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.”
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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.
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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’.
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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’.
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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
Race Across The World star Jo Gardiner dies just one year after co-star son
Daisy Jackson
A Race Across The World star from Manchester has died just one year after her son and co-star tragically passed away.
Jo Gardiner, who starred on the hit BBC series back in 2020, died after a ‘long and courageous battle’ with cancer, her family has said.
The 61-year-old physiotherapist appeared on the second season of the travel competition, racing across Latin America with her son Sam Gardiner, who was just 19 at the time.
The pair became a fan favourite as they bonded over their travels, and Sam gained confidence to explore despite his ADHD.
Tragically, Sam passed away last May at the age of 24, following a vehicle collision in Gatley.
Paying tribute to Jo, Studio Lambert and the BBC described her as ‘the matriarch of the Race Across The World cast family’.
In the tribute, they also sent ‘deepest and heartfelt sympathies to Jo’s son Charlie’.
Jo’s family shared in a statement: “She had a rare gift for making everyone around her feel more alive. She lived fully, fiercely and never did anything by halves.
“She was blessed with countless friends, drawn to her extraordinary magnetism. Somehow, each one felt as though they were among her very best.
Jo Gardiner, from Manchester, starred on season two of Race Across The World. Credit: BBC
“To us, she was more than all of these things. She was our family, our joy, our safe place and our absolute treasure.
“We know how deeply Jo was loved, and we take comfort in knowing that her laughter, her courage, her kindness and her wonderfully outrageous spirit will live on in the many people whose lives she touched.
“As we grieve, we ask for privacy, but we also ask everyone who knew and loved Jo to do exactly what she would have wanted: tell the funny stories, raise a glass, have an adventure, laugh loudly and live life to the full.”
Studio Lambert and the BBC shared: “On behalf of the Studio Lambert production team, the BBC and the whole Race Across The World cast, we offer our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to Jo’s son Charlie, and her wider family and friends.
“Following the tragic death of Jo’s son Sam last year, we paid tribute to how integral Sam and Jo had been to series two. Millions of people remembered their transformative journey across Latin America in 2020 and we hold that memory in our hearts as we fondly recall Jo’s passion for life, her kindness, her strength, and above all her utter devotion to Sam and her family.
“At the time of filming, Sam described his mum as amazing – and that is how we will always remember her.
“Jo became the matriarch of the Race Across the World cast family, she leaves a lasting legacy in the many lives that she touched, both through the series and beyond. It was a privilege to share her story and she will be deeply missed.”
Stockport actress Aimee Lou Wood set to star in new BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre
Emily Sergeant
Stockport-born actress Aimee Lou Wood is set to lead a new BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre, it has been reported.
It was announced earlier this year that Working Title are producing a new TV adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, Jane Eyre – which will be led by The White Lotus and Sex Education star in the titular role – and Deadline has now exclusively revealed that the BBC has joined the production as the broadcaster.
The new TV adaptation has been penned for the screen by Miriam Battye – an award-winning writer best known for her work on HBO’s Succession.
Published all the way back in 1847 and set across a number of fictional Northern England settings, the classic novel explores the moral and emotional development of orphan Jane Eyre as she searches for love, independence, and social equality in the 19th century.
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline hears that 'The White Lotus' and 'Sex Education' star Aimee Lou Wood is attached to star in a new TV adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre.
Emmy nominee Wood will play the indomitable heroine in the buzzy adaptation which we understand is… pic.twitter.com/ETBRaPJanN
Throughout the novel, Jane overcomes a harsh and unloving childhood and goes on to find work as a governess at Thornfield Hall, before falling in love with her moody master, Mr Rochester, and discovering a dark secret in his attic.
The novel is widely considered to be ahead of its time due to how it approaches topics of class, sexuality, religion, and feminism.
Jane Eyre has been the subject of a number of adaptations of the years – most notably the last major TV version being in 2006, also for the BBC, and a 2011 film starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender – but there hasn’t been any in 15 years now, and 2027 marks the 180th anniversary for the iconic story.
Aimee Lou Wood is also riding high at the moment after her Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globe nominations for Season 3 of The White Lotus, and after having also been cast as George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd, in Sam Mendes’ four Beatles biopic movies, all set to be released in 2028.
As of yet, further information on when and where the new adaptation will be being filmed is yet to be released, and there is no indication of air dates either.
The BBC is expected to reveal more details in due course, so stay tuned.
Daisy Jackson -
18th April 2022 
