Ant Middleton addresses controversial Covid-19 comments and opens up on positive mental attitudes
"Am I still out travelling the world? Yes. Am I still shaking hands? Yes. Am I still cuddling fans at the airport? Yes. Am I washing my hands and keeping my hygiene to a high standard as always? Yes."
Back in March SAS: Who Dares Wins star Ant Middleton faced a major backlash for these comments on Covid-19 as the pandemic was starting.
Today, he appreared on Good Morning Britain to address these comments and how he suddenly went from 'hero to zero'.
The 39-year-old said: "I say what I see. I have to see it to believe it and some of my controversial quotes were in the moment.
"I was in New Zealand at the time when coronavirus really hit in the UK so I was sheltered from it. I said 'let's get out there and get on with things' and that's how I tackle life, I tackle life head on.
"If there's a problem or a threat in front of me I tackle it head on. But when it comes to a global pandemic which I didn't know was going to happen - this was before lockdown - then that came and bit me in my behind."
Ant said he stills sticks to the mantra of tackling any problem with a positive mindset but admitted he was wrong in this case: "Sometimes I get it wrong and it's about sticking my hand up and saying 'my information was wrong', listen to government advice and crack on."
Speaking to Piers and Susanna, Ant explained the public opinion on his comments changed drastically as the coronavirus pandemic hit swiftly.
"My quote went from hero to zero because it was before lockdown and before anything was classed as a local pandemic," the former military man said.
"Then the lockdown came, the government advice changed and the global pandemic hit then within 5-6 days that Instagram post was very outdated and it crashed very quickly and I went from hero to zero.
"But you have to acknowledge the situation for what it is, be honest with yourself and you pluck the positives from it."
Speaking about his new book Zero Negativity Ant told GMB: "What we have to realise is that failure is an everyday part of life, it's not a nasty word, it's not a horrible word. I've failed up to now in my life and I'm going to fail until the day I die, that is a fact.
"Once you acknowledge it and you are honest with yourself and you acknowledge the situation then you can turn it around. But the moment you ignore it or your not honest with yourself, is the moment this negative circle will just keep enveloping you."
Piers also asked Ant about Bristol University introducing mandatory training to combat 'thin privilege', he responded: "These professors need to be given the boot, they're the ones who need to realise what real life is all about. It's absolutely ridiculous, with a healthy mind comes a healthy body, they sit in line.
"The moment you start to suffer psychologically, your body will start to suffer. They come hand in hand, it is so important to sync the two."