Pauly Fenech may not be the biggest, fittest or strongest recruit on SAS Australia, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be talked down to.
This week, when another team challenge sees tensions mount between the comedian and reality TV star Locky Gilbert, Pauly decides enough is enough.
“I’ve been bulled a lot in my life and I can’t stand it anymore,” Pauly, 51, tells TV WEEK. “I don’t like people picking on me and pushing me unfairly – I’ll pop back. Unfortunately, that’s what happened.”
Pauly says he didn’t click with half his fellow recruits.
(Image: Seven)Although Pauly was put in charge of his team, Locky took over, and the pair disagreed on how best to execute the task, much to the annoyance of chief instructor Ant Middleton.
Following the task, Pauly took Locky aside to clear the air, but The Bachelor Australia star refused to move on from their conflict.
“I put up with it for a while, but he pushed my buttons too often – I wasn’t going to take it,” he explains. “I don’t care who he is or how big he is, I don’t want people bullying me. I didn’t take it as a child and I won’t take it now.”
Locky and Pauly haven’t gotten along from the get-go.
(Image: Seven)Locky wasn’t the only one the Fat Pizza and Housos star took issue with.
“I loved 50 per cent of the people on that course, and 50 per cent I didn’t love that much,” he says.
“I went in with an open heart and mind to everyone, but at a certain point, it got a little cliquey. It was weird – I felt the same old prejudice I felt as a kid. I’ll do my best for everybody until they turn on me.”
For Pauly, SAS Australia was a big tick on his bucket list.
“I had two grandfathers in World War II and I was an Army reservist,” he says. “I wanted one more challenge that might show the great respect I have for the special forces.
“People know I’m always up for a challenge. My whole career as a guerrilla film maker has been a challenge, but this is the first time I’ve shown my real self on TV.”
