Ben Foden says he’ll always love ex Una Healy on SAS: Who Dares Wins

Ben Foden said he would always love his ex-wife Una Healy, as he appeared on the celebrity edition of SAS: Who Dares Wins.

The rugby player is one of 12 stars taking part in the gruelling Channel 4 programme in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.

During the first episode, he opened up about splitting from his “first love” Healy last summer after six years of marriage.

“At this moment in time my life is a bit of a mess,” he said. “It has been difficult over the last couple of months for sure. There’s loads of elements to a marriage and there’s loads of reasons it didn’t work.”

Foden, who has two children with the Saturdays star, went on: “I’ll always love Una.

“She was my first love and the mother of my kids.

“I never meant to hurt her in the way I did.”

Foden said he hoped taking part in the programme would help him “put some perspective on everything”.

Radio presenter Dev Griffin, reality star Sam Thompson, TV host Andrea McLean, former politician Louise Mensch, rugby player Heather Fisher and Big Brother’s Bit On The Side’s AJ Odudu are also taking part in the show, which sees chief instructor Ant Middleton and his team putting the celebrities through their paces in a series of tough challenges.

Actor Jeremy Irvine, footballer Wayne Bridge, Love Island’s Camilla Thurlow, jockey Victoria Pendleton and presenter Jeff Brazier complete the line-up.

In the first instalment the group had to fall backwards into the water from a helicopter and fight each other, two against one.

Mensch and Thompson struggled to cope with the demands of SAS life, with Mensch finding it hard to keep up physically and Thompson falling foul of Middleton when he referred to him as “mate”.

“I’m not your f****** mate!” Middleton said, warning the reality star: “Don’t get gobby with me.”

At the end of the show, Mensch decided to quit voluntarily because she did not want to burden the rest of the group.

SAS: Who Dares Wins continues on Channel 4.