I’m no looker but women still send me messages – and my wife always reacts, say SAS: Who Dares Wins’ Billy Billingham
FIGHTING foes around the world is a doddle for military hardman Mark “Billy” Billingham compared to fending off the army of female admirers who watch him on SAS: Who Dares Wins.
It’s fair to say he doesn’t boast the obvious good looks of his predecessors Ant Middleton and Rudy Reyes.
But the rugged features of the show’s new chief instructor have still earned him so many messages from women that he has had to call in back-up to fend them off — his wife, American entrepreneur Julie.
Billy, 57, said: “I do get people sending crazy messages. Thanks, but my wife controls my phone so if some woman is sending me messages she’s going to filter it out.
“I don’t think I have the looks, but I definitely have the experience and knowledge. That’s what counts and that’s what makes this show.
“I’m getting fitter than I’ve ever been, too, I’m back to when I was 21 in terms of my fitness.
“I’m like 21-year-old Billy, kicking asses and taking names. I think I’ll steer away from the Botox though, I’ll grow old gracefully!”
Billy, who makes his debut as chief instructor on the Channel 4 series when it returns on Monday, served for 20 years in the Special Air Service as a highly decorated leader.
After leaving the military he used his skills to protect the cream of Hollywood, including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Sean Penn, Russell Crowe and Sir Michael Caine.
‘Everything wants to kill you’
He joined the toughest show on TV in 2016, only to find himself once more in the background as support staff to Ant, who was axed by show bosses, and then US marine Rudy.
But thanks to his acid-tongued one-liners on the Channel 4 series he has fast become a fan favourite.
Billy said about his promotion to top spot: “I’m like the godfather of SAS: Who Dares Wins.
“I was quite happy not to be the face of the show. You want a good-looking dude, Ant with his beard, and all that.
“Well, this time they decided to roll out the old man before he packs up and dies. Let’s get the most out of the old man before he collapses on us.
“Listen, it was a natural progression to step into the chief instructor role. It makes perfect sense, because I’m the one with the most experience, not just for the jungle, but in general.
“I’ve done 30-odd years in the military, and on the show I’ve always kind of led from the back.”
Billy is responsible for putting the recruits through their paces while Jason “Foxy” Fox, Rudy and newcomer Chris Oliver follow his lead.
And now he is in charge, Billy doesn’t intend to step aside.
He said: “I think I should stay as chief. I’m assuming I’ll stay, it doesn’t make sense to keep rolling over and over again.
“Unless I left. If I leave, then it makes sense for probably Foxy to step up into the role.”
So is he planning on quitting any time soon?
“No, I’m not. I’ll leave when they throw me out the door.”
Billy is the oldest former soldier on the course, and thanks to specialist surgery he is in the best shape of his life.
And he reckons he has still got what it takes to go toe to toe with men less than half his age. He said: “Do I feel nearly 60? Am I bothered about getting there? No. I’d say this 60-year-old is going to be in front of f***ing most 20-year-olds on any challenge you want to bring on.
“I’ve just done some stem cell surgery on my knees and it’s working. I’m really impressed with it.
“It was just a case of getting old, your bones get a little bit worn and that sort of stuff. I’ve had a little bit of a knee problem, aches and pains, and it’s sorted now. All done.
“I’m training more now than I have been for a long time.
“I’ve always been into my fitness but the show goes to another level every time we do it.
“You can’t afford to sit back on your laurels, you have to put your money where your mouth is.
“You have to be at the top of your game because there’s nothing I ask of the recruits that I can’t do myself. That’s a fact. I’m leading from the front, as I should be.
“Being on the show is a great incentive for me to keep myself fit.”
Back for its eighth series, the show is putting another batch of wannabe soldiers through their paces.
The course this year is more brutal than ever because this time the team are taking on the savagery of the jungle in Vietnam.
And Billy, who became a sergeant major at the International Jungle Warfare and Tracking School in Brunei, couldn’t wait to introduce everyone to his “dangerous playground”.
He explains that if the insects and deadly plants don’t get you, the “crotch rot” will.
He said: “It’s absolute hell. It’s messy. The jungle is a dangerous playground. It’s my playground. Everything wants to kill you — it’s claustrophobic, you feel trapped. The heat is insane.
“I still remember the first time I stepped off the helicopter into the jungle as a 17-year-old. I thought the engines had exploded because of the heat.
“At night it is still one of the most petrifying places to be. You can’t see anything yet the jungle is alive around you.
“I remember nearly firing my weapon thinking we were under attack. It was a firefly.
“I’d never seen one before. It looked like the enemy coming to kill me.
“The enemy, in a way, is the most straightforward thing to deal with. The worst is the leeches and the tics. They go for all the soft spots, armpits and groin. Trust me when I say I’ve had them everywhere. You get to the point where there’s so many feasting on you that you can’t be bothered to get rid of them.
“You just wait for them to have their fill and explode, then you look like you’re covered in bullet wounds.
“There’s also trench foot, you’re wet for so long the skin on your feet actually rots off.
“But there’s nothing worse than crotch rot. If you don’t keep yourself clean and dry down there it’s like trench foot in your groin. It’s excruciating. No one wants crotch rot.”
It’s fair to say Billy knows what he’s talking about.
He joined the Parachute Regiment in 1983 and eight years later passed SAS selection, joining 22 SAS B squadron as a mountain troop specialist.
Reaching the rank of sergeant major, Billy has been responsible for training, planning and executing strategic operations at the highest level around the globe.
The Queen presented him with an MBE for his service as the SAS Ground Commander for the London terror attacks in 2005 and for leading several internationally renowned hostage rescues.
He is joined on the new series by latest team member Chris Oliver, from Sunderland, who joined the military at 16 and served in the Special Boat Service alongside Foxy.
And he knows exactly how the new recruits will be feeling, because during his military career it was Billy who trained Chris, 40, in jungle warfare.
The pair also served in combat together. But unlike Prince Harry, you won’t convince Billy to give away details of their frontline experience.
Billy said: “Chris and I were in the same zones supporting each other, that’s all I’ll say.
“I don’t want to step over the line about the operational side.
“It’s best not talking about it. There’s no need to be talking about how, when or where, your experience should show in your actions.
“I don’t want to blow smoke up his ass but I will say Chris was one of the most talented soldiers I’d ever seen in the jungle.
“His maturity, his professional approach to it, straight away he pushed aside all of the distractions, the noise, the claustrophobia. He just got it.”
So what does the new boy bring to the show?
Billy added: “He has a younger- guy energy which keeps us on our toes and keeps us moving and is good to have.
“He brings great knowledge. Chris has a lot of experience. Not just the jungle, but in general.
“Stepping into the spotlight like this is intimidating, but to be honest we haven’t had to give him that much advice. He just stepped naturally into it.
“He’ll cope well with the attention.”
- SAS: Who Dares Wins begins on Monday on Channel 4 at 9pm.