Middleton appeared on GMB after his sacking by Channel 4
Ant Middleton has hit out at ‘snowflakes’ and the ‘woke brigade’ during an appearance on Good Morning Britain following his sacking by Channel 4 over his personal conduct.
Middleton was relieved of duties by C4, which included hosting popular show SAS: Who Dares Wins, after a string of comments last year which received widespread criticism.
Comments included criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement, when he compared the anti-racist movement to the English Defence League, describing both as “absolute scum”. He also questioned the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking to hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, Middleton was asked what the truth surrounding his departure was.
He said: “I’m always good and positive and I’m about to drop some truth serum.
“That Channel 4 statement is very reckless and desperate, that’s the word – desperate, it’s been backed by excuses like the BLM tweet that I did just under a year ago.
“We dealt with that tweet and I filmed two more series with Channel 4 after that before being dropped.”
Responding to allegations in the Mirror that female staff on his show had complained about his behaviour and comments he had made, Middleton said:
“The inappropriate comments, it’s all smoke and mirrors, from the last episode it became a half scripted reality show and full control was taken from me.
“I was done with SAS: Who Dares Wins they knew that I was going and then all of a sudden they drop this bomb, I’ve been axed.
“They’re just protecting their brand, they knew I was going.
“We say inappropriate things and do inappropriate things, if you get offended by them that’s the show, the comments weren’t made directly, it’s what someone’s seen on the show.
“It’s never direct, there’s a new protocol on set that if people feel offended then they can complain anonymously, someone has probably seen military banter or humour, it’s something indirect that they’ve seen and felt offended by.
“If you’re a snowflake you don’t belong on the SAS set – this isn’t Dancing On Ice.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, Channel 4 said of the departure: “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.”
