Action man

All-action postman Owen Gibson used the physical fitness gained while pounding the streets of South Shields to excel on a gruelling TV challenge.

The 42-year-old was the oldest recruit on series five of Channel 4’s show SAS: Who Dares Wins, in which 25 people tackled a Special Forces training course on the Scottish island of Raasay.

Fitness fanatic Owen outperformed his fellow contestants over three days of physical and psychological tasks, including boarding a ship using just a wire ladder and swimming through the sea fully clothed to the remote island.

Unfortunately, a leg injury suffered on ‘The Sickener’ – in which recruits repeatedly sit in the sea and carry each other up a cliff – forced Owen (‘#22’) to withdraw.

‘I’ve watched every series, and this was the hardest course they’ve done,’ he said. ‘It was brutal, but I was smashing it all until I wiped my shin out and twisted my knee. I collapsed and you can see from the look on my face that I was gutted.

‘Afterwards, the director told me he’d thought I would win, which was the next best thing to winning for me.’

Passing the arduous selection process and impressing host Ant Middleton enabled Owen to lay the ghost of his misspent youth to rest. ‘I lost my way as a teenager and ended up in trouble,’ he said. ‘I tried to join the Marines, and was about to get in, but I got caught pinching a car. I’ve regretted that fateful decision for 25 years.’

After a number of factory jobs, Owen joined Royal Mail two-and-a-half years ago, where he found he could complete his round in double-quick time due to his fitness levels.

‘This is the best job I’ve had in my life,’ he said. ‘I love the freedom of being out, interacting with people, and it fits around my lifestyle, which involves a lot of physical training.’

South Shields delivery office manager Richard Parker thinks Owen has returned from his experience with even more confidence and focus than usual. ‘He’s a great character and there’s no delivery he can’t get done on time,’ he said.