Johnny Vegas says grief over father’s death pushed him to lose weight

Johnny Vegas has revealed the tragic death of his father Laurence pushed him to lose a staggering three stone in 15 months.

Speaking on Monday’s This Morning, the 48-year-old comedian told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby it was one of his best decisions to speak out about the grief of losing his dad, as it inspired him to be a better parent to his own children by getting in shape.

Johnny stunned fans earlier this year when he posted a snap to social media of a significantly slimmer physique, and the star went onto explain he lost the pounds by ‘ignoring bread and cheese.’

Slimming down: Johnny Vegas has revealed the tragic death of his father Laurence pushed him to lose a staggering three stone in 15 months

He said: ‘You go, ‘I have responsibilities that are beyond me’…and it’s my responsibility to carry on. 

‘If you had a good parent and you miss them, your responsibility then is to hopefully try and be a decent parent to your own children – and be around. 

‘The big thing is my smoking that I want to stop, but the last time I stopped I piled weight on. So I need to get light enough to exercise… it’s taken 15 months of walking past bread, and cheese and everything I love!’

Transformed: Fans were stunned when Johnny took to Twitter to post a snap of his slimmed-down appearance in July (right) (left in 2014)

Hard: The 48-year-old comedian admitted his father's death pushed him to be a better parent to his own children by getting into shape

Hard: The 48-year-old comedian admitted his father’s death pushed him to be a better parent to his own children by getting into shape

Johnny took to social media in July to showcase a selfie from work on his latest project, but his appearance left many fans stunned thanks to his significant weight loss.

Fans soon swarmed the comments to praise the star, penning: ‘Sure I ain’t the first to tell you this Johnny ….being slim & eating healthy is all well n good m8…

‘but it doesn’t suit you , you look ill ….just sayin… Exactly. How his heart is, is far more impo than how he looks. Good work Johnny… You’re looking amazing, Johnny!…’

‘Wow you look amazing, well done you! I take it you are following a low carb healthy fats way of eating? #lchf… Looking very, very well Johnny!’ 

Candid: Speaking on Monday's This Morning he explained that he's lost three stone by 'ignoring bread and cheese'

Candid: Speaking on Monday’s This Morning he explained that he’s lost three stone by ‘ignoring bread and cheese’

Johnny went on to explain that he first bottled up the grief he suffered after his father passed away from terminal cancer, sharing praise for MacMillan hospice nurses who help him through his final days.

The star went onto say he was pledging his support for the charity’s annual World’s Biggest Coffee Morning, which is to take place this year on Saturday 29th September. 

He said: ‘I always understood the work that they did but on a personal level when my dad fell ill, terminally ill, as a family it hit us really hard, and we needed someone to come in and help us process what was going on. 

‘It was fairly quick… and we went into a tailspin and thank God they [Macmillan] came in. They explained everything. 

‘The process of what’s going to happen, the process of the illness, how you need to communicate with each other as a family… and I was grateful for their help in getting Dad into a hospice and explaining to my mum that keeping him at home isn’t necessarily the best option.’

Open: The Benidorm star then explained that speaking out about his grief was the best decision he could have made, as he was inundated with support from fans

Open: The Benidorm star then explained that speaking out about his grief was the best decision he could have made, as he was inundated with support from fans

But he went onto explain that speaking out was one of the best decisions he’s ever made, as he found himself inundated with support from people who had gone through similar experiences. 

‘I don’t honestly make a habit of coming on television – I don’t promote myself by what’s going on in my life personally – but I think the work they do is so vital that I am willing to come on and share things that I wouldn’t normally share. 

‘Purely because you need people to know that when you’re going through this your biggest tendency is to shut down and you don’t share, and it’s the same with grief… but you need to open up and you need to let people in and let them help you.’ 

‘The feedback and just talking to people… grief for a lot of people feels unique and there are a lot of general feelings and stages and if you can, talk to people. Don’t carry it around, it doesn’t have to be your burden.’

Truthful: The comic also said he praised MacMillan Hospice nurses who took care of his father in his final days

Truthful: The comic also said he praised MacMillan Hospice nurses who took care of his father in his final days

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