From Love Island to Celebrity Big Brother, Gabby Allen is no stranger to the wild world of reality TV. In a medium where contestants are often quick to be labelled “fake,” Gabby has lit up our screens with joy, self-love, purpose and authenticity.
Then she did something few Love Island foremothers have dared to do… she signed up for Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins. If we were fans before watching her absolutely kick arse, we have a serious girl crush now.
Who will make it to the end?
Gabby has been stealing hearts not just with her friendship with fellow Love Island alum Dani Dyer – who she describes as a “comfort blanket” — but also with her tearful mirror-room moment, where she opened up about scoliosis and the impact of losing her father — sob. She’s also inspired us to dust off those gym passes and hit the treadmill, proving that anything boys can do, girls can do better.
Despite describing herself as "a very private person, Gabby took a moment out of her busy schedule to sit down with Glamour and chat all things reality TV, Celebrity SAS, and how to enter our gym era in 2026.
From Love Island to the Special Forces
Gabby first captured the nation’s hearts on Love Island season three and more recently triumphed in season two of Love Island: All Stars. She explained that her love of fitness and desire for new challenges led her to sign up for Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
“I’ve had such a great experience with Love Island,” Gabby said. “Honestly, I can’t fault it at all, but doing SAS was exciting for everyone [my family included], because it was a new opportunity to show myself in a different light.”
Maximum intensity, zero effort (on your part).
“On Love Island, nobody really gets to know you or what you’re about," she continued. "They only see small glimpses. And you only get to see small portions of SAS as well. But obviously, Love Island is very different — more glamorous, light-hearted — whereas SAS is… a bit more raw.”
We all know makeup and hair can act as a sort of mask, helping us face the big, bad world. But for Celebrity SAS, Gabby had to ditch that carefully curated shield — and even her hairbrush.
“Love Island, I’m dolled up to the nines every day,” she laughed. “And then SAS… I don’t even brush my hair.”
Less vibes, more vulnerability
“Obviously, we can share things on social media, but it’s always a curated version of what you want to put out there. Whereas on SAS, you don’t have any control over that,” Gabby explained. “It’s just very raw.”
Considering many of us wake up after a night out with wicked hangxiety and the lingering fear we’ve gone on Instagram Live or posted something embarrassing, this is a terrifying thought. Not only are you doing gruelling workouts and interrogations that can reduce you to tears… but you’re being filmed the entire time and broadcast to the nation. And you… signed up for this?
“When you do any of these shows, you give them full creative control to use whatever,” Gabby said. “But I can’t really remember the mirror room. Watching it back, I was dreading it, thinking, ‘Oh, bl**dy, what did I even say?’ I do remember having the panic attack, but that’s about it. I was scared about how it would come across, but I think they did a good job.”
In that mirror room, Gabby opened up about growing up with scoliosis and not knowing if she’d ever be able to walk properly. She also spoke about her father’s passing and how she strives to live in a way that would make him proud. I lost my own father in 2018 and my stepfather in 2024 to the same type of brain cancer as Gabby’s dad, so I know exactly what she means: that constant fear of not doing enough, not living enough to honour the life that was lost.
It’s easy to dismiss reality TV or influencers, but we often forget that this influence can be a positive one, and sometimes, that reality mirrors our own. Case in point: the countless viewers who reached out to Gabby after that mirror-room scene.
“I’ve had loads of messages from people who also have scoliosis, saying it’s given them a boost of confidence,” she said. “And I’ve had so many messages about losing my dad as well. It’s really nice when people can relate to you — it makes you feel like they’re not on their own.”
Lift like a girl
TikTok and Instagram are full of horror stories from women in fitness spaces — from men physically correcting their form (no one asked, never touch me again) to countless comments about looking too “bulky” or “manly.”
Gabby explained that on Celebrity SAS, “the women lift the same as the men, unless you physically can’t.”
“It gives you so much respect for the Special Forces,” she continued. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female. If you have to do something, you have to.”
We asked Gabby about her experiences with the male–female divide in fitness. While she noted this certainly wasn’t the case during Celebrity SAS, she said she’s encountered it in everyday life and on social media.
“The fitness space has grown so much, and I feel like women get a lot more respect than they used to,” she said. “However, as an individual, I’ll get the odd comment or someone’s opinion saying I’m too masculine, or that I’ve gone too far because of how I’m built. But I love being strong, and I want to inspire women to be strong too. And I don’t care what anyone else thinks — this makes me feel confident. If you don’t like it, that’s fine.”
It’s a tough time to be a woman on the internet — or in everyday life. From AI editing our bodies online to judgment about weight loss offline, it has never felt harder to simply exist in our own skin. Gabby is all about the joy and growth of fitness, not the shrinking of it, so we were eager to get her input.
Many of us struggle to enter male-dominated spaces, whether that’s run clubs or our local gym. So we asked Gabby for her top tips for stepping into our own fitness era in 2026 — whether that’s trying reformer Pilates once a week, running a 5K, or just finding ways to move our bodies joyfully.
“I think, first of all, if people find it hard to go on their own, start with a class,” she said. “It gets you in there and feels less intimidating because everyone is doing the same thing, and nobody’s really looking at you. Second, buy yourself some great gym gear that makes you feel confident, get an amazing playlist, put your earphones in, and go. Once you’re there, know that nobody actually cares what you’re doing on the gym floor — everyone’s so obsessed with themselves.
“Someone asked me about this the other day,” Gabby continued. “I said, when you’re in the gym, and someone walks in, do you judge them? Do you watch what they’re doing? They said no. I said, so why would you think anyone’s thinking that about you? Have confidence, you have every right to be there, just like everyone else.”
Own your space, bestie — whether that’s the Pilates mat, the squat rack, the bike lane… or Celebrity SAS.
Hold my bronzer, babe.
Watch Gabby Allen in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4, airing Sundays and Mondays at 9 PM.
