Joining the army at the age of 17, Ant Middleton has witnessed his fair share of mental and physical battles.
Still, for this elite British soldier, nothing compares to what he has seen during SAS Australia.
“I would say that this series was the toughest yet, by far,” Ant, 40, tells Woman’s Day.
“But I have to say, I was incredibly impressed by the Aussie recruits. They demonstrated such resilience, grit and determination.
“James [Magnussen] had such a great poker face, so I never knew what he was thinking, Nick [Cummins] was so resilient and Merrick [Watts] had such a seriousness about him for a comedian. He was not there to be laughed at,” Ant adds.
“I was incredibly impressed by the Aussie recruits. They demonstrated such resilience, grit and determination,” Ant says.
(Channel Seven)And while the show’s head soldier says he tries “not to take a person’s gender into account”, he was left in awe of the women.
“Out of all the series of SAS, the women in this one really impressed me,” he says.
“Molly [Taylor] was the first woman I have seen master the commando rope crawl, Erin [McNaught] was laser-focused and Sabrina [Frederick] was just the full package in my eyes.”
With the calibre of talent already raised high, Ant warns the wannabe recruits thinking of taking part next year to only do it if “your head is 100 per cent committed”.
“This is not for weak people and if you do it for the wrong reasons, we will see through it and you won’t go past the first three days,” he promises.
Ant’s report card
Erin is determined as ever.
(Channel Seven)Erin McNaught, 38
STRENGTH: Determination
Weakness: Upper body strength
What she needs to do to win: She needs to make sure her head is in charge, then her body will follow.
James needs to dig deeper to stand out.
(Channel Seven)James Magnussen, 29
STRENGTH: Stature
Weakness: Expressing emotion
What he needs to do to win: He needs to find the passion and emotion deep inside to go beyond his capabilities.
Merrick has been tested physically.
(Channel Seven)Merrick Watts, 47
STRENGTH: Focus
Weakness: Limited physical background
What he needs to do to win: As a comedian he doesn’t have the fitness base of the others. He has to stay focused and keep pushing in order to win.
Molly is a strong silent competitor.
(Channel Seven)Molly Taylor, 32
STRENGTH: Quiet achiever
Weakness: The cold
What she needs to do to win: Step out from the pack – she has the strength but she needs to show it.
Nick has gone from strength to strength – literally.
(Channel Seven)Nick Cummins, 33
Strength: Brute force
Weakness: The cold and an injured leg
What he needs to do to win: He needs to ensure that his injuries don’t get the better of him. He is also terrible in the cold.
Strong Sabrina is a fan favourite.
(Channel Seven)Sabrina Frederick, 24
STRENGTH: Power
Weakness: Fatigue and an injured back.
What she needs to do to win: Stay focused and keep her eye on the prize.
Shannan struggled in the cold challenges.
(Channel Seven)Shannan Ponton, 46
STRENGTH: Maturity
Weakness: The cold
What he needs to do to win: He has very low body fat, so he needs to keep moving in order to combat the cold.
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