SAS Australia: Who is Ant Middleton and his team of directing staff? - NEWS.com.au

“I’ve spent 12 years in the military, four years in the special forces. I’ve saved lives … and I’ve taken lives.”

So said chief instructor Ant Middleton in the first few minutes of the season premiere of Channel 7’s hit new reality show SAS Australia. So just who are the elite team of ex-Special Forces soldiers putting pampered Aussie celebs through their paces?

Read on for each member of the team’s impressive resumé – and some surprising facts about each of them, including Middleton’s own debilitating phobia and another member of the team’s shock axing from the UK version of the show mere months ago.

ANT MIDDLETON’S SECRET PHOBIA

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Middleton joined the Special Boat Service (SBS, the sister unit of the SAS) in 2008 and spent four years there. He also served in the Royal Marines and 9 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers – meaning that he has achieved the ‘holy trinity’ of the UK’s Elite Forces (P Company, Commando Course, UK Special Forces Selection). He transferred his Special Forces skills to personal security and was selected to protect VIPs, including government officials and high-profile celebrities. He also operated as a security expert in South Africa and across various other countries for governments in West Africa.

An impressive resumé, yet in a recent interview, Middleton revealed he suffers from a surprising phobia for someone with such tough credentials: He’s claustrophobic, and is close to having a panic attack in most small spaces including lifts.

“I suffer from claustrophobia – not an ideal ­condition to have when you’re in the Special Forces,” he told the Daily Star.

“I’m OK in crowds, but could you put me into the boot of a car without me flipping out? No. Could I spend any meaningful time in a small caving tunnel? No.

“A small lift is enough to bring me close to a panic attack – those moments when you find yourself taking long, deliberate breaths to try to keep yourself calm.”

The 39-year-old added: “I hate the lack of ­control. When I get into those situations, I’m immediately looking for the exit route.”

“If I enter a lift and I know I’m ­completely locked in, that’s when I say to myself, ‘F**k, if something goes wrong, I’m going to have to prise those doors open. Breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe: Whatever you do, don’t stop.’”

OLLIE OLLERTON’S SHOCK AXING

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At 18, Ollerton joined the Royal Marine Commandos and toured operationally in Northern Ireland and Operation Desert Storm in Iraq.

After five years, he passed SAS selection and joined the Special Boat Service (SBS) where he underwent further training to qualify as a Special Forces Combat Frogman. During his six years in the SBS he undertook a number of high-profile missions including hostage rescue, counter narcotics, counter terrorism, homeland security, counter insurgency operations and humanitarian efforts.

But Ollerton’s appearance in SAS Australia comes just months after he was controversially axed from the UK version of the show, titled SAS: Who Dares Wins. At the time, Ollerton said he was “shocked” at his mysterious dismissal from the top-rating show.

“I’m disappointed and shocked at the same time because we had record viewing figures,” he said in August.

“Five years ago we put our heads above the parapet for the first time ever – threatening our security as former members of the Special Forces – to bring that show to fruition. I expected that loyalty to be reciprocated. It clearly wasn’t.

“I’d rather have left after doing something wrong, as at least I would have understood it.”

Ollerton claimed at the time his dismissal was due to the network seeking a more diverse line-up. “I feel people forcing the diversity agenda upon us are actually keeping racism alive and creating a divide. It doesn’t allow us to unify,” he said.

MARK ‘BILLY’ BILLINGHAM’S NEAR-DEATH KNIFE ATTACK

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Billingham joined the Parachute Regiment in 1983 and served until 1991 holding an array of positions, including patrol commander for operational tours in multiple locations and training instructor for the regiments as a military specialist.

Billy joined the SAS in 1991 as a mountain troop specialist and was responsible for planning and executing strategic operations and training at the highest level in numerous locations (Iraq, Afghanistan, South America and Africa).

He was awarded an MBE by the Queen for leading a hostage rescue mission and received the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery.

Billy has also worked in private security for several A-list celebrities including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Kate Moss, Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Clint Eastwood.

He also survived a near-fatal knife attack at 15 after he was caught in a fight with two brothers from a rival neighbourhood gang.

“The pain was incredible, but I knew I had to move or I was going to die there, so I somehow found enough strength to crawl back to my house, bleeding all over the place,” he later said.

“My mum must have heard me, because she came outside and found me lying on the step, bleeding to death. They rushed me to hospital in an ambulance.

When I woke up, the doctors said it had been very close – if I’d lost any more blood, I’d have died.”

JASON ‘FOXY’ FOX’S POST-SPECIAL FORCES BATTLE

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Fox is a former Royal Marine Commando and Special Forces Sergeant, who served 20 years in the military; 10 with the Special Forces in the Special Boat Service (SBS).

He has planned and led operations including hostage rescue, counter terrorism, counter insurgency, maritime counter terrorism, surveillance, body guarding and counter narcotic missions.

He’s also trained as a combat swimmer, demolitions expert, Special Forces dog handler and jungle survival expert.

After leaving the Special Forces, Jason moved into the television and film industry to support production crews who were working in environmentally hostile areas, such as the jungle, the Arctic or the desert.

He’s also spoken honestly about the depression he experienced after post traumatic stress disorder and chronic burnout forced him to leave the Special Forces.

“I was in my mid-thirties, fit as anything, enjoying the prime of my career, and yet I had been advised to quit the one thing I’d excelled at – soldiering in extreme conditions,” he recalled.

“A psychiatrist’s professional diagnosis was that 10 years of elite military service had taken a heavy toll on my mental health – I was a failure in my job.”

Eventually, therapy held him see a way forward: “It was only once I had later spoken to friends and opened up about my problems that the healing began.”

SAS Australia continues 7.30pm next Monday and Tuesday on Seven.

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2020-10-20 22:08:14Z
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