The Australian career of former SAS: Who Dares Wins chief instructor Ant Middleton lies in ruins after his highly publicised speaking tour was abruptly axed, The Daily Mail can reveal.
Promoters were forced to pull the plug on his 'Mind Over Muscle' tour, which was scheduled to hit major cities including Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane in November, following a dramatic decline in ticket sales and a wave of negative publicity.
The cancellation marks a spectacular fall from grace for the former soldier in a country where he was once a hugely popular television personality. His downfall was triggered by a series of controversial incidents and public statements that alienated his fanbase and led to his dismissal from the hit Channel 4 show.
Controversy and Cancellation
Event organisers TEG Live and Dainty Group released a brief statement confirming the cancellation, simply stating: "Refunds are available at the point of purchase." The decision is understood to be a direct commercial response to poor demand, with many venues reportedly having vast numbers of empty seats.
This professional exile from Australia is the latest in a string of setbacks for Middleton. His core brand as the tough-but-fair disciplinarian has been severely damaged by accusations of inappropriate behaviour and divisive comments on social media.
A Pattern of Provocation
Middleton's troubles began to mount during the COVID-19 pandemic when he referred to Black Lives Matter protesters as "absolute scum" in a since-deleted video, a comment for which he later apologised. Further damage was done when he was dropped by Channel 4 following allegations of making inappropriate remarks to female crew members on the set of SAS: Who Dares Wins, claims he vehemently denied.
His relationship with Australian media also soured significantly. He was publicly condemned and dropped by Channel 7 in Australia after making lewd and provocative comments during a radio interview on the Fitzy & Wippa show in 2021, which was deemed to have breached the network's standards.
The cancellation of his Australian tour signifies that the backlash has now directly impacted his ability to earn a living on the international stage, leaving his future prospects down under looking decidedly bleak.
