The Chase's Mark Labbett has shed nearly ten stone in body weight and his methods are refreshingly old school.
Unlike many celebrities, The Beast didn't turn to gastric sleeve surgery or a weight loss jab to transform himself. The star instead made three simple changes - with his pet dog on hand to help.
Mark, 58, 6ft 6ins, weighed 29 stone at his heaviest, when he worked as a teacher in 2003. But a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis in 2017 gave him the wake-up call he needed to completely overhaul his lifestyle, dropping from a size 5XL to XL.
Mark used to weigh a staggering ten stone more (ITV)
He credits healthy eating, the gym and walking his dog for his healthy overhaul (markthebeastlabbett/Instagram)"I'm not really trying to diet, I'm just being sensible," the star told Loose Women after his incredible weight loss. "People say you've had the gastric sleeve or band and I haven't."
"I was tempted by the gastric band but a good friend of mine who's a GP said my problem is sugar, I have a sweet tooth," Mark told the Sun. "A gastric band is useless for me because sugar metabolises quite quickly so I've done it the old fashion way by eating a bit less and I've tried to go to the gym."
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The Beast's presenter girlfriend Hayley Palmer has shared workout clips her beau on social media, writing: "I'm so proud of @markthebeatlabbett. He started to come to the gym with me in the mornings and he is doing so well. He is down to 124 kilos/ 19.5 stone. We're planning to tone and improving conditioning." And Mark often shares photos of healthy meals he enjoys, including a plate of steak and grilled tomatoes .
And as well as his other half, Mark credit's his golden retriever Baloo with being his 'personal trainer' who helps him exercise more frequently. "I was walking him around the fields," he said. "I think he's helped a lot simply because I'm doing more activity."
Mark and Hayley, 42, met at the National Television Awards in 2021 and he wooed her in an unusual way. "I got introduced to him and he was like: 'Do you know what I've got?'," she said. "And then he whips out his Toby Carvery Gold Card. I was actually really impressed. I thought: 'I haven't seen this before'. It totally worked. I was trying to steal it. We had a really good laugh."
Mark and Hayley have been together since 2021 (ITV)The couple's relationship is long distance, with Hayley based in London's Chelsea and Mark in Rotherham, South Yorks. "The good news is we see each other every few weeks but we make the most of it when we're together," he said. "You get the best of both worlds."
The Beast was previously married to wife Katie, who was 17 years his junior, for seven years. The former couple had son Lawrence together before their relationship broke down in 2020. They had first met on social media in 2010 and wed at Arundel Cathedral in West Sussex in 2014.
"There was never any deceit on Katie's part but it's got to the point now where I realise it is better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly," said Mark when their break up was announced. The ex-husband and wife had been second cousins with both insisting they didn't know they were related when they got together. "It wasn't something we were aware of at the time – it was one of those things that happened," the star told Loose Women.
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