Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SAS host boasts of many job offers
AXED TV action man Ant Middleton says he has been approached to make new shows but insists he will not change how he works.
Earlier this month the Daily Mirror revealed how Channel 4 dropped Middleton, 40, from SAS: Who Dares Wins over his “personal conduct”.
Channel 4 said its views and values were not aligned with Middleton’s and “we will not be working with him again”.
TV union Bectu said female crew had complained of “lewd and suggestive comments” made towards them.
The EX-SAS man said being dropped by the station shows he is “doing the right thing”.
He compared himself to hosts Piers Morgan and Jeremy Clarkson who controversially left high-profile shows.
He said: “This last week so many doors have opened, production companies and channels calling me.
“You get cancelled then that’s your career done but you’ve got Piers Morgans, Jeremy Clarksons and now you’ve got your Ant Middletons. I’m not going to be comfortable with everyone, and I’m not going to be their cup of tea.
“Well that’s fine because, guess what, I don’t want to work with you.
“If I get questioned one little bit about who I am by any brands, any sponsors, any channels, then I will not work with them. I will say listen, thank you very much. It’s obviously not the right match.” Later in the podcast The Diary of A CEO, Middleton admitted some of his “banter” may be difficult to hear and that he is still a “work in progress”.
The presenter and author had 14 years in the armed forces, including stints in the Paras, Royal Marines and the Special Boat Service. He said at times he has to draw on his experience as a soldier to get the job done as he knows it works.
He said he is the first to admit if he has said or done something wrong.
“People have to realise that this is a work in progress it is not something I can change overnight. You need to understand that’s who I am.” Following the Mirror’s story about his comments, Middleton appeared on Good Morning Britain and said: “There’s a new protocol that came in... that if they feel offended, or they want to complain, they can complain anonymously.
He said they had seen “a bit of military banter and humour”.
Middleton faced a backlash over comments he made last year about Black Lives Matter protests and coronavirus. He has blamed a lot of criticism he faced this month on the “PC patrol and the woke patrol kicking in”.
Morgan walked out of his GMB job this month in a row over the Duchess of Sussex’s Oprah Winfrey chat. Clarkson was dropped from Top Gear in 2015 after an “unprovoked attack” on a producer.