Mark Labbett, who stars on ITV’s The Chase, has stripped off on Loose Women – but the reason is concerning.
The 52-year-old Chaser revealed his Type 2 diabetes diagnosis, as he spoke out about on the daytime panel show in support of the Men’s Body Stories campaign, which aims to promote body confidence in men.
Talking about stripping off and joining the campaign, which the Loose Women launched a couple of weeks ago, Mark said:
“Looking there, they’re actually a fine body of men, there’s something like one, two, three, four six packs there – for a gang of men over 40 that’s pretty unrepresentative. So I said, ‘Where’s the larger gentleman?’ and they [Loose Women] said they couldn’t get anyone brave enough to do it.
“I won’t lie, I’m a little bit nervous about this but you should do something once in a while that scares you.”
Mark then went on to open up about his diagnosis:
“Recently I’ve been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes which, given the amount of sugar I’ve eaten over the years, I’m not gonna complain.
“I’ve done the crime so now I’m doing the time.”
Read more: The Chase fans in hysterics over 82-year-old player’s confession
He added that he was trying to remaining optimistic: “I take the positives out of it.”
“Those who’ve got diabetes know there’s actually several indicators.”
“They check for cholesterol, blood sugar, weight is one of them. And my indicators are all quite comfortably in the yellow zone with one big one in the red zone: my BMI.”
Mark – who has lost a couple of stone since finding out about his type-2 diabetes – said the news represented a turning point for him, highlighting that the weight loss was non-negotiable.
“In some sense it made it easier, just no arguments now. I’ve enjoyed being this heavy, I always used to say I’ve got away with it. Well, now I haven’t so the weight’s coming off.
Read more: Fans of The Chase threaten to switch off after contestant dropped
“It’s a lot easier when you know you have to. Maybe it’s true what they say, that sugar is its own appetite.”