The announcement that the newest season of SAS: Who Dares Wins would include women raised a few eyebrows.
But while we all know contestants get rough and rowdy on the show, few were expecting the scenes that played out on their tellies on Sunday night.
There was a boxing challenge, which saw contestants fight with gloves and headgear until former soldier Ant Middleton yelled stop. Before the bout in question kicked off, he went on a foul-mouthed rant about how the battlefield doesn't recognise differences.
He said: "The enemy doesn't care what fucking gender you are, fucking race you are, fucking religion you are. They just want to fucking kill you. Full stop."
He pulled midwife Louise Gabbitas, aka number 21 into the 'ring' and asked her who she wanted to fight. The 29-year-old decided on student Nathaniel, number 16.
Before they squared off, Ant told them: "The best form of defence is attack. Is that understood?"
Then they absolutely unleashed.
Louise did her best but her 27-year-old opponent was too quick and whacked her in the face several times. They were ordered to stop for a quick breather and then went straight back into it.
The scenes proved to be pretty confronting to some viewers at home.
But others thought it was brave and admirable that Louise tested herself.
After the fight was over, Nathaniel apologised to his opponent, saying it was 'the hardest thing to do' to not be 'too aggressive'. While Louise was battered and bruised, she replied: "I'm not crying because you hurt me. I'm fine."
She told the Sun: "From the start, we were made aware that we would be treated as equals to the men and that there would be no changes, allowances or exceptions for any of us. Boxing is a regular task featured in each series so I knew it would come up.
"I'm thankful for how things turned out. It taught me more about myself. Losing isn't ideal for someone so competitive, but it proved I am more resilient than I thought I could be.
"Nathaniel and I have a good relationship. We've discussed the situation at length and I understand I put him in a difficult position. I think how he's handled it is commendable."
Louise deserves a bloody big round of applause for that.
The show follows a mixed group of 25 contestants as they travel to the Andes Mountains in Chile and are put through their paces in a gruelling 11-day course. In the programme, all contestants eat, sleep and wash together, with no allowances made for gender.
The inclusion of women contestants is in keeping with a move by the Ministry Of Defence, which sees 2019 representing the first time recruitment into the SAS has been open to women.
Featured Image Credit: Channel 4Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Boxing, SAS: Who Dares Wins, Fight