IS CONSULTANT rheumatologist Wendy Dodds up to extreme heat, humidity and a punishing SAS fitness regime in the smouldering Namibian desert?

The 52-year-old Milnthorpe doctor, who works at Westmorland General and Lancaster hospitals, is one of 24 super-fit contenders selected to take part in a new BBC 2 series SAS Desert Are You Tough Enough?

Fell-running Dr Dodds, who specialises in Lakeland classic challenges and is a member of Clayton-le-Moors Harriers, has been subjected to weeks of special forces training in a hostile environment.

Out to prove they are tough enough, the raw recruits go back to the roots of the SAS by training in the desert terrain the regiment first fought in. The men and women learn to live, travel and fight like the military elite.

In the Sunday evening series, which started last week, Dermot O'Leary commentates on the recruits' progress and formidable Staff Sergeant Eddie Stone is the man charged with putting them through their gruelling paces.

Episode one saw the contenders head off into the desert. Hot, tired and hungry, they navigated a route march in searing 40 degrees heat. After three days, three volunteers were dismissed, but life does not get any easier for the remaining 21 squaddies.

Temperatures and tempers soar as the gang knuckles down to an intense regime of soldiering and survival training, crucial to their success in the desert. They are trained in urban combat before being put through their paces in a mock attack of an enemy village, tackling a variety of targets and explosive booby traps.

Testing both physical stamina and mental strength, the stakes are high as under performers will face the wrath of SS Eddie Stone and the risk of dismissal home.