Ant Middleton

Anthony Middleton (born 22 September 1980) is a former British soldier, adventurer and television presenter. He is best known as the Chief Instructor on the Channel 4 television series SAS: Who Dares Wins. Middleton also appeared as the captain in the adventure/reality-show Mutiny and the survival show Escape. In 2018 he climbed Everest for the TV show Extreme Everest with Ant Middleton.[1]

Ant Middleton
Born (1980-09-22) 22 September 1980
Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
OccupationTelevision personality, adventurer
Years active2015–present
Spouse(s)Emilie Middleton
Children5
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army (1998–2002)
Royal Marines (2005–2012)
Years of service1998–2002
2005–2012
Service number255700
Unit9 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers
40 Commando
Special Boat Service
Battles/warsNorthern Ireland
War in Afghanistan
Websitehttps://antmiddleton.com

Career

Military service

Middleton joined the army in 1998[2] at the age of 17 where he served in the 9 Parachute Squadron RE and served tours of duty in Northern Ireland in 1999 and Macedonia in 2001. After leaving the army he later enlisted in the Royal Marines in 2005. He passed out of his commando course in January 2006, winning the King's Badge for best all round recruit,[3] and was posted to B Company, 40 Commando. In 2007, he did his first tour in Afghanistan. In 2008 he joined the Special Boat Service, serving for four years as a sniper and point man.[4] In this time he completed two further tours in Afghanistan and reached the rank of corporal.[5][6] After leaving the military, Middleton worked as a security guard for VIPs, and later as a security expert in South Africa and for various West African governments.[7]

Television

Middleton is the Chief Instructor on SAS: Who Dares Wins, a reality quasi-military training television programme produced by Channel 4, which was first broadcast in 2015. The show propelled Middleton into celebrity limelight, and since its screening Middleton's popularity has increased significantly, allowing him more TV opportunities. Mutiny, an adventure/reality crossover show, screened on UK television in February 2017, with Middleton starring as boat captain alongside eight volunteering participants.[8] The show was a re-enactment of the infamous Mutiny on the Bounty and Middleton described the experience as "mentally speaking, the hardest thing I've ever done".[9]

Publications

In 2017, Middleton co-authored his first book, SAS: Who Dares Wins: Leadership Secrets from the Special Forces, with his fellow TV presenters and Special Forces colleagues Jason Fox, Matthew "Ollie" Ollerton and Colin Maclachlan. Middleton's autobiography, First Man In: Leading from the Front, was published in 2018, becoming a Number 1 Sunday Times best-seller.[10] His second book,The Fear Bubble: Harness Fear and Live Without Limits, was published in 2019, and was also No.1 on The Sunday Times best-seller chart.

Other

On 14 May 2018, Middleton summited Mount Everest with Ed Wardle, completing the climb over a five and a half week period. The pair nearly died when they were caught in a blizzard behind a group of ten climbers who hampered their progress during the descent.[11][12][13]

In November 2019 Middleton was appointed as Chief Cadet and Honorary Captain in the Royal Navy's Volunteer Cadet Corps.[14][15] He left the position nine months later amidst controversy surrounding a comment he made on Twitter, which appeared to compare Black Lives Matter protesters with the English Defence League as extremists and "scum", though he later said he was not equating the two groups.[16][17]

Personal life

Middleton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and brought up in France.[18]

In 2013, as a result of a "nightclub bust-up" in Chelmsford, Essex,[19] Middleton was convicted of the unlawful wounding of one police officer, PC Christopher Brooksbank, and common assault upon a second, PC Katherine Alison. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison, of which he served five months.[19][20]

He has 5 children, 1 of which is from a previous relationship.

Filmography

Television
Year Television series Role Channel Notes Ref
2015–present SAS: Who Dares Wins Chief Instructor Channel 4 6 Series [21]
2017 Mutiny Captain Bligh Channel 4 1 Series [22]
Escape Himself Channel 4 1 Series [23]
2018 Extreme Everest with Ant Middleton Himself Channel 4 1 Series [24]
2019–present Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins Chief Instructor Channel 4 2 Series [25]
2019 Ant Middleton and Liam Payne: Straight Talking Presenter Sky One One episode [26]
2020–present SAS Australia Who Dares Wins Chief Instructor Seven Network 1 Series [27]
2021 Ant Middleton & Rebel Wilson: Straight Talking Presenter Sky One One episode [28]

Works

Non-fiction
  • SAS: Who Dares Wins: Leadership Secrets from the Special Forces (Headline, 2016) ISBN 978-1472240736
  • First Man In: Leading from the front (HarperCollins, 2018) ISBN 978-0008245719
  • Leader et soldat d'élite: Leçons des forces spéciales (Talent Editions, 2019) ISBN 978-2378150587
  • The Fear Bubble: Harness Fear and live without limits (HarperCollins, 2019) ISBN 978-0008194680
  • Zero Negativity: The Power of Positive Thinking (HarperCollins, 2020) ISBN 978-0008336516

Fiction
  • Cold Justice (Sphere, 2021) ISBN 978-0751580433



RibbonDescriptionNotes
General Service Medal
  • With "NORTHERN IRELAND" Clasp
NATO Medal for Macedonia
Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan
  • With "AFGHANISTAN" Clasp
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
  • 2012
  • UK version of this medal

References
  1. "Extreme Everest with Ant Middleton". Channel 4.
  2. "twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  3. "Kings Squad". Royal Navy. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  4. "SAS Who Dares Wins 2020 – everything you need to know". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  5. "'That's true courage': Ant Middleton on why the RNLI is a special force". rnli.org. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  6. "Ant Middleton". mn2s.com. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  7. "Ant Middleton". speakerscorner.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  8. Ling, Thomas (27 February 2017). "The crew on Mutiny, C4's Bounty documentary, lost almost 4 stone during their voyage". Radio Times. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  9. "Meet the men recreating the Mutiny on the Bounty for Channel 4". Radio Times. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  10. "First Man In: No.1 Sunday Times Best Seller". Ant Middleton.
  11. "Ant Middleton: 'My wife called me an idiot when she found out how close I'd come to death on Everest ... to be fair, I agreed with her!'". The Belfast Telegraph. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  12. Fogle, Ben (2018). Up: My life journey to the top of Everest. William Collins. p. 81. ISBN 978-0008319182.
  13. "Ant Middleton On Accepting Death During Mount Everest Adventure". ladbible.com. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  14. "VCC Appoints Chief Cadet". volunteercadetcorps.org. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  15. "SAS: Who Dares Wins Star Ant Middleton Surprises Royal Marines Cadets". forces.net. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  16. Adejobi, Alicia (10 August 2020). "Ant Middleton 'quits' Royal Navy role after Black Lives Matter tweet". Metro. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  17. Adejobi, Alicia (10 August 2020). "Ant Middleton apologises for calling Black Lives Matter protesters 'scum' but insists: 'I am anti-racist'". Metro. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  18. "Ant Middleton | Biography". antmiddleton.com. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  19. Methven, Nicola (21 October 2015). "TV SAS star was jailed for violent assault on police". mirror. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  20. "Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton is a Rangers fan". The Evening Times. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  21. "SAS: Who Dares Wins". channel4.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  22. "Mutiny". channel4.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  23. "Escape". channel4.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  24. "Extreme Everest with Ant Middleton". channel4.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  25. "Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins". channel4.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  26. "Ant Middleton and Liam Payne: Straight Talking". sky.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  27. "SAS Australia show: Meet the celebrities who will test their limits". 7news.com.au. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  28. "Ant Middleton & Rebel Wilson: Straight Talking". sky.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
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