Chase's Mark Labbett has denied having weight loss surgery after losing 10kg.
The 58-year-old quiz winner, known as 'The Beast' on the ITV show, admitted he lost his appetite after contracting Covid and is now struggling to finish a meal.
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain alongside friend Hayley Palmer, 41, presenter Susanna Reid asked: “How did you do that?”
He quickly replied, “Not with a gastric band.” I'm not entirely sure how.
“I weighed myself the other day and I weighed just under 19kg, and at my heaviest I was almost 185kg – 29kg. “Basically I've been carrying a sack of coal on my back for all these years.”
Chase's Mark Labbett has denied having weight loss surgery after losing 10kg
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain alongside friend Hayley Palmer, 41, presenter Susanna Reid asked: “How did you do that?”
Mark added: “During the pandemic I looked after my little boy and really started to admire people who look after little children full-time.”
“I don’t know how I did it, but I was lucky and after one of the Covid bouts my appetite disappeared and never really came back.”
“Hayley will agree that even now I still have difficulty finishing a meal.”
Mark now goes to the gym with Hayley to tone up and he said: “I used to work out a lot and you can probably tell by those shoulders that I could bench press my own body weight, so I've always been a… “ strong boy, I was just a fat, strong boy. “I was Oxford shot put champion in 1985.”
This comes after Mark revealed exactly how much he weighs following his 10 stone weight loss.
Hayley posted a clip of Mark working out on a treadmill and an elliptical machine before stepping on the scales.
Alongside the video, Hayley gushed: “I'm so proud of @markthebeatlabbett.” He started going to the gym with me in the morning and he's doing so well.
“He’s down to 124 kilos. “We plan to strengthen and improve conditioning.”
Mark now goes to the gym with Hayley to tone up and he said: “I used to do a lot of training and you might be able to tell from those shoulders that I could bench press my own body weight.”
Mark spoke about his slimmer figure on Loose Women in August alongside his girlfriend Hayley.
Mark revealed how he really managed to lose weight and once again denied that he had a gastric band fitted.
He said: “I think one of the benefits of having Covid a few times or not is that I've just lost my appetite.”
“My appetite isn’t what it used to be.” Have one of your doctors check me for a gastric band scar. You won't find it!'
The star previously revealed to The Sun that although he was tempted to go under the knife, he instead chose to get fit and healthy the old-fashioned way.
He said: “I’m not really trying to diet, I’m just being sensible. People say you had the gastric sleeve or gastric band, and I didn’t.”
“I was tempted by the gastric band, but a good friend of mine who is a GP said my problem was sugar, I have a sweet tooth.”
“A gastric band is useless to me because sugar is metabolized pretty quickly, so I did it the old-fashioned way by eating a little less and trying to go to the gym.”
Hayley posted a clip of Mark working out on a treadmill and an elliptical machine before stepping on the scales
Alongside the video, Hayley gushed: “He's down to 124kg.” “We're planning on strengthening and improving the conditioning.”
A gastric band is a band that is placed around the stomach and forms a small pouch at the top that requires less food to fill.
He also revealed how he lost the pounds, saying he “ate less and drank more” and focused on his health.
Mark said he completely changed his diet due to his battle with diabetes and said it contributed to his weight loss.
“I think the diabetes may have helped because I'm eating a lot less.” “I'm drinking a lot more fluids,” he said of his weight loss.
The couple also opened up about their relationship after they met at the National Television Awards last year.
Sources claim the star courted the TV host on a number of dates after being “friends for a while” following his split from wife Katie in 2020.
Hayley admitted: “I don't watch The Chase, no offense, but I'm never there at 5pm.”
Motivated: The star previously revealed to The Sun that although he was tempted to go under the knife, he instead decided to get fit and healthy the old-fashioned way
“I watched Beat The Chasers and he did everything right and I thought, 'Wow, that's really sexy.'
Mark admitted the relationship has its challenges due to the distance between them as he lives in Rotherham while Hayley lives in London.
Speaking about the long distance, he said: 'We consult a lot with our diaries, for example we've both worked out that we'll be in Southampton for a few nights next month, so we've arranged a few dates while we're away there.'
Hayley added: “I think it's healthy sometimes.” “When you meet someone it's way too early but we're both really looking forward to seeing each other again in a few weeks.”