An emotional episode of SAS: Who Dares Wins last night saw one of the show’s recruits describe the night his mother was killed in the Manchester Arena terror attack.
Dylan Kiss, 24, was pulled into the interrogation room by the team of ex-Special Forces operators, where he was quizzed about his struggles in the programme.
Earlier in last night’s episode on Channel 4, Dylan was left shaken by a ‘break and fall’ exercise that saw him responsible for catching one of his fellow recruits from free fall.
He confessed to the directing staff that it was difficult for him to ‘have someone else’s life in my hands’, adding that he couldn’t stop thinking of his fellow recruit’s family at home.
Recruit Dylan Kiss struggled with a task on last night’s episode of SAS: Who Dares Wins. Credit: Channel 4
He said: “I thought, ‘she’s got a family, what if I f*** up now?’,” adding: “I know what family means to people. Family’s a massive part of people’s lives.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Dylan’s mother Michelle Kiss was one of the 22 people killed in the horrific incident on 22 May, 2017.
He opened up on the incident that ‘turned his life upside down’ and recounted the impact it has had on his family in the years since.
ADVERTISEMENT
Dylan’s mum Michelle Kiss was one of the victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. Credit: GMP
Dylan said: “Four year ago, my little sister and my mum, on the 22nd of May, they just went out to an Ariana Grande concert, and, er, you know, the next thing, obviously, it all finished and stuff, and a terrorist attack. A bomb went off.
“The next thing me and my dad fly off in my little car because he’d had a glass of wine, not knowing what to expect. My dad’s running up to random women in the street going ‘Michelle is that you?’ Like he just completely lost it.
“And my little sister comes running out and she’s just like ‘Mum’s gone, mum’s gone’.
ADVERTISEMENT
An emotional Dylan recounting the night of the Manchester Arena attack on SAS: Who Dares Wins. Credit: Channel 4
“Unfortunately my mum got caught in the head and she was pronounced dead the next day, and that’s your new reality.
“I had to become a man, straight away, because my dad was a broken man and my sister needed looking after.
“So I just adopted this persona, this happy, smiling, ‘we can do it, look at our family’. And we thrive staff, we really do.”
His story left even the senior military personnel moved, with ex-Navy SEAL Remi Adeleke describing Dylan as ‘honourable and strong’.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jason Fox then commented: “Tough that. Poor b*stard.”
Dylan added in Sunday’s episode of SAS: Who Dares Wins: “I lost my mum. I lost the key part to our family. And I owe her to be the best person I can be.
“So I will keep striving for the moon, and I will keep working hard every day, and be a strong person for my family.”
Featured image: Channel 4
TV & Showbiz
Tim Burgess pens touching tribute to ‘everyone’s mate’ Mani
Danny Jones
Legendary local musician Tim Burgess has written a touching tribute to the late, great Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield as people continue to pay their respects to the iconic Stone Roses bass player.
The Charlatans’ frontman, who recently got the band back in the recording studio for their stunning 14th studio album, is one of many who have taken the time to honour the influential Manc musician over the past few days.
Mani, 63, who also saw his career reignited as a regular member of Primal Scream after his time with the Roses, sadly passed away last week.
Penning a lengthy eulogy for The Sunday Times, Burgess was unaware that the digital version of the paper would be behind a paywall, deciding instead to share it publicly online.
Sharing the first few excerpts from the full article, the 58-year-old lead singer, solo artist and Salfordian said of Mani: “People have more stories to tell of their shared adventures with Mani than anyone else I know, often simply about enjoying a gig with him.”
The most striking part of his column is how much of it reiterates not just the Crumpsall native’s undying love for music but his raw obsession with the medium.
Perhaps most touchingly, however, is how he is positioned as “everyone’s mate” in the piece – a sentiment that seems to have been echoed all over social media, among the countless Manchester United fans that bumped into him at games, in the pub chat since and countless other corners.
Burgess is one of several high-profile artists to have honoured Mounfield in their own way; Richard Ashcroft and Oasis playing the ‘She Bangs the Drums’ riff and dedicating ‘Live Forever’ to their idol, The Membranes member and Louder Than War boss, John Robb, speaking via the BBC, just to name a few.
A particularly heartbreaking line is when he says, “On hearing the news of his death last week, I found solace in the idea that Mani lived life to the full. But at 63, it was a life cut lamentably short.” You can read more down below.
Since disclosing the Times write-up with his followers, it’s clear that the 58-year-old is going through a period of reflection following the death of not just a peer and role model but a close friend.
On Sunday, he summed up his feelings perfectly: “Go to that gig. Listen to that song, dust off that record player, learn to play that guitar. Music helps us through. Life can be overwhelming at times. Music can help, I promise you that.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Speaking of – we don’t know about you, but we’re going to be playing the best of The Stone Roses for the foreseeable future, and there’s a good chance we’ll also be heading to Chorlton for a special tribute DJ set by one of his friends and former colleagues.
Childish Gambino confirms shock stroke that caused him to cancel his world tour
Danny Jones
Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish Gambino, has revealed that a stroke caused the cancellation of his Manchester gig and the rest of the shows on his world tour last year.
The multi-talented artist, actor, comedian, writer, filmmaker and jack-of-all-trades, who goes by the Gambino moniker in the music world, was scheduled to play a UK leg as part of his globetrotting series of live dates in 2024.
However, just over a month into the run, which kicked off in August, the 42-year-old musician didn’t just postpone the tour but had to cancel it altogether for the foreseeable future after falling ill on stage.
It has now been confirmed that the reason for this was a stroke, and also a serious problem with his heart, which required surgery.
At the time, he could only confirm an unknown ‘ailment’.
Detailing the incident to a crowd while playing at fellow rapper Tyler, the Creator‘s Camp Flog Gnaw festival this past weekend, ‘Gambino’ delivered the shocking news in a very matter-of-fact manner.
Confirming the stroke and a hole in his heart live to the LA audience on Saturday, 22 November, Glover began by stating that he was having a really good time on the tour, before adding: “I had a really bad pain in my head in Louisiana, and I did the show anyway.”
“I couldn’t really see well”, he continued, “so when we went to Houston, I went to the hospital and the doctor was like, ‘You had a stroke.'” Yep, as simple as that.
He even went on to joke that he was copying fellow actor and singer Jamie Foxx, who also suffered a stroke back in 2023, which presented as a bad headache – one of several sudden signs of a hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke.
You can see the clip down below.
Childish Gambino reveals that he had a stroke and a hole was found in his heart and is why he had to stop his tour pic.twitter.com/YxeQYBWDBA
After visiting the hospital, it was then discovered that he had a hole in his heart, sometimes referred to as a septal defect.
The Stone Mountain-raised musician ended up needing two procedures to fix the problem and is now, thankfully, in good health and able to perform live once again.
Nevertheless, he’s not taking anything for granted after the severe health scare, telling fans on the night: “They say everybody has two lives and the second life starts when you realise you have one; you got one life, guys, and I gotta be honest, the life I’ve lived with you guys has been such a blessing,” he told fans.
His Manchester show at the AO Arena is still yet to be rescheduled, as are any of his UK dates, but we’re glad he’s not only back on the mend but back doing what he does best.
Daisy Jackson -
18th April 2022 
