name for a number and carry out exercises to try to surpass themselves.

Ann Wauters and Davy Parmentier will be closely followed. "I run very often and I do a lot of strength training. In sports, I always try to exceed my limits... I’m very emotional, so I think the psychological aspect is the biggest challenge for me," said Davy Parmentier, creative director at VTM.

For her part, Ann Wauters, a former basketball player, said her greatest strength is her ability to work as a team and her biggest weakness, her knees. "We’re not going to win a medal, but it’s going to be a learning process. It’s maybe even more important than a medal. In itself, I’m already happy to take on this challenge and do it well. I’m going to learn a lot and it will forge me for the rest of my life," she said.