SAS: Who Dares Wins has hired a new officer to join the show following Ant Middleton's exit.
Former soldier Melvyn Downes will join the popular Channel 4 show which sees members of the public put through their paces in an SAS selection-style process.
Melvyn will join Middleton, Jason Fox and Mark “Billy” Billingham as the show’s first mixed-race officer and member of the Directing Staff (DS).
He replaces Ollie Ollerton who departed the programme last year.
Two SAS series which have already been filmed prior to Middleton being dropped by Channel 4, one with civilians and one with celebrities, and will air later this year.
But planned future series being made in the coming months for 2022 will feature a new line-up.
Melvyn, 55, served for more than 20 years in the Armed Forces – 12 of which involved carrying out missions for the SAS - but has since become a Scout leader.
Confirming his involvement with The Sun, he said: "I know people are going to say it’s all about race, but I don’t see it that way.
"I had 24 years in the British military, got to senior rank as a Warrant Officer and led countless SAS operations, I think I have got the necessary experience first of all to back it up."
He added: "Being the first mixed-race DS is going to be a great opportunity as I can represent the under-represented in life — not just minorities, I’m talking about people from deprived, working-class backgrounds."
