SAS Australia: Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham blasts Firass Dirani

One of the SAS Australia instructors has unleashed on Firass Dirani after the actor claimed he was being edited to appear as a “villain”.

One of the SAS Australia instructors has unleashed on Firass Dirani after the actor claimed he was being edited to appear as a “villain” on the show.

After the second episode of the Channel 7 show aired last week, Dirani posted a video on his Instagram story in which he said: “I knew it. I knew they were gonna make me into the villain. There has to be a villain, ladies and gentleman, and lo and behold, right here, this is it.”

Firass on SAS. Picture: Nigel Wright

Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham from SAS Australia.

But in a chat with news.com.au, SAS Australia directing staff Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham dismissed Dirani’s claim and said: “He should be actually grateful to be edited the way they did. He’s a lot worse than that.”

According to Billingham, Dirani “came across as arrogant” and “had a terrible attitude”.

“It came to the point where the rest of the celebrities were getting really fed up with him. That’s not a showpiece – he really was messing up all the time and he could not keep his mouth shut, no matter what you said to him.”

Billingham told news.com.au that Dirani “drew attention to himself for all the wrong reasons” and said the House Husbands star would constantly roll his eyes when being interviewed by the SAS Australia instructors.

“They’ve more than fairly edited him to be honest because he was a pain in the arse,” Billingham said. “I mean, he’s a nice guy, don’t get me wrong … but he’s not a personality that you’d want to go out drinking with to be honest. He’s a bit of a pain.”

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Nick, James and Firass on SAS. Picture: Nigel Wright

HOW FIRASS CAUSED TROUBLE ON SET

Dirani angered chief instructor Ant Middleton in each of the episodes of SAS Australia that have aired so far.

On two occasions the whole group of celebrities were punished after Dirani went against the instructors’ directions or made disrespectful comments.

Those punishments proved too much for Schapelle Corby and Roxy Jacenko who both quit the show as a result.

Viewers were not impressed by Dirani’s behaviour, slamming the star on social media.

In a group including drug smugglers and con artists somehow Firass Dirani has made himself the worst person there #SASAustralia

— Peter Johnson (@P_Johnson9) October 20, 2020

How long before we read an article where Firass blames ‘bad editing’ on how he’s being portrayed #SASAustralia

— Phantom Destroyer (@phantomdestroy_) October 20, 2020

#SASAustralia

Poor Firass
he's so out of his depth,
i don't think he's a bad guy just bad with authority,
those guys would intimidate the hell outa me too.

— calmlonewolf (@calmwhitewolf) October 20, 2020

Firass is coming across as extremely insincere. He's a great actor, but he seems to be constantly playing a character. The SAS guys are calling him out and they're spot on.#SASAustralia

— reroy (@okreroy) October 20, 2020

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Dirani recently spoke to TV Week about SAS Australia and said it was a “great experience” that he “absolutely do again”.

“It was a gruelling experience; people lost their minds in the cold. But I’m at an age in my life where I want to test my resilience and heart,” Dirani said. “In a year when the world has faced so much, I wanted this challenge.

“I wasn’t there to comply; I wanted to get punished,” he said. “If I couldn’t handle it, I knew I’d break and hand in my number, so I wanted to test myself and see how much I could take.”

FIRASS DIRANI WAS ASKED TO LEAVE

One of Dirani’s co-stars has revealed that he asked the actor to quit the show due to his poor behaviour.

Former Biggest Loser trainer Shannan Ponton told TV Week that he confronted Dirani on several occasions after his actions resulted in the whole group being punished.

“I’m never one to talk behind someone’s back, so I spoke directly to Firass each time,” Ponton said. “His response was as puzzling as it was infuriating.

“With Firass, there was a total disconnection from reality, with him questioning whether the events and associated punishments even took place.

“On multiple occasions, I asked Firass to hand in his badge, as his presence and repetitive behaviour were ruining the entire experience for the rest of us,” Ponton said.

SAS Australia airs tonight on Channel 7 at 7.30pm