Danger has long been an occupational hazard for former Special Boat Service soldier Dean Stott 

– who deals with everything from military coups to warzone evacuations in the line of duty.

But the most difficult decision he has ever made was having to leave his wife Alana 12 hours 

after she gave birth to start filming for The Toughest Forces on Earth – dubbed Netflix’s most dangerous show ever.

In an exclusive interview with the Mirror, he says: “I have an incredibly understanding wife.

“That was hard to leave and probably one of the hardest moments in my entire life.”

Dean, 47, joins US Navy Seal Ryan Bates and US Army Ranger Cameron Fath – as one of three fearless veterans, training alongside some of the world’s most elite military units, 

learning how they operate in hostile environments for the show. This can mean anything from surviving in the Arctic to rescuing hostages in swamp conditions and reclaiming ships from pirates.

Once they have learned the correct tactics and how to use the weaponry, they are seen in action, joining a military mission with their new brothers in arms.

Gaining 10 million viewers within a week of being released in the UK late last month, the eight-part series is already a mega-hit.

But Dean Stott’s life story outside the show is possibly even more compelling.

.A personal friend and ex-military partner of Prince Harry’s, Dean – who served in the Special Forces for 16 years from 1995 until 2011 until a devastating accident cut his military career short – met the royal during a military course in 2007 and then worked alongside him.

Bonding immediately, they became pals, and Dean was at Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle with his wife Alana in May 2018.

He says: “I met Harry on a course back in 2007.

“Him and I were partnered off together and we just maintained that friendship and relationship ever since.

“We support each other. I’m a big fan of the Invictus Games. I’m a big fan of anything to do with veterans, especially around the mental health aspect.”

Dean also raised £1 million for Prince Harry’s ‘Heads Together’ mental health charity in 2018, by cycling the entire 14,000 mile length of the Pan-American Highway.

He passed through 14 countries on his 99 day expedition that bagged him two world records – and was personally congratulated by Prince Harry, whose wedding, barely a week later, he nearly missed because of it.

Receiving his invitation in the middle of the challenge, Dean said it was his “new motivation” to finish the ride, calling his achievement “a bit surreal still.”

Now a global security advisor, he has faced kidnappings and military coups and routinely rescues people from war zones.

And, last weekend, his achievements were recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List, when he received an MBE for his services to sport, humanitarian efforts, and mental health awareness.

Of course, he has again been congratulated by his old friend, Prince Harry – although he remains tight-lipped about exactly what was said.

Dean continues: “All of my military friends have congratulated me on the MBE as well and wish me well.”

Yet he says the honour came as a complete surprise.

He says: “I don’t easily get shocked, but that was one of the occasions that shocked me. It’s nice to be recognised in such a way and I always say the world only sees 30% of what we do so to be recognised for some of that 70% was great.”

Dean, who has also met Prince William on several occasions at royal events, was actually pipped to the post in the honours stakes by Alana, 41, who was presented with an MBE by King Charles at Holyrood Palace for her work supporting vulnerable women and mental health awareness in 2023.

In 2018, she raised £1.1million for a mental health awareness campaign at the request of the Duke of Sussex and her husband.

A dad-of-three, Dean, who hails from Swindon, has now settled with his family in Orange County, USA.

Alana is now his business partner – helping Dean with his endeavours and organising his private missions, as well as fundraising with him.

And she has, luckily, forgiven him for leaving her holding the baby, when he started the year long filming for the Netflix show in September 2022, just after their youngest child was born.

Describing the show, which has made the top 10 in 61 countries and the top 5 in 16, and sees him visit eight military units across the world, as “very unique,” Dean says he has once more been praised by Prince Harry for his contribution.

He says: “All my military friends have reached out about the show.

“I wanted to make sure that it remained authentic because my biggest critics are my military friends (including Harry) so if they are liking the show, I know we’ve done well.”

Raised in a military family, his dad’s postings meant frequently moving as a child and at 17 Dean joined the British Army.

He laughs: “I actually wanted to be a fireman, but after school, there were about 2,000 applicants for one job in 1993.

“I ended up working in a surf shop in Newquay.

“My father told me I had wasted my education, so I told him I would join the military. He said I’d last two minutes, and that was my driving force to prove him wrong.”

One of the first army candidates to join the Special Boat Service (SBS), a unit typically reserved for the Royal Marines, his background as a senior diving instructor made him a natural fit for the elite squad.

But, wanting to find something equally exhilarating when he left the forces, running private security missions seemed like a good fit.

In 2014, he single-handedly evacuated the Canadian Embassy in Libya, rescuing four diplomats and 18 personnel during a resurgence of civil war.

More recently, he has gained celebrity status, with book deals and TV opportunities – which saw him star in SAS Australia in 2022, before landing the Netflix deal.

As for his private missions, 24 hours after the Hamas attack on October 7, he flew to the Middle East.

“My wife and I specialise in crisis management evacuation plans,” Dean explains. “I saw it on the news, and within 30 seconds, we were getting calls from friends.

“A lot of people were asking when I was going, and then a couple of close friends of ours from Sri Lanka told us his aunt and uncle were on a tour in Bethlehem. So, my wife let me know she had booked my tickets, and I was going out there to help.

“We’d just got home from Disneyland, but I was there in 24 hours, helping the first family. “They had cancelled all American flights to Israel from LAX, but Alana saw one that had opened up with an Israeli airline and booked me on for that.

“Unlike previous evacuations, I had no connections in Israel. Normally, I have safe houses, vehicles, security drivers, etc, so I was going in blind.”

When he got there, he found hundreds of families from places like Boston and New York, who were there visiting, and he started planning evacuations.

He even used contacts he’d made during filming with Netflix in Jordan to arrange for some evacuations through there.

“We managed to get over 200 people out,” he says. “I normally keep these missions private on social media, but for this, we wanted people to know we were there and could help them if they needed it.”

Fourteen American students and one Indian student who were stranded in a Bible college in the Old City of Jerusalem, were desperate for help after their flights were cancelled.

“Within 45 minutes of seeing our social media posts, I had a message from someone at the college,” Dean recalls. “Forty-eight hours later, we managed to get all 15 of them out of Israel at no cost on a chartered flight.”

Now enjoying time at home, as he celebrates the success of the Netflix show, Dean says one of his most difficult filming experiences was in the Arctic.

He says: “In the Arctic with the Swedish Power Rangers, that environment is very harsh. The following month, we were then in the jungles in Colombia. You go from -30C to 30C.”

But for Dean, whether he’s dealing with counter terrorism, pirates, perilous weather or simply breaking world records, it’s all in a day’s work.

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Source: Los Angeles Times