Lenny Henry's dramatic weight loss as comedian was 'body shamed' for film role
31.08.2022 - 13:35
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Lenny Henry has been open about his weight loss transformation over the years after debuting his slimmed down look on TV.
Just recently, the comedian shocked fans with his svelte frame during an appearance at the Opening Ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Measuring At 6ft 3in, the actor and writer has managed to shed the pounds by changing his lifestyle and switching to healthier habits.
Despite his larger than life personality, the funnyman has struggled with his weight and self-worth over the years and has experienced his fair share of body shaming.
The 64-year-old recalled how a body shaming experience in America shattered his self-esteem. He had flown to Los Angeles with his then wife Dawn French to start filming the movie True Identity (which became a box office flop) and thought he was in top shape to make the movie.
“I had been rigorous with my personal training and nutrition – and managed to get down to 15-and-a-half stone. Which is a good size for me – I can get suits off the peg,” he recalls.
But he was asked to lose further weight and, for months, endured a fiendishly difficult exercise regime accompanied by a strict diet.
“It was horrible. It wasn’t just mentally bruising, it was physically bruising,” he recalls today. “I arrived in the best shape I’ve ever been in and they told me I was overweight and needed to lose weight.
"If anything is going to knock your confidence, it’s something like that. I was already at the best weight I’d been since I left school and suddenly I was told I needed to lose another stone-and-a-half.
“I was able to get through it because I had Dawn with me and she worked hard to make sure I was all right. But inside me, I had this feeling that I wasn’t good enough. I was