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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Phoebe Jobling

Former SAS Who Dares Wins' Ant Middleton says Liam Payne's bizarre Oscars accent was put on as he calls him a 'wind up'

The Oscars has been one of the most widely talked about events of the year so far after Will Smith slapped host Chris Rock on stage for making a joke about Will's wife Jada. But aside from the incident itself, one moment that went viral was singer Liam Payne's interview where he unveiled a bizarre new accent.

The former One Direction band member was being interviewed in the aftermath of the Oscar's incident when Good Morning Britain viewers noticed his strange accent which left them 'more shocked' than Will Smith's outburst.

Liam was chatting to the ITV news programme's North America correspondent Noel Phillips, who was live on the red carpet of Elton John's Oscars party, when he spoke in an accent that has since been compared to a hybrid of Welsh, Irish and American.

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On Good Morning Britain on Monday (March 11) former SAS: Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton, who has been replaced in the seventh series, said that his friend Liam Payne's accent was likely 'put on' as he called him a 'wind up'.

Ant was on the ITV programme talking to hosts Richard Madeley and Ranvir Singh about his fundraiser that he has launched to support families in Ukraine, when Ranvir asked him a question about his good pal - who he once did a show with named Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking.

"Can I ask you a quick question, what's going on with Liam Payne's accent?" asked Ranvir.

"I don't know, do you know what I'd have to find out," Ant laughed. "He went into about five accents didn't he, but knowing Liam he's quite a comedian."

"So do you think he was putting it on?," Ranvir probed.

"Yeah I think so, he likes to wind a few people up, but he's a great guy," Ant responded.

Liam Payne on the red carpet at the Oscars 2022 (ITV Grab)

Ant Middleton was dropped by Channel 4 last year over different 'views and values' which included commentary on social media about Covid and Black Lives Matters protests.

A Channel 4 spokesperson said in a statement at the time: "Ant Middleton will not be taking part in future series of SAS: Who Dares Wins. Following a number of discussions Channel 4 and Minnow Films have had with him in relation to his personal conduct it has become clear that our views and values are not aligned and we will not be working with him again."

Despite the news being announced in March 2021, Ant did go on to take part in two further series, one with civilians and one with celebrities which aired last year, as they were already filmed prior to the decision being made by the broadcaster.

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