Ryan Moloney has admitted he feared he was "having a heart attack" shortly after filming the latest series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
The Neighbours actor is one of 14 famous faces who jetted to North Africa last year to be put through their paces in a series of physically demanding challenges in an Australia versus UK battle for the new series.
Chief Instructor Billy Billingham MBE and Directing Staff Jason Fox, Rudy Reyes, and Chris Oliver were on hand to put the stars through the wringer, but for Mr Moloney, the demands quickly took their toll.
"So the thing for me is that, afterwards... I said it to a couple of people on day one. I was like, 'Is anyone else having trouble breathing?'" Mr Maloney explained to GB News when reminiscing on the physical impact of the show.
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Celebrity SAS: Ryan Moloney
|CHANNEL 4
"Like the altitude. Well, as it turns out, about three or four weeks afterwards, I thought I was having a heart attack, right, and I went off to (A&E).
"And they were like, 'No, you're not having a heart attack. However, you do have a giant hernia. Like, it is huge, it is actually shoved up underneath your left lung'."
Delving further, he told the People's Channel: "Well, I suppose that explains why I was having trouble breathing.
"I had to have quite a large operation. I actually got really sick from it and all that kind of stuff, and so I'm actually just coming back and coming good now.
Celebrity SAS: Ryan Moloney was one of 14 celebs in the latest series
|CHANNEL 4
"It's been a long six months, I tell you," the Neighbours actor added with a dry chuckle.
Mr Moloney was fully aware of the physical demands of the show prior to signing up, and admitted it played a role in his signing up in the first place.
"I was up for the challenge, yeah. It's an intense challenge. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he explained.
"You know, you are never going to be put in these situations ever again in real life. And so you kind of don't pass these types of things up, whether or not you're scared or not.
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Celebrity SAS: Ryan Moloney and Dani Dyer during one of the tasks
|CHANNEL 4
"And that's really kind of what it was about, really. It wasn't about, you know, succeeding and winning and all that kind of stuff. It was about just trying the hardest and seeing what comes out of that."
Despite the horrific toll on his body, Mr Moloney admitted he still found the mental side of things trickier while filming in the intense heat.
"The mental challenge was probably the hardest part for me," he admitted. "Physically, I could go until I fall flat on my face and then get back up and try to keep going.
"But because of my ADHD, I was noticing all the little things that were going to get us screwed.
Celebrity SAS: Ryan Moloney admitted to fearing he was having a heart attack
|CHANNEL 4
"Shoelaces undone, bags not done up properly — things we’d get hammered for. I was noticing it 24/7.
"I didn’t sleep for days. So the mental aspect was definitely the hardest."
The 45-year-old is joined by reality TV star Jessika Power, Neighbours co-star Natalie Bassingthwaighte, cricketer Brad Hodge, Olympic swimmers Emily Seebohm and Mack Horton, and Home and Away actor and musician Axle Whitehead on Team Australia in the new series.
For the Brits, it's reality TV stars Dani Dyer and Gabby Allen who'll join social media personalities Jack Joseph and Cole Anderson-James, rugby player Ben Cohen, Gladiator and Olympian Toby Olubi, and cricketer Graeme Swann in the line-up.