Sacked SAS star Ant Middleton set to quit ‘pretentious’ UK for Australia after ‘witch hunt’
SAS: Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton is moving to Australia after being sacked from the show.
The 40-year-old hardman got the boot from the Channel 4 programme after a series of high profile gaffes, which included a tweet about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Ant is currently in Australia filming their version of the show and he’s decided to make the move and leave “pretentious" UK behind, after what he has called a "witch hunt".
He told The James Smith podcast: “I’ve got a great connection with Australia. My wife also loves Australia.
“She did a gap year out here when she was young. She’s always said, ‘Let’s move to Australia’, So when SAS Australia came up, I was like, ‘Let’s see the layout, let’s see how it goes’.
“We’ve sort of made a decision to move out here next year.”
Ant and his wife Emilie are parents to five children - Oakley, Priseis, Bligh, Gabriel and Shyla.
He continued: “I feel like I fit in here.
“That’s very strange being the person that I am. I don’t know whether the UK is a bit pretentious for me, a bit too PC for me, where I can’t be myself.
“I have to suppress a part of me to fit in, which I don’t like doing and I won’t do as you’ve probably seen but here you’ve got that balance that right.”
Discussing what happened for him to lose his job, he said: “Witch hunt? I never thought that existed until the latest shenanigans with SAS UK.
“Ultimately people can see through it and know I was pushed before I could jump.”
Social media backlash started against Ant in June 2020 after he posted a video of violence at anti-racism protests in London.
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He tweeted: “The extreme left against the extreme right. BLM and EDL are not welcome on our streets, absolute scum. What a great example you are to your future generation. Bravo."
He was informed of the sudden decision by Channel 4 to no longer employ him on March 1, 2021 - just weeks ahead of the planned start date for the latest series.
Reports also circulated that Middleton had been fired after female crew members raised concerns regarding "inappropriate comments" he had made, which he later dismissed as “banter”.
The broadcaster has since said it will never work with him again due to his "personal conduct".