SAS: Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton insists ‘boys should not cry’ but girls can
FORMER Special Forces tough guy Ant Middleton risks coming under fire again for insisting boys should not cry.
The star of Channel 4’s hit show SAS: Who Dares Wins is training his 9-year-old son Gabriel to control his emotions.
But he admits to being softer with daughter Shyla, 11.
Ant said: “I do say to him, ‘Son, come on, you’re a little man now, Have a stiffer upper lip’.
"If he was to fall over and hurt his knee and look up at me, I avoid eye contact. The moment he sees my eyes he’s going to start crying.
“However, if it was my daughter, I’d be straight over there to comfort her.”
Gabriel is keen on Thai boxing — but, if hurt, cries only if his mum takes him.
Ant, 38, told author Giovanna Fletcher on podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby: “If I take him, he’ll get hit and I’ll give him a nod as if to say, ‘It’s OK son, harness that aggression and use it’.
“That’s life. It’s not being sexist, it’s not being non- PC. I’ll say it how it is and, in my heart of hearts, I think I’m doing the right thing.”
The Para, sniper, double Special Forces soldier is known for putting contestants through part of the notorious SAS selection process on Who Dares Wins.
He opened up about his own experience in the military in his book last year.
In an extract, Ant said: "Most people I meet don’t have the courage to ask The Question: What’s it like to kill a man?
"Killing someone feels like pulling your trigger finger back a few millimetres. It feels like hearing a dull pop.
"It feels like seeing a man-shaped object fall away from your sights.
"It feels like getting the job done. It feels satisfying.
"But beyond that, killing someone feels like nothing at all.
"You might find that shocking, you might even find it offensive.
"I am aware that mine is not an ordinary response. It’s not even a response I share with everyone who has fought in war zones."
- GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk