Jack Whitehall confirms he received devastating diagnosis at beginning of TV career-Ruth Lawes-Entertainment – Metro

Jack Whitehall said he had bulimia at the start of his television career (Picture: Neil Mockford/FilmMagic)

Jack Whitehall has spoken publicly for the first time about struggling with bulimia.

The comedian, 36, revealed he developed the eating disorder at the start of his career due to the ‘pressure’ of being on television.

Jack said he was inspired to discuss his experience after Freddie Flintoff, 47, detailed living with bulimia in a 2020 BBC documentary.

‘I just remember thinking that was incredibly brave of him,’ the Fresh Meat actor said.

Former cricketer Freddie said he developed the eating disorder when he joined the England team in 2001, as he felt pressure to keep his weight down.  

Bulimia is described by charity Beat as eating large quantities of food (called bingeing), and then trying to compensate for that overeating by vomiting, taking laxatives or diuretics, fasting, or exercising excessively (called purging). 

Flintoff detailed his struggles with bulimia in a BBC documentary (Picture: Kerry Spicer/Disney+)

Jack spoke about bulimia in Freddie’s upcoming Disney Plus documentary and says, according to The Sun: ‘I was bulimic when I first started doing television, it’s not something that I’ve ever really spoken about.

‘But I remember that pressure of being on television.

‘And it’s not something that I’ve seen other men or people in the media talk about, until Fred came out and spoke about it.

‘I just remember thinking that was incredibly brave of him.’

According to charity Beat, around 25% of the 1.25 million UK sufferers of eating disorders are male.

Jack said he thought Freddie’s decision to speak about bulimia was ‘very brave’ (Picture: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock)

In the documentary, Freddie also speaks about his crash on Top Gear (Picture: PA)

The causes of eating disorders are complex and not yet fully
understood, but include a mix of genetic, biological
and cultural factors.

Eating disorders are treatable and people can and do make full and
sustained recoveries, the charity adds.

In Freddie’s Disney Plus documentary, Flintoff, the TV presenter also discusses his horrific Top Gear crash.

In 2022, he was airlifted to hospital after he was seriously injured filming the BBC motoring show.

Freddie and Jack have become friends since their showbiz careers took off (Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)

At one stage, Freddie recalls: ‘After the accident, I didn’t think I had it in me to get through. This sounds awful … part of me wishes I’d been killed. Part of me thinks, I wish I’d died.’

‘I didn’t want to kill myself … I wouldn’t mistake the two things.

‘I was not wishing, I was just thinking, “This would have been so much easier.”

‘Now I try to take the attitude that the sun will come up tomorrow and my kids will still give me a hug. I’m probably in a better place now.’

Flintoff will premiere exclusively on Disney Plus in the UK and Ireland on Friday April 25.

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