After several charters during which he skated skating on thin ice with the interior team, Deck/Stew Mike Durrant was finally let go by Captain Jason Chambers on Below Deck Down Under. The final straw? Talking back to Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher after she told him he’d have to work until 9PM that night because he tried to instigate drama between Stews Jenna Woudberg and Alesia Harris. “When I was disrespectful to Daisy in the guest cabin, she had to let me go,” said Durrant, looking back on the incident. “To be a good head of department, she had to put aside our friendship because I took things too far.”
Kelliher had to report Durrant’s insubordination to Chambers. Because of previous complaints about Durrant’s dismal work ethic, Chambers had no choice but to fire him. “Captain Jason is probably one of the best people I’ve ever worked with,” said Durrant. “He seemed more disappointed than upset to fire me. It was a bit scary to hear him talk to me the way he did.” In an unusual move for him, Durrant watched this season of the Bravo series back to see how he could improve as a yachtie. “I understand where I went wrong,” said Durrant. “I can only learn from this experience and move forward.”
Luckily, Durrant was able to make amends with Kelliher. “I reached out to Daisy after the show and apologized,” said Durrant. “To be a good head of department, she had to put aside our friendship because I took things too far.” Thankfully, the two are back on “really good terms.” Despite some of his antics this season involving Woudberg and Harris, Durrant claims his jokes—especially his insistence on being called a “HOD” or head of department—were just a “bit of banter.” “I don’t want to fall out with anyone,” said Durrant earnestly.
Durrant spoke to Decider over Zoom to discuss his firing, share what he learned from the experience, and reveal his new friendship with a cheeky Below Deck franchise alum.
DECIDER: Mike, I was so sorry to see you go! How do you look back on your final days on the Katina?
MIKE DURRANT: I understand where I went wrong. My work ethic was probably the number one the issue,and I know I fucked up. 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. Though, I can only learn from this experience and move forward.
It seems like you were much better suited to working on deck.
I liked entertaining the guests, but I didn’t enjoy working in the interior. I should have made the beds, polished the cutlery, cleanedthe 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.
Have you spoken to Daisy since you left the charter season? I see she’s been posting pictures of you two on Instagram…
I reached out to Daisy after the show and apologized. I said, “Daisy, I’m really sorry for the lack of work ethic. I’m sorry for my behavior.” Daisy and I actually got on well during the season when we weren’t working. You’ve seen some of the pictures that Daisy posted.
When I was disrespectful to Daisy in the guest cabin, she had to let me go. To be a good head of department, she had to put aside our friendship because I took things too far. I probably took advantage of our relationship and thought I could say whatever I wanted. Since I apologized and took accountability, Daisy and I are on really good terms now. That’s how I want it to be. I don’t want to fall out with anyone.
I have to ask: what is like to get fired by Captain Jason?
Captain Jason is probably one of the best people I’ve ever worked with. He seemed more disappointed than upset to fire me. It was a bit scary to hear him talk to me the way he did. Jason knew that I could have worked harder. If there’s someone not putting the effort in and letting the team down, then, of course, he has to make changes.
He made the right decision.It was really upsetting for me to let someone like Jason down, who is such a great guy. I regret disappointing him most of all.
He also said to you: “there is a toxicity on board and you’re the source.” Do you think that was fair?
Everybody had their own drama going on. The only person who didn’t have drama was Betul [Yazici]. 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. Everyone has to carry their weight and help their team along. I wasn’t doing that. I should have just worked a little bit harder.
I personally thought your naming yourself the “HOD of the deck/stew apartment” was funny, but you kept on doing it. Do you regret hammering that joke into the ground?
Not at all [laughs]. It was a bit of a joke, but 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. Ellie [Dubaich] and Alesia were laughing. [Lead Deckhand] Eddy [Hounsell] 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 Eddie and [Chef] Ben [Robinson]. Eddy wears his heart on his sleeve and was really upset when she ended things with him. 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.
You recently linked up with Below Deck Mediterranean‘s Joe Bradley in Spain and you posted a pic of you two together. How did that meetup come to be?
So, I live in Majorca full time. Joe was coming to Mallorca to take a course. He’s wanting to progress in his yachting career as well. He watches the show and reached out to hang out. I said, “Joe, I would absolutely love to meet up .” Joe’s been in the industry for a long time and has a lot of deck experience. When we finally met up, we just clicked. I had all of this brotherly energy towards him immediately. I knew he and I were going to have a lot of fun together.
What kind of trouble did you two get up to in Spain?
You know, we kept things casual [laughs]. We didn’t go too mental. It was a few bottles of wine…and I can’t remember what happened after that [laughs].
New episodes Below Deck Down Under air Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo
