Hard man Billy Billingham says SAS: Who Dares Wins will go on despite Ant Middleton’ s sacking.
The new series starting on Sunday was recorded last year before Middleton was axed by Channel 4 bosses and will be his last in the UK.
Billy, 55, said he and his fellow Directing Staff who lead the recruits will simply keep calm and carry on.
“I always relate everything to the military world,” he says. “The show goes on, it’s bigger than all of us.
“Other than the people who really love to see me, Ant, Foxy... they’ll miss that side of it. But they’ll move on with the rest of us. The show will go from strength to strength.”
This year features the show’s first transgender recruit. Holly, 32, from Manchester, grew up as a boy but always felt uncomfortable with it.
She wants to show that not all trans women look the same – and to inspire others to not feel ashamed about being different.
It’s a message Billy endorses.
He said: “To stand on national TV and be judged for who she is and then go along with being pushed to the limit of physical and mental ability... hats off to Holly.”
Confidence
He believes she will give transgender people the confidence to talk about who they really are.
“She’s really put them on the map to say hey, don’t be afraid of who you are, and show what you can do.
“And why not? You are who you are. For Holly to come forward and do that was a ballsy, ballsy call.”
Billy, a former bodyguard to the stars, has been on the show for five years. Despite risking it every day during 17 years in the SAS, Billy says the military actually saved his life.
He grew up on a rough estate in Walsall, West Midlands, and was often caught up in violence.
“At 15 I got stabbed, at 11 I was in court,” he said. “I’d have been involved in gang things, maybe killed, or an overdose. I never got involved in drugs but who knows what might’ve happened? I wouldn’t be talking to you now, probably.”
New DS Melvyn Downes was also raised in the Midlands, just 20 miles from Billy. But they only met in the SAS, where Melvyn did 12 years.
“I know Melvyn from way back,” said Billy. I’ve done a lot of operations with him. He grew up in the Midlands like me. The direction for us was the military. It was our saving grace.”
*SAS: Who Dares Wins returns to Channel 4 on Sunday, 9pm
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