The Amazing Race Australia host Beau Ryan has broken his silence over contestants Ant and Dan Middleton’s shock exit this week.
At the beginning of Tuesday’s episode, Beau revealed via voiceover that the pair had been booted from the series after breaching the code of conduct.
It was later alleged by fellow contestants Luke and ‘Sassy’ Scott O’Halloran that Dan had subjected the TikTok stars to ‘homophobic slurs’.
Speaking about the incident on Triple M Breakfast with Beau, Cat and Woodsy on Wednesday, Beau said that although the incident left everyone rattled, he was pleased with the swift response from production.
‘It was a curveball for everyone involved, but it was handled very quickly,’ Beau said on air.
‘This was only the second or third night these guys had been together. They’ve literally just met each other.’
The Amazing Race Australia host Beau Ryan has broken his silence over contestants Ant and Dan Middleton’s shock exit this week
‘I said at the start of the year when I got back, I wasn’t there so I can’t comment on what actually happened, but Network Ten, Paramount, and Eureka – the production company – acted very swiftly.’
While admitting he couldn’t go into too much detail as he wasn’t present at the time of the altercation, Beau said he had since spoken to Ant and Dan.
Beau felt sympathy for Ant, who was also not present at the time of the incident.
‘[Ant] was disappointed,’ he said. Not only because there was an incident, but also that his time on the race was over.’
Beau was quick to add that while it was a difficult situation for all involved, producers’ main priority was the wellbeing of Luke and Scott.
He said that the shock exit had also put the remaining competitors ‘on notice.’
‘After that moment, it sort of put everyone on notice – firstly, that you’ve got to obviously look after each other first and foremost, and secondly, that it wasn’t a holiday,’ he said.
‘People are competing. People are representing themselves, their families, their charities.’
At the beginning on Tuesday’s episode, Beau revealed via voiceover that the pair had been booted from the series, after breaching the code of conduct. It was later alleged by fellow contestants Luke and ‘Sassy’ Scott O’Halloran that Dan had subjected the TikTok stars to ‘homophobic slurs’
Speaking about the incident on Triple M Breakfast with Beau, Cat and Woodsy on Wednesday, Beau said that while rattled by the incident, he was pleased with the swift response from production staff
Beau’s remarks come after Luke and Scott revealed the trouble started at their hotel in Nepal during a day off from filming.
‘Dan Middleton approached us six times, making remarks and gestures that we found homophobic, offensive, intimidatory, and disturbing,’ the pair told Sydney Confidential.
They continued: ‘Each time he [Dan] came over to us, the encounters felt increasingly more aggressive.
‘At one point, he was right up in our faces, surrounded by some of the other cast members, who seemed to us to be as uncomfortable as we were.’
The O’Hallorans said that AFL star Brendan Fevola attempted to defuse the situation, physically stepping between the social media stars and Dan.
‘He did [that] more than once,’ they said.
Reports of the incident first emerged in April.
Ant Middleton, it is understood, was not involved but was disqualified along with his brother.
‘It was a curveball for everyone involved, but it was handled very quickly,’ Beau said on air. ‘This is like second or third night these guys were together. They’ve literally just met each other.’
Beau was quick to add that while it was a difficult situation for all involved, producer’s main priority was the wellbeing of Luke and Scott
At the time, Brendan reportedly gave producers an ultimatum: remove the Middleton brothers or he and daughter Leni would walk.
Ant and Dan were sent home and cut from the series shortly after.
In a statement, Network Ten confirmed that a team had been disqualified for breaching the show’s code of conduct.
‘Network 10 takes the health, safety and wellbeing of all contestants seriously,’ a spokesperson said.
‘Following a breach of the production’s code of conduct by one contestant, on a day off during production, a team from The Amazing Race Australia was disqualified and swiftly sent home.’