It’s been several seasons since The Challenge fans saw promising UK competitor Theo Campbell on the show.
After initially appearing on Love Island UK 3, Theo arrived onto MTV’s competition series for War of the Worlds, which had the theme of many international competitors joining The Challenge regulars.
He nearly won in his rookie season but finished as a runner-up in the final. After appearing on the follow-up season, War of the Worlds 2, viewers haven’t seen Theo on any other seasons of the show. The UK reality TV star recently commented why he thinks that is.
Theo comments about not being invited back to The Challenge
With MTV’s Spies, Lies & Allies season currently underway, it makes for the third season that finalist Theo Campbell hasn’t appeared on the show.
Theo suffered an unfortunate accident after his War of the Worlds 2 appearance, in which the cork from a bottle popped directly into his eye. Despite surgery to repair the issue, it left him with one eye.
Based on a recent tweet from Theo, that hasn’t been a disadvantage to him physically, as he feels he’s “better than ever.”
“When I first done the @ChallengeMTV I done it off the back of a years hard partying, drinking and no training, and still merked everyone and everything (minus that math question) even with 1 eye im better than ever. Think that’s why they won’t have me back..,” Theo tweeted.
Theo’s rookie season included him partnering with Cara Maria Sorbello for most of the campaign. He entered a Hall Brawl against fellow UK competitor Kyle Christie and won in Episode 13. Theo competed in the final where he finished second overall behind winner Turabi “Turbo” Çamkıran.
In his return season, War of the Worlds 2, Theo was an elimination beast. He went into four eliminations. In the first three, he defeated multiple-time champion Johnny Bananas, Kyle, and Idris Virgo. He lost his fourth to Jordan Wiseley, ending his time on the show.
Theo suffered unfortunate eye injury in 2020
The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 season was filmed in 2019 and aired through the end of that year on MTV, including a reunion special. The Total Madness season, filmed towards the end of 2019, didn’t include Theo amongst the cast.
Months later, the unthinkable happened. In August of 2020, Theo was partying in Ibiza with ex-girlfriend Kaz Crossley. While attending a champagne spray party, the cork from one of the bottles hit Theo in his right eye. According to a report via The Sun, it left his eye “split in half.”
Theo had several surgeries to repair the damage but ultimately was left with “severely impaired vision” in his right eye from the incident. He wore a patch over his eye for several months.
The Sun also reported in November 2020 that Theo, a former 400m runner from the United Kingdom, was considering a cornea transplant to try to improve his vision.
During his absence from The Challenge, the 6-foot-5 Theo has continued to train and currently offers a training program for others. He regularly shares update photos or videos on his official Instagram, @theo_campbell91, and his program’s page, @transformwiththeo.
Many Challenge fans would love to see Theo Campbell return, as he was on the verge of winning a final and seems like a tough out when it comes to eliminations. It remains to be seen if this serious competitor gets another chance to shine on the series.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.