Vanessa Feltz has disclosed the extreme measures she took, including starving herself, during her appearance on ITV's "Celebrity Fit Club" in 2004, describing the show's reality as "horrific." The broadcaster, now 64, participated in the program where celebrity contestants endured rigorous diet and exercise regimens, with their weight announced publicly each week by host Dale Winton.
Feltz's admission surfaces amidst a broader re-evaluation of early 2000s reality television, a period often criticized for promoting toxic diet culture, using weight as a source of humor, and normalizing extreme thinness. Competitors on "Celebrity Fit Club" faced weekly weigh-ins, with their results broadcast to the public.
Recounting her experience on Andrew Gold's "Heretics" podcast, Feltz explained her pre-weigh-in routine. "For the day before, I would eat nothing and drink nothing, not even water," she stated. "And then I would go to a really heavy sort of fitness class. And then I would go and be weighed by Dale Winton."
She described how this punishing cycle could result in a temporary loss of a few pounds on the scale, only for the weight to return shortly after she resumed eating and drinking once filming concluded. "I'd be starving to death and totally dehydrated," Feltz said. "So then I'd have a drink and a sandwich and then I'd already put back on the two pounds that he was just celebrating with the nation that I'd lost."
The former "This Morning" presenter characterized her time on the show as "horrific, absolutely horrific." The intense public scrutiny of her weight led to distressing encounters, including instances where strangers yelled at her from passing vehicles to stop eating simple items like an apple. "You think, 'Oh, it's only an apple. And I haven't eaten anything at all for days.' It was that sort of thing. Horrid, horrible," she recalled.
Feltz noted that she spent years experiencing significant weight fluctuations in the public eye, describing it as "yo-yoing like absolute buggery," with media coverage often focusing on her slimmer appearances. She recalled periods where she would subsist on minimal food and exercise intensely for up to a year to lose weight, only to regain it later when she allowed herself previously restricted foods.
Her comments echo concerns previously raised by the show's former therapist, Marisa Peer, who spoke last year about extreme tactics some contestants used to meet weigh-in goals, though Peer did not name Feltz. The re-examination of reality TV from that era has also brought attention to other shows, such as Netflix's "Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser" and "Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model," regarding contestant treatment and allegations of body-shaming.
The long-term effects of her fluctuating weight ultimately contributed to Feltz's decision to undergo weight-loss surgery. She had a gastric band fitted in 2010, which later required removal due to complications involving embedding in her liver. In 2019, she underwent a gastric bypass. Feltz has since expressed regret about the timing of her surgeries, particularly in light of the recent availability of weight-loss injections.
Reflecting on the years of public focus on her body, Feltz described the experience as deeply painful. "Horrible. Obviously. Horrible," she responded when asked about the impact of public cruelty regarding her weight.
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