Ant Middleton has revealed he was “emotionally devastated” when he climbed K2.
The former SAS: Who Dares Wins presenter ventured to climb the second highest mountain on Earth and, despite having previously tackled Everest, admitted K2 was the “more difficult” of the two.
Speaking to Amanda Holden and JK on Heart Breakfast, Ant admitted he “didn’t really enjoy” the grueling feat.
When Amanda asked him if he had cried, he confirmed: “I did a little bit, yeah.” Yes, I did.
Her emotional admission came days after she choked back tears as she recalled some of her most memorable moments with her friend Liam Payne after his tragic death. The couple had worked together on the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking in 2019.
Ant Middleton became an ’emotional wreck’ when he climbed K2, the second highest mountain on Earth, as part of his new documentary.
The former SAS: Who Dares Wins presenter ventured to climb the second highest mountain on Earth and, having already scaled Everest, admitted that K2 was the ‘more difficult’ of the two.
He said: ‘K2 is the most technical and, having done both, it’s definitely the hardest of the eight thousand. Above eight thousand meters, that is, in the death zone, the K2 is undoubtedly the one to use.
‘And if you climb K2, you will definitely establish yourself as a mountaineer. And I did it in nineteen days, without acclimatizing. Which was a little silly. It’s called an aggressive climb, so I didn’t enjoy it much. I was an emotional wreck; I was a physical disaster.’
Responding to whether Ant cried at K2, the Britain’s Got Talent judge joked: “K2 broke Ant Middleton, there’s your headline.”
Ant filmed his grueling climb for his new documentary Killer K2 and insisted he “surely shed a few tears” during production.
When JK joked that he could hear the “dramatic music” and Amanda could see him “curled up in a little ball” on the mountain, he said he probably wouldn’t “get that far” with all that.
In a trailer, he explained: “There aren’t many things that don’t baffle me in life, there aren’t many things that I don’t engage with.”
‘It is the most dangerous mountain in the world. He is known as the widowmaker!
Considered one of the “toughest challenges” he has ever faced, the former Dancing with the Stars contestant noted that it had all been an “emotional rollercoaster” for him.
In an Instagram post, he joked that he had “aged 20 years” during the process and that the whole thing had been a “race against the clock” for him.
His admission came after choked back tears as she shared some of her most memorable moments with late One Direction star Liam during a live interview on The Morning Show in Australia, shortly after the news broke.
The SAS star said Liam, who joined him to film the documentary Ant Middleton & Liam Payne: Straight Talking in 2019, was like a little brother to him.
‘We came together. He was my brother. He was like a little brother to me. “He trusted me,” an emotional Ant said as she fought back tears before sharing a loving tribute on Instagram to “a talented, positive and kind-hearted man.”
Ant and Liam spent three days in Namibia filming the series and forged a strong bond running from lions, surfing on freight trains, abseiling and sleeping under the stars.
The documentary forced long, candid discussions about fatherhood, drinking, and relationships between the two famous men.
In 2018, Ant climbed Mount Everest and at the time revealed that he “almost died” during the adventure.
Ant has filmed the climb of K2 for his new documentary Killer K2 and insisted he “surely shed a few tears” during production.
When JK joked that he could hear the “dramatic music” and Amanda could see him “curled up in a little ball” on the mountain, he said he probably wouldn’t “get that far” with all that.
Ant, who now stars in the Australian version of SAS: Who Dares Wins, took five and a half weeks to complete the daring trek up Mount Everest in 2018.
He was forced to wait in the death zone behind a queue of people for several hours when 70 mph winds caused a blackout.
The former special boat service sniper said there were too many people who didn’t know what they had gotten themselves into in the mountains of Nepal.
He said: ‘Everyone was shouting: ‘Get off the mountain, get off the mountain, you’re going to die!’ You can imagine the state of panic. It was just an absolute disaster up there.
“I remember seeing this guy hanging upside down and other people flying and thinking, ‘I’m not going to get off this mountain.’ It was the only time in my life where I thought, ‘I’m dead.'”
Tune into Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden Monday to Friday from 6:30am to 10:00am, also on Global Player