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Massive Channel 4 reality show star could face bankruptcy over tax bill after one business went bust owing £1.2m
The hit show also has a Celebrity version where stars can compete against each other
AXED SAS star Ant Middleton is facing bankruptcy over a monster tax bill.
The former SAS: Who Dares Wins instructor is being probed by accountants over his business dealings.
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Ant is said to be closing down his UK businesses after one went bust owing more than £1.2 million – mostly to the tax office.
His firm Sway and Starting Ltd was forced into liquidation by creditors despite it raking in £4.5 million in 2021.
The firm’s statement of affairs reveals it was abandoned owing £1,199,773 to HMRC and £3,318 to other creditors.
Before wrapping it up, Middleton took out £2.7million as a “director’s loan” with the paperwork noting it is “uncertain” how much of that will be paid back.
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Now, liquidators trying to claim back cash to pay creditors have said in documents filed this week: “We are in correspondence with the Director regarding the loan account but a settlement is yet to be reached.
“If a satisfactory settlement is not able to be reached it will be necessary for me to petition for the Director's bankruptcy.”
And the accountants are also looking into any breaches of the Company Directors Disqualification Act and have sent a report to the government’s business department.
They wrote: “The office holders are obliged under the CDDA to conduct certain investigations into the affairs and conduct of the Company and its directors.
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“A report is subsequently submitted. This work does not directly commercially benefit creditors and is a statutory requirement.”
Middleton, an ex-Para, Royal Marine and Special Boat Service hero, claimed £20,000 in Covid furlough money.
Ant was given the boot from SAS over his “personal conduct” following comments he made online last year.
He made controversial tweets where he said that groups like Black Lives Matter are “not welcome on our streets, absolute scum”, while also making light of the pandemic saying we should all “carry on as normal”.
Middleton tweeted: “The extreme left against the extreme right.
"When did two wrongs make a right … BLM and EDL are not welcome on our streets, absolute scum."
The same month, Channel 4 set out a "new and clear commitment" to being an anti-racist organisation and said Ant's tweet “in no way represent the views of Channel 4”.
After it was revealed he had been axed from SAS: Who Dares Wins, Ant took to Instagram and said: “After five years on the show it just felt like I had achieved everything I could with the format.
“There’s so many other formats that I am working on now that feel more suited to who I am today.
“It’s been a brilliant experience being on that show but I'm honestly happy to let some new blood come in and put their own stamp on it.”
After being axed from the show, Ant was replaced by actor and former US Marine, Rudy Reyes, 51.
For the 2023 series of SAS: Who Dares Wins, - Mark "Billy" Billingham became the CI.
Ant has maintained his SAS hosting position on the Australian Version of the show for the Seven Network.
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Ant has appeared on the series since its inception in 2020 and has remained on the show ever since.
The Sun have reached out to Ant Middleton for comment.
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