SAS: Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton has backtracked on his comments regarding the coronavirus after he was criticised for urging people to “carry on as normal”.
The former soldier told his social media followers to not “be a sheep” and said he did not believe government advice to self-isolate applied to him because he is “strong and able”.
Middleton, who was a member of the British special forces, was heavily criticised for the comments.
He has now backtracked and said he was in a “bubble” while filming a “secret project” in New Zealand.
In a video posted to Instagram, Middleton said: “And now I’ve come out of this bubble I’ve realised I’ve probably been a bit insensitive towards the magnitude, the scale, of the crisis that’s happening in the UK.”
He said he had deleted his previous posts as they contradicted government advice and he “wouldn’t want people to come across that now”.
“I’ve decided to admit that I made a mistake. I always talk about integrity, take that on the chin and come back to the UK and do the best that I possibly can,” Middleton said.
He praised the emergency services as well as NHS staff and other key employees working throughout the crisis.
The Government has set out “unprecedented” measures in a bid to shore up the economy in the face of the virus.
And Boris Johnson has ordered pubs and restaurants across the country to close to try to halt the virus spreading.