SAS Who Dare Wins star Ant Middleton has revealed the lowest point of his life – stealing money from his daughter’s piggy bank.
The special forces hero said was so skint when he came out of prison in 2013 that he had no choice but use his child’s pocket money to buy milk.
He says the shameful act helped him turn his life around and carve a successful career in television.
The father of five, who was jailed for asserting two police officers after he left the SBS, opened up about the turning point in his life on No Passion, No Point podcast.
Former British soldier Middleton, 40, said: “I remember when I got out of prison, I remember opening the fridge and literally having no milk for the kids and I had to get my daughter’s penny jar and smash it open and get all the 20 pences and all the 50 pences.
SAS Who Dare Wins star Ant Middleton has revealed that stealing money from his daughter’s piggy bank was the lowest point of his life (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
“I had to literally accumulate all those to get two pints of milk until I waited for my next pay cheque and I remember thinking ‘We can’t live like this, I’ve got so much to give’
“I was a special forces operator, I know I’ve got a resilient and robust mindset and unique way of thinking so this can never happen again.”
“And then I went from that to writing my first book, more TV shows, more books, doing UK tours.
He added: “I’ve had no money and now I have money and I know which side I’d rather be.”
Middleton went on to admit that being jailed for assaulting police officers outside an Essex nightclub was like being given a mission to complete.
The former British solider says the shameful act helped him turn his life and carve a successful career in television (Image: Channel 4)
He said: “I can just remember as soon as that hammer went down, I remember this weight being lifted off my shoulders because I knew what I needed to do – I’ve got to do 14 months.
“The worst moment is not being able to own a situation, I didn’t know if I was going to get one year, two years, five years. When you are in control you can take ownership.”
The Channel 4 star then began working towards getting out within five months by “being a model prisoner” but this relief was quickly followed by shame.
Straight-talking Middleton added: “I remember the first roll call, standing by my door, shouting my number saying I was present, thinking I have gone from being an elite special forces operator to being a number in the nick and that was the most shameful experience of my life – my head hung with shame.
“I don’t mind being away from the family when I’m providing for them, when I’m putting food on the table, when I’m showing my children what work ethic is all about and I’m leading by example.
“But when I’m a burden on them and I’m in there proving nothing to society or my family I vowed to myself I would never return to prison because of that shameful experience.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
