SAS tough guy Jason Fox to show the 'softer side of the soldier' on his new UK tour
SAS: Who Dares Win star Jason Fox may be as tough as they come but he tells the Harrogate Advertiser the Royal Hall will shortly see a softer side of the soldier.
Although his forthcoming 20-date UK tour is called Jason Fox: Embrace the Chaos and will contain never-told-before stories from his extraordinary life, the former Royal Marine Commando and Special Forces Sergeant says he is a changed man now.
"When I was in the SAS I was tough but it was a brutal job and I was much younger then,” said the 49-year-old Jason, now one of the UK’s most respected television presenters and adventurers
"These days, I’m just normal, though I can still do crazy stuff every now and then.”
Fans of his appearances on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins as the show’s longest serving directing staff may have been surprised that Danny Dyer’s daughter Dani outlasted former England rugby star Ben Cohen in the most recent TV series.
But it didn’t surprise Jason, a successful author.
"I think Dani wanted it more. She had a bit more to prove than Ben, maybe, and was willing to grit it out.
"The interrogation is the bit that usually makes or breaks people.
"Just like in real life, physical resilience is required from the contestants but mental resilience is more important.
"Managing your emotions is the thing that can trip you up.”
After selling out theatres nationwide with his previous tour, Life At The Limit, Jason’s new show will take audiences from the frontline of the world’s most volatile environments to the far more relatable chaos of everyday life.
If anyone knows the importance of mental wellbeing and the challenges that can be involved in retaining it, it’s this former Special Forces man who, like his fellow “staff” comes across as very human on the show.
"Before the first series of SAS: Who Dares Win I wasn’t sure who I should be on screen,” he said.
"Then I thought “just be yourself”.
"I’d done instructors’ roles in the military and it was never all about shouting anyway.”