SAS: Who Dares Wins – Why did Ant Middleton leave and who has replaced him?-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro

Last series of SAS: Who Dares Wins saw Ant Middleton say goodbye (Picture: Channel 4)

SAS: Who Dares Wins is set to return to our screens tonight with a new version: Jungle Hell.

This new series is set to be tougher than ever, and takes place in North Vietnam’s Thung Ui, billed as “the deepest, darkest, most unforgiving jungle in the world”.

Across six episodes 20 men and women will take part in a grueling SAS selection process, with contestants gradually w

Aside from the change in location, this series may look very different without Ant Middleton at the helm – but why did he leave the series?

Here is everything you need to know.

Where is Ant Middleton?

This year’s contestants will be facing grueling challenges in Vietnam (Picture: PA)

Ant, who had hosted SAS: Who Dares Wins since 2015, was axed from the Channel 4 show in 2021 due to ‘personal conduct’.

The news came after some controversial comments made in relation to Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and Covid-19.

The star was axed from the show in 2021 (Picture: Sam Tabone / WireImage)

His military credentials span over a decade starting from his time in the Royal Marines and 9 Parachute Squadron Engineers.

He joined the Special Boat Service (SBS) – the sister unit of the SAS – in 2008 where he spent four years as a point man and also a primary fires operator and sniper.

Ant has also used his Special Forces skillset to work in personal security, protecting VIPs such as government officials and celebrities.

He came under fire for comments about the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality, as far-right protesters clashed with demonstrators in London, Ant branded both groups ‘scum’ in a since-deleted tweet.

He said: ‘The extreme left against the extreme right. When did two wrongs make a right. It was only a matter of time. BLM and EDL are not welcome on our streets, absolute scum.

‘What a great example you are to your future generation. Bravo.’

Ant was axed from the show in 2021 by Channel 4 (Picture: Channel 4/Pete Dadds)

He did however later apologise in a video, insisting he is not a racist after facing severe backlash.

Ant said: ‘Within that tweet I mentioned the BLM and EDL and the word “scum”. At no point was I calling the BLM scum and comparing the two organisations. I want to make that really, really clear.

‘The word scum was used to describe the people in the video that were violent, that were causing terror on the streets of London and setting a bad example for our future generations.’

At the time of his firing, Channel 4 said in a statement: ‘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.’

Since then, several people also complained about his ‘inappropriate comments’ towards female staff members on set, which he dismissed as ‘indirect and just military banter’.

Ant has hit out at Channel 4 since his firing, labelling the company ‘hypocritical and shameful’ for cashing in after his exit.

Who is his replacement?

Show veteran Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham will step up as chief instructor for this series, as he is uniquely qualified for training in the jungle.

Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham will be the chief instructor this series (Picture: PA)

 Billy spent 27 years in the military, reaching the highest NCO rank in the SAS as Sergeant Major and started his career in the jungle in Belize in 1984, finishing in the jungle in 2008 in Brunei.

Discussing the upcoming season, he said: “Having been a DS on actual military SAS selection and Chief Instructor at the British Army Jungle Warfare Training School in Brunei, there is nobody better placed than myself to lead the recruits through this treacherous environment.

“I’m looking forward to challenging and encouraging the new recruits. However, I will not be accepting any excuses – this will be the toughest course to date!”

Billy will be joined by Rudy Reyes, who was the chief instructor in last years’ series but will be taking a step back this year, Jason Foxy Fox and new recruit Chris Oliver, a 40-year-old former Special Forces operator and Royal Marines mountain leader who served in the special boat service.

What is Ant Middleton doing now?

Despite being axed from the UK version of the series, Ant is now a part of the Australian version on Channel 7 as chief instructor.

Last year’s line-up included model Nadia Bartel, comedian Pauly Fenech, TV presenter Riana Crehan, actor Sam Frost, and Bachelor star Locky Gilbert, and Ant gave one of them the warmest welcome …. literally.

During the first episode of the season, Ant pulled in TV star Locky for a quick chat, before casually addressing the rest of the group by telling them they were going to be set on fire.

He later covered Locky in petrol from head to toe, before he threw a match on his uniform which resulted in aggressive flames spreading on his back.

And it didn’t end there. The recruits were later told that if they wanted to change into dry clothes, they would have to strip naked on the spot.

When asked what the toughest part of the gruelling series was, Ant explained that with every new season it’s important to push the celebrities further out of their comfort zone.

Ant has appeared on the Australian version of SAS: Who Dares Wins (Picture: Dave Benett / Getty Images for Netflix)

‘With each season, we get really creative in focusing and exacerbating common and collective fears,’ he said.

‘We design tasks to force people to overcome these fears and to manage their emotions in extreme circumstances.’

SAS: Who Dares Wins- Jungle Hell starts tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.

MORE : What time is SAS: Who Dares Wins on tonight and what channel is it on?

MORE : SAS: Who Dares Wins’ Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham is ‘sure’ Ant Middleton will be watching new series and ‘wishing he was back with the team’

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