Credit: Instagram
Mike Durrant reacted to his firing on Below Deck Down Under, addressed his “number one issue,” and revealed where he stands with chief stew Daisy Kelliher today.
In a recent episode, Daisy told Mike that he would need to work late that evening because he attempted to create drama between his fellow stews, Alesia Harris and Jenna Woudberg. Mike (who had already been accused of not working hard enough) then talked back to her, which ultimately triggered his firing by Captain Jason Chambers.
“When I was disrespectful to Daisy in the guest cabin, she had to let me go,” said Mike in an interview with Decider, reacting to his firing. “To be a good head of department, she had to put aside our friendship because I took things too far.”
“Captain Jason is probably one of the best people I’ve ever worked with,” he stated. “He seemed more disappointed than upset to fire me. It was a bit scary to hear him talk to me the way he did. [Watching the season back], I understand where I went wrong. … I can only learn from this experience and move forward.”
Mike said he contacted Daisy after his firing.
“I reached out to Daisy after the show and apologized,” he explained. “[We’re back on] really good terms. … I said, ‘Daisy, I’m really sorry for the lack of work ethic. I’m sorry for my behavior.’ … I probably took advantage of our relationship and thought I could say whatever I wanted.”
According to Mike, his frequent talk about wanting to be called “HOD,” head of department, was simply a “bit of banter. … I don’t want to fall out with anyone.”
“I understand where I went wrong. My work ethic was probably the number one the issue, and I know I f**ked up,” he said. “I put a lot of pressure on Daisy. She was already having other problems with the galley. I should have been helping her out. Not only did I not work hard, I had a bad attitude as well [laughs]. I do want to take accountability for upsetting people and for letting people down.”
“I liked entertaining the guests, but I didn’t enjoy working in the interior,” he added. “I should have made the beds, polished the cutlery, cleaned the board, and just supported Daisy and the other girls without complaining. When I got fired from previous jobs, I never had the chance to reflect on what went wrong. Watching the show back, I can see exactly where I went wrong. I know where my improvements need to be made.”
He later addressed Captain Jason’s claim that Mike was the source of the toxicity.
“Everybody had their own drama going on,” he said. “The only person who didn’t have drama was Betul. But I was the only person having issues who wasn’t doing their job [laughs]. I understood where Jason was coming from. You’re living in close proximity to other people who are going through their own struggles.”
Mike said he doesn’t regret making the HOD jokes.
“I didn’t expect it to get people as wound up as it did. I thought it was a bit of banter. It’s a bit of British humor,” he said. “Ellie and Alesia were laughing. [Lead Deckhand] Eddy was laughing his head off. It was just Jenna who didn’t take it very well, so that’s why I took it as far as I did.”
“Eddy was my boy. I wanted to protect him, and I could see how Jenna was playing both Eddy and [Chef] Ben. Eddy wears his heart on his sleeve and was really upset when she ended things with him,” Mike explained. “In my mind, I was like, ‘Jenna, you’ve upset my boy so I’m going to continue to mess with you.’ Was it the right thing to do? Probably not. Did I take it too far? Of course I did [laughs]. At the end of the day, I don’t regret doing it. I thought it was iconic, to be honest.”