SAS Australia: Stars furious over Sam Burgess’ ‘redemption story’ edit

Retired rugby league star Sam Burgess is reportedly the highest paid celebrity on SAS Australia this year, earning a whopping $200,000 pay cheque.

And it seems Channel Seven is keen to get its money’s worth after spending so much securing the former South Sydney Rabbitohs player.

Sam, 32, has been featured heavily on the military-style reality show, while the other contestants are completing the same challenges almost unnoticed.

As the show heads into its fourth episode, a production source has told Daily Mail Australia several of the recruits are feeling ‘frustrated’ with their lack of airtime.

The stars are unhappy their efforts have been left on the cutting room floor, with the insider saying SAS Australia’s second season is ‘basically the Sam Burgess show’.

‘The talk right now amongst recruits is [the producers] are doing their best to make Sam Burgess look good… doesn’t take a genius to figure out why,’ the source said.

‘The best way to minimise any potential backlash was to make him likeable in the edit and to make everyone else look bad or like a tool.’

‘It’s blatantly obvious to the recruits the network is terrified given Sam has ongoing legal issues still pending,’ they added.

Star of the show: The other stars are unhappy their efforts have been left on the cutting room floor, with a source saying SAS Australia’s second season is ‘basically the Sam Burgess show’

The insider sensationally claimed producers were instructed by executives at Seven to ‘start conditioning the audience to liking Sam’. 

‘The order came straight from the top… SAS is trying to pull the wool over audiences eyes,’ they alleged. 

Sam confessed on the show last week he’d been unfaithful during his four-year marriage to ex-wife Phoebe while being interrogated by the directing staff. 

Disgruntled: ‘The talk right now amongst recruits is [the producers] are doing their best to make Sam Burgess look good… doesn’t take a genius to figure out why,’ the source said 

‘I don’t think I was the greatest husband at times,’ he said. ‘I embarrassed my wife. I’d had an affair with a girl, a woman in Melbourne. That’s true.

‘I was away on tour, and regretfully that happened, which would have been… it would have been a tough place for Phoebe to be.’

Seven has categorically denied claims that Sam was given favourable coverage.

‘Channel Seven strongly denies all allegations presented within,’ a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Monday afternoon.

Breaking his silence: Sam confessed on the show last week he’d been unfaithful during his four-year marriage to ex-wife Phoebe while being interrogated by the directing staff

It comes just days after singer Pete Murray and surf lifesaver Jett Kenny expressed their disappointment about not getting any airtime.

The musician, 51, said in a video shared to Instagram on Sunday: ‘I just wanted to say sorry, you still haven’t seen any task that I’ve done on SAS.

‘Unfortunately, that’s just the way that the show’s been edited, and I know some of you guys are getting a little bit frustrated.’

‘A little bit frustrated’: It comes just days after singer Pete Murray (pictured) and surf lifesaver Jett Kenny expressed their disappointment about not getting any airtime

Similarly, Jett said on Thursday he felt like he had no choice but to address his social media followers after one of his scenes was edited out of the show.

He shared a photo of himself in the driver’s seat of a car about to plunge into freezing cold water, alongside another image of himself in the water displaying the thumbs-up sign.

‘For those wondering: yes, I made it,’ he wrote.

SAS Australia continues on Monday at 7.30pm on Channel Seven

‘For those wondering: yes, I made it’: Jett said on Thursday he felt like he had no choice but to address his social media followers after one of his scenes was edited out of the show