THE Chase’s Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett has revealed the incredible secret behind his 10 stone weight loss.
The ITV quizmaster has credited his body overhaul to his adorable golden retriever – who he branded his “personal trainer”.
Mark, 56, recently showed off his amazing weight loss as he attended the ITV Palooza last month.
The TV star said that his pooch Baloo has helped him get into the habit of exercising regularly while appearing on ITV’s The Pet Show.
He told Dermot O’Leary and Joanna Page that Baloo has been his motivation to keep fit.
“My wife promised me that when we first got him she would take care of everything – feeding him, walking him and so on,” he explained.
“That lasted about two weeks before she decided ‘Actually Mark, look at your belly – you need the exercise!'”
Mark and Baloo instantly bonded and he now refers to the dog as a his own “personal trainer”.
Baloo is also cheaper than any personal trainer and only charges him half a carvery.
He continued: “I was walking him around the fields, taking me places… I think he’s helped a lot, simply because I’m doing more activity.”
Last month, Mark took to Twitter to share his outfit for the ITV Palooza with his followers, who were full of praise for his body overhaul.
One wrote: “Any more weight loss and you will have to change your name! Amazing!”
Another said: “Looking amazing so well done losing weight.” And a third added: “Wowza look at you! You look amazing… I bet you feel amazing.”
Mark previously opened up about his 10 stone weight loss, taking him from a size 5XL to XL.
Appearing on Loose Women, he said: “I am gradually dropping Xs off my size. I’ve gone from 5XL to 4XL and it looks like the next time I go shopping I’ll be able to squeeze into XL underpants.”
Mark also opened up about when he was at his biggest, admitting: “I’ve lost 10 stone, I was 29 stone when I was a full time teacher in 2003 and I was in danger of high blood pressure.
“I’ve been around 26 stone up until lockdown, and then a few things happened quite nicely and came together and I started losing weight.”
And when asked how he’s managed to lose such an incredible amount of weight, Mark – who shares a son with his ex-wife Katie – joked that running around after the toddler has helped.
He said: “The principle thing is running around after a hyperactive toddler when nurseries have been shut. How do you keep up with them?
“I found at the end of the evening instead of going to the fridge for late night snacking, all I could do was collapse on the bed.”
Mark and Katie, who got married in October 2014, announced their split in August last year and at the time he said: “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.”
