Rev. Coles has shared his experiences with ITV…
Reverend Richard Coles as he spoke for the first time on television about why he started using weight loss jabs at 63 and how I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! has opened him up to new audiences.
The former Communards star, who came third on I’m A Celebrity… in December, told Ranvir how appearing on the jungle reality show has opened him up to a whole new audience. He said: “I’ve been invisible to young people for 40 years, and all of a sudden because I am mates with GK Barry now, lots of young people come up and say ‘hello’ which is great, and they come to the show.”
Discussing candidly why he is taking weight loss jabs, Richard said:
“So I am on Mounjaro which is one of the versions of the weight loss jabs. I got on it because I was just getting older and fatter, which you do. And my doctor said, when I had the medical for the jungle, they said ‘you need to think about your weight because you might be getting to pre-diabetic’.
“If I am on tour all the time, [I have] hotel breakfasts, midnight kebabs, which okay are not compulsory but very difficult to resist, but I do need something to help me along the way. So the weight loss jabs, which I’ve found that I’ve got on with absolutely fine, they just decrease my appetite but in a sort of gentle and manageable sort of way.”
Before going on to joke: “Also my neighbours nagged me about it so much, I think they get 15% off if they sign somebody up, I’m not sure.”
Asked by Ranvir if he has suffered any side effects whilst taking them, Richard revealed: “Not ones that I really want to go into, but all manageable. I think it was a bit of an adjustment getting used to it, but it isn’t something that interferes with my life too much – I simply just eat less and that’s good for me.”
Reverend Richard Coles also opened up on his new need for hearing aids. He explained: “There is nothing wrong with being 63, right? The other thing is, the benefits that it brings you are so great. For instance, if I am listening to music now, I have realised for years that I have missed a lot of it because of the high frequencies, I can simply not hear. [I] Whack in my hearing aids and all of a sudden I’m 17 again.”
Revealing his motto for life, Richard told Ranvir:
“Life is a gift, make the most of it” and how he says ‘yes’ to everything unless he has to ‘absolutely say no’, including loving again: “Love has said yes to me which is even better” he said.
“So I was widowed in 2019 and then I thought that was me done. I couldn’t imagine ever getting together [again]. And then all of a sudden I thought I could, and thanks to my nephew and nieces I discovered dating apps. I got on one which is basically for old gays. Our first date was a Royal Horticultural Society garden with quiche and salad afterwards, but yeah I met Dickie and we’re now living together and having a lovely time.”
Lorraine weekdays from 9am on ITV1, ITVX, STV & STV Player
