Peter Kay reflects on ‘shameful’ moment he realised binge eating problem

Peter Kay has spoken openly about his weight (Picture: Jim Dyson/Getty Images)

Peter Kay has opened up about his binge-eating disorder, addressing his weight for the first time in a candid interview.

The comedian, 52, surprised fans in 2024 when he unveiled a slimmer figure after a five-year absence from public life.

He has now spoken about his weight loss, while at the In Conversation With… event hosted by Sara Cox at The Lowry theatre in Salford.

When Sara asked about whether he’d ever tried to lose weight deliberately, he replied: ‘Only for the first 48 years of my life. Yeah, I had to, eventually, because you start thinking about your health and things like that, don’t you? 

‘I tried everything. Good God in heaven. I mean, you go to flaming weight-loss groups and stuff like that. I joined Slimming World and WeightWatchers. I did all of them.’

He then opened up about sneaking out of a cinema and pretending to pop to the loo while watching The Green Mile with his wife, so he could eat. This prompted him to realise he had an issue with binge-eating.

Peter has spoken about weight loss groups in his comedy sets before (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

He said, per The Sun: ‘I was doing really well with this diet, but I’m so bad with willpower. I had this hot dog and I caught a glimpse of myself reflected in, ironically, a framed poster for Babe.

‘I thought, look at you – what are you doing? You’re doing really well on this diet, you should be ashamed of yourself.’

He then admitted to throwing it in the bin, but then snatching it back before it hit the bin liner and still eating it.

He also spoke about his early childhood, where his mother would bring him pies to school to eat, and would hide biscuits from her son.

‘She used to hide the biscuits in our house, but I knew where she’d hid them. I used to have me mates round for a brew and I’d reach inside the tumble drier and get a packet of digestives out, like it was normal,’ he said.

Peter has been married to his wife, Susan, since 2001 (Picture: JM Enternational/Shutterstock)

Earlier this year, Peter found himself in a bit of bother after a woman shouted out during his show: ‘We love you Peter Kay.’

Kay reportedly said ‘Go on, off you go, Lisa Riley’ – comparing her to the former Emmerdale actress and You’ve Been Framed presenter. The woman was then ejected by security.

The woman, later identified as Myar Curran, 25, told Good Morning Britain: ‘I didn’t mean to cause any harm, I was just showing my love because he kicked someone out. “Oh, I’ll stand up and say we love you Peter”, but he just obviously didn’t like it.’

She added: ‘I feel like what I said was not abusive or aggressive, it wasn’t antisocial, I wasn’t drunk. I was just standing up chanting “We love you Peter, we do”. I feel like it’s just been taken a bit overtop and overboard, his reaction.’

The comic defended himself in a statement on his Instagram story saying he had to ‘take action’ to avoid disruption for other audience members, adding: ‘The lady who was escorted out did bear a striking resemblance to Lisa Riley, though I don’t see how that’s an insult.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Comments