Another person who has put their hand up for the challenge is 2004 Olympian John Steffensen, who recently relocated from Melbourne to Sydney for filming. Steffensen was runner-up in Celebrity Apprentice in 2013, coming second to fellow former Olympic swimmer Stephanie Rice.

Former Rabbitohs player Sam Burgess has also been mentioned as a potential recruit. But with his contract with Channel 7 rumoured to be up in the air, footy star Sonny Bill Williams could suffice instead.

SAS Australia participants will have no contact with the outside world once filming of the Seven Network show gets underway in a few weeks.

Casino rivals turn up the buzz

Last week Emerald City was a guest at back-to-back evenings at rival venues The Star Casino and Crown Resorts Barangaroo. It’s no secret casinos attract all kinds of colourful characters, yet the Sydney gambling palaces are positioning themselves as go-to dining and entertainment destinations in their own right.

On Tuesday, the Australian Turf Club hosted an intimate dinner at The Star’s Sokyo restaurant to announce TV presenter Abbey Gelmi as the ambassador for The Star Championships at Royal Randwick on April 10 and 17. Award-winning Sokyo executive chef Chase Kojima did not disappoint cooking for a restaurant at capacity.

The Star definitely has ‘it’ factor vibes at the moment, as famed Broadway musical Hamilton is playing at its Lyric Theatre – drawing crowds to the usually dreary Pyrmont.

The following night Magnum ice cream pulled out all the stops to host one hell of a party suspended 26 floors above the harbour at Crown’s Cirq. Guests were treated to bespoke cocktails, a champagne tower, roaming gold canapes and a performance by Client Liaison at the terrace bar which opened last month.

In February the NSW gaming regulator officially informed Crown Resorts it was no longer suitable to hold the license for its new Sydney casino. That hasn’t stopped the hotel, bars, and restaurants within Crown’s $2.2 billion Barangaroo tower attracting star power with Matt Damon and his family taking up residence during their stay in Sydney and the Hemsworths attending a friend’s birthday party at the hotel’s famed infinity pool.

Heads turn at Double Bay parents’ knees-up

Eastern suburbs families whose daughters attend an exclusive private girls school in the area enjoyed a night away from their littlies last month at the parents’ social.

However, what was intended to be an amiable evening tipple at the Royal Oak Hotel in Double Bay left the gossipy mummy-mafia with eyebrows raised and WhatsApp groups working overtime.

According to one talkative parent, local boutique owner Juliet Schiff was left red-faced when her estranged husband Denham unexpectedly turned up. “After one too many glasses of bubbles some of the mums advised she best leave before a scene erupted when the Texan [Denham] arrived,” the source told Emerald City.

Schiff sent shockwaves through Double Bay last year when an extramarital affair with her friend’s husband, Rowan Rundle was exposed via Slack messenger, leaving their respective spouses devastated.

Merivale restaurateur and publican Justin Hemmes’ daughters with his former partner Kate Fowler attend the same school as Schiff’s, and Fowler is understood to have been at the Royal Oak drinks.