Ant Middleton: I wanted to quit 'SAS: Who Dares Wins' over 'woke patrol' so Channel 4 sacked me

Ant Middleton has claimed he had threatened to quit SAS: Who Dares Wins due to the 'woke patrol' before he was sacked by Channel 4.

The ex-Royal Marine, who rose to fame on the reality series, was dropped from the show earlier this year due to his "personal conduct", but has now said he planned to leave anyway.

According to The Sun, Middleton, 41, revealed in his new book, Mental Fitness: “They knew that I was going to jump so they pushed me first.”

Read more: Ant Middleton slams UK 'SAS: Who Dares Wins' as he joins Australian version

He admitted: “I’d been enduring rather than enjoying it for a while and had to be talked into doing the last series by my management team.

“I already felt the show had become too scripted, and that health and safety had become too powerful."

Middleton claimed: "I even said as much to one of the producers. ‘You guys are going to be getting a call very soon. I don’t agree with the way the course is being run. I’m not being allowed to do my job any more. I’m out’."

The former solider said the tipping point came after he told contestants to get back into a freezing river in Scotland as an extra test at the end of a task, but health and safety intervened

Middleton said he told show bosses: "Unless this changes, I’m f***ing leaving. I’ll walk off set. I cannot have my recruits interrupted halfway through a task. You’re going to ruin the whole authenticity of the show. It’s out of hand.”

He said: "The first series was so exciting and real because of its brutality. We weren’t pretending to be anything other than what we were — uncompromising alpha males from the military.

“That’s obviously the opposite of the show they want now. The woke patrol have their victory, and I’ll be very interested to see where the series goes next.”

Middleton previously blamed "woke culture" for Channel 4's decision not to renew his contract.

The father-of-five – who resigned from his role as the Royal Navy’s chief cadet last year – came under criticism for comments he made about the Black Lives Matter protests as well as the coronavirus pandemic. He later apologised for both social media posts.

Read more: Ant Middleton recalls low of smashing daughter's piggy bank to buy milk

Middleton joined the army at the age of 17 in 1998 and served for 14 years. He served four months of a 14-month prison sentence in 2013 for unlawful wounding and common assault on two police officers outside a nightclub in Essex.

Watch: Ant Middleton insists his career will continue despite Channel 4 axe