The BBC 2 documentary SAS: Are You Tough Enough? follows 24 civilians as they are put through a selection process usually only attempted by the créme de la créme of Britain's armed forces.

Phil Rhodes was one of the fitness fanatics who volunteered for physical and mental torture, literally, for the good of their health. Reporter JESSICA SHAUGHNESSY asks the 25-year-old from Great Sutton: 'Are you mad?'

IF THERE are two lessons that Phil Rhodes learned on SAS: Are You Tough Enough? one is that he can face any physical challenge, the second is that he talks too much.

In last Sunday's episode, Phil became the 14th volunteer to leave the competition after he was dismissed by the tyrannical staff sergeant Eddie Stone for a mere slip of the tongue.

'I was gutted to go like that,' said Phil. 'I cringed when I watched the programme.'

After a gruelling trek across the desert in Mamibia, South Africa, the group were captured by masked interrogators who held them captive for more than 12 hours.

They were stripped, searched and inter-viewed by their aggressive kidnappers. In an effort to destroy their mental strength, they were made to sit in stress positions while deafening alarm bells rang constantly and they were hosed down with cold water.

Agonising injuries and emotional meltdown got the better of some volunteers and many were eliminated from the competition.

But it wasn't until Phil, who was coping fine physically, was taken into the interrogation room that he met his downfall.

Under interrogation, SAS soldiers are only allowed to reveal their name, date of birth, ranking and serial number, but Phil ended up chatting to 'the enemy' about his girl-friend, Christina Denham from Chester, and inadvertently disclosed the Staff's name.

Phil explained: 'At first I had refused to cooperate with them. I wouldn't even tell them my name. When they asked me to take off my clothes, I wouldn't so they cut them off with scissors.

'I was then taken outside and Eddie came up to me and asked if I knew who he was. He said I had been stupid and said to get back in there and be more co-operative.

'So I was taken back into the interrogation room. They asked me why I was back and I said 'Staff Stone told me to talk'. That was my first mistake. I had revealed Staff's name.'

Later, Phil was being checked out by the doctor when he was taken back to the room for painkillers for a swollen ankle.

The interrogators seized their chance and gleaned information from Phil about his personal life.

'This time they were being nice,' he said. 'They caught me off guard because I wasn't expecting it. They are professionals and once you open up to them, it is really hard to stop.

'I should have known not to say anything, but that's just the way I am.'

Despite his disappointment, Phil, who works for the Wirral Community Dental Service's oral health team, says those two weeks on one of the world's most inhospitable terrains was the experience of a lifetime.

He and the 23 other volunteers, all amateur athletes, carried out gruelling exercises with little food and sleep as part of the ultimate endurance test.

Filming took place in November and the six-part programme has been aired every Sunday on BBC2 since February 15.

There is no prize for the winner of the competition.

Phil said: 'If there had been a £1m prize, it would have attracted the wrong kind of people. We were all athletes who wanted to see how far we could push ourselves.'

Phil described a typical day with the SAS: 'The day would begin with sentry duty and we also had to do shifts guarding the campsite over night which meant we'd only get about three hours sleep.

'We were six hours away from any civil-isation but had to be ready to defend ourselves from a sneak attack from 'enemy forces' and the best time for such an ambush would be sunrise or sunset.'

And his most memorable experience? 'One thing that sticks in my head is when we had to do a long drag. It was pitch black and two wild dogs came at me barking.

'I was firing my gun but it was only firing air. In the end I had to growl back at them. I thought the only way to get rid of them is to be more aggressive then they were.'

At the end of his stay, Phil was flown back home along with other volunteers who had been eliminated that day.

Phil said they still keep in touch. He says they all share a common cause and like to swap training and nutritional information.

When asked what it was like to work with O'Leary and Staff Stone, Phil said: 'Dermot was a really nice guy.

'Eddie is just as intimidating off-screen as he is on-screen. It's not an act.

'Eddie didn't make it easy for us, but we all knew it would be tough. The show was the hardest thing I have ever done, but now I know that I can take on any physical challenge and get through it.'

Phil added: 'I also know that I'm going to have to learn when to keep my mouth shut.'