Ant Middleton has branded Channel 4 “reckless and desperate” after the broadcaster announced they were severing ties with the SAS: Who Dares Wins presenter.
On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the channel announced they were parting ways with Ant over his “personal conduct”.
In a statement, the Channel 4 spokeswoman said: “Ant Middleton will not be taking part in future series of SAS: Who Dares Wins.
“Following a number of discussions Channel 4 and Minnow Films have had with him in relation to his personal conduct it has become clear that our views and values are not aligned and we will not be working with him again.”
During an appearance on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain, Ant fired back, insisting he had already told the channel that he would no longer be taking part in the show before their statement was made.
⚡️ “Ant Middleton gives controversial first interview since parting ways with Channel 4”https://t.co/w8BLcNmkRw
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 3, 2021
“Channel 4’s statement is very reckless and desperate, that’s the word, it’s desperate,” Ant told hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.
“It’s just them getting in there first, because they knew I was going… they wanted to protect their brand,” he continued. “It’s all smoke and mirrors.
“From the last episode of SAS: Who Dares Wins it became a half-scripted kind of reality show. Full control was taken from me, from health and safety to production and after that show I said ‘look I’m not going to film anymore. I’m done with SAS: Who Dares Wins’.
“I wanted to part in a healthy way, in a positive way. They [Channel 4] knew I was going. My future at SAS UK was no more. They knew I was going. And all of a sudden they drop this bomb about Black Lives Matter, that I’ve been axed. Ultimately what they’re doing is protecting their brand.”
‘They’ve seen a bit of military banter.’ @Antmiddleton says the complaints of inappropriate comments to women on set were ‘banter’ and it’s just Channel 4 trying to ‘protect their brand’.
He says the ‘woke patrol’ have kicked in while he’s stayed ‘true to the military’. pic.twitter.com/1D1M0CuDZd
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 3, 2021
‘If you’re a snowflake you do not belong on the set of Who Dares Wins.’
‘You’ve got a group of military alpha males.’ @Antmiddleton says inappropriate behaviour should be expected on the show and it’s not a ‘PC/woke bubble’.
His contract for the show has not been renewed. pic.twitter.com/DBuoASDtGs
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 3, 2021
The former soldier defended his behaviour on the set of the Channel 4 show further, insisting he was being “true to the military ethos”.
He said: “All these excuses that are coming out like inappropriate comments, it’s like ‘you’re on SAS: Who Dares Wins!’. We say inappropriate things, we do inappropriate things that if you get offended by them then so be it. The course is a hardcore course, it’s gritty, you’re going to see inappropriate things.
“If you’re sensitive, if you’re a snowflake, if you’re easily offended… you do not belong on the set of SAS: Who Dares Wins.
“This isn’t a Dancing On Ice or a Celebrity Big Brother, even though it’s turned into that. You’re going to see and hear things that are uncomfortable. You’ve got a group of military alpha males that are going to put people through a gruelling process and if you don’t like what you see then don’t come and work on the set.”
“When we started this off from day one, we had a great relationship with Channel 4,” Ant explained. “We said ‘let us be ourselves’ because our humour’s different, our composure is different, the way that we deal with situations is different and it allowed us to be us. It allowed us to be true to the military ethos therefore to give an authentic programme.
“And over the years PC patrol have kicked in, the woke patrol have kicked in to the point where we can’t say anything, we can’t be ourselves.
“It’s been so controlled and so managed and so inauthentic now that I’ve decided to completely walk away from it.”
A Channel 4 rep has since told The Mirror: “Our decision not to renew Ant Middleton’s contract and not to work with him again was solely based on his personal conduct off-camera and is not related to his on-screen persona as a DS.
“SAS: Who Dares Wins will continue to be as tough as it’s ever been.”
In June, Ant apologised after he used the word “scum” in reference to the Black Lives Matter protests, as he complained about the “extreme left” and “extreme right” taking to the streets.
He said he was “anti-racist and anti-violence” after he deleted the tweet.
Three months prior to this, he backtracked on comments he made about the coronavirus pandemic after he urged people to “carry on as normal”.
He told his social media followers to not “be a sheep” and said he did not believe government advice to self-isolate applied to him because he is “strong and able”.
Ant later said he had been “a bit insensitive towards the magnitude, the scale, of the crisis that’s happening in the UK”.
SAS: Who Dares Wins sees members of the public being put through gruelling military training exercises to test their psychical and mental strength.
Ant also presented the programme’s celebrity spin-off, which has featured famous faces including reality star Joey Essex, former glamour model Katie Price and ex-footballer Wayne Bridge.
Good Morning Britain airs every weekday from 6am.
