Connor Swindells opens up about his ‘challenging’ weight loss journey to play imprisoned lieutenant in season two of SAS: Rogue Heroes

British actor Connor Swindells has spoken about the challenges of filming the second series of SAS Rogue Heroes, including losing ‘a lot of weight’.

The drama, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, 65, follows rebellious Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) as he takes control of the SAS and tries to prove the regiment remains vital to the war after former leader David Stirling ( Connor) is captured.

Connor, 28, said his problem-solving nature “descended into madness” in his cell, both “thirsty and malnourished.”

The Sex Education star said of the new show, directed by Stephen Woolfenden: ‘I’ve lost a lot of weight for this series.’

“I knew what I would be dealing with when reading the scripts and that was a big challenge because it’s something I haven’t done before.”

“I felt like that’s what I had to do to get to this place, I had to try to live as much like David as possible.”

The drama, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, 65, follows the rebellious Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell right) as he takes control of the SAS and tries to prove the regiment remains vital to the war after former leader David Stirling (Connor center) is captured

He added: ‘To feel the hunger of ‘I have to get out of here.’ I didn’t realize how helpful losing weight would be for a project like this, but it was really helpful.”

The new series is set in Sicily, but was filmed over 81 days in Croatia, Italy, England and Scotland.

Connor said that, like his character, he had to come to terms with “missing all the fun” as his castmates were “shooting in very beautiful conditions and I was in a cave.”

Prison locations included an old World War II barracks, where his performance involved “a lot of crawling around on my hands and knees” with “a couple of rats that I was given the great privilege of working with in some scenes.”

He said: ‘It was challenging at times to shoot, but in the end it was a great joy and an honour.’ Meanwhile, Jack, 34, described it as ‘the best job in the world’.

The British actor said: ‘You have to dig deep in this job, you have to take it’

‘It’s an ambitious story and to achieve it you have to suck it up and run with it, which is good because it has to be difficult; if it was too easy, it wouldn’t be as much of a fun drama to watch.”

‘I have a feeling that anything SAS will be in will not be cups of tea, dressing gown and slippers that fit nicely.’

Connor, 28, said his problem-solving nature ‘descended into madness’ in his cell, both ‘thirsty and malnourished’ (Photo 2022)

The Sex Education star said of the new show, directed by Stephen Woolfenden: ‘I’ve lost a lot of weight for this series’ (pictured in the second season)

He added: ‘I knew when reading the scripts that I would have to do that and that was a big challenge because it’s something I haven’t done before’ (Connor and Sofia Boutella pictured 2022)

The Lady Chatterley’s Lover star said ‘it was a relief’ to discover the cast would be reprising their roles in the drama, describing Knight’s script as ‘banging’.

The new series will also feature new characters, including Bohemian Rhapsody actor Gwilym Lee starring as diplomat Bill Stirling, who comes aboard to save the regiment while his younger brother David is a prisoner of war.

He said: ‘I loved being embraced by them, it really is a special job’

“It can be tricky coming into a second series with a really established cast of actors and a great crew because you worry about ruffling feathers or forming a clique, but that wasn’t the case at all. ‘

The star added: ‘It was open arms from day one.’

The Crown star Dominic West, who reprises his role as Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Wrangel Clarke in the series, said he had not seen Lee since appearing alongside him in a production of Shakespeare’s Othello ten years ago.

The new series is set in Sicily but filmed over 81 days in Croatia, Italy, England and Scotland (Gwilym Lee and Jack O’Connell pictured in the second season)

The second season of SAS Rogue Heroes airs on January 1 from 9pm on BBC One (photo LR Gwilym Lee, Jack O’Connell and Connor Swindells)

Adapted from Ben Macintyre’s bestselling book, the series offers a dramatized account of how the SAS was formed during the Second World War after gaining access to secret SAS archives.

Knight said: ‘The fact is that the true story of the SAS is a drama better than anyone could imagine in fiction.’

“The characters are unbelievable, but in most cases in the series they are real.”

The first series concluded in December 2022. The second season of SAS Rogue Heroes will air on BBC One on January 1 from 9pm.