Mark Labbett, also known as The Beast from The Chase, has undergone a remarkable weight loss transformation over the years after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes

Chaser Mark Labbett, better known as The Beast, has been wowing fans with his incredible weight loss journey.

In a candid chat on This Morning this week, he talked about his days prior to fame when he was an ‘overweight maths teacher’ and not one the country’s most recognisable faces from TV.

At 57, the Devon-born quiz maestro shared the details about the dramatic changes to his life that resulted in a substantial drop in his weight — earning him plenty of praise from admirers. One impressed Twitter user exclaimed, “Mark Labbett has lost some weight – looking good,” while another commented, “Mark looks incredible after dropping the weight. Watching his interview he seems like such a lovely guy.”

Mark, who debuted on the ITV show, hosted by Bradley Walsh, in 2009, hasn’t hidden the fact he’s struggled with his weight and appearance in the past, but he reached a turning point during the Covid lockdown in 2020.

Mark Labbett shared how he lost weight when he appeared on This Morning ( 
Image:
ITV)

In his school teaching days back in 2003, Mark reportedly tipped the scales at his heaviest – 29 stone. When he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes four years later, he implemented some drastic lifestyle in order to prevent any further decline in his health, reports Plymouth Live.

Embracing a more nutritious diet and ramping up physical activity led to him bidding farewell to a whopping 10 stone. He now claims he’s the fittest and slimmest he’s been in three decades, having lost a total of around 64kg, all while towering impressively at a height of 6ft 6in.

At 6ft 6in, Mark towers over his co-stars ( 
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ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
His noticeable weight loss started in the 2020 Covid lockdown but he had already slimmed down by three stone before the country went into lockdown. He put some of the lockdown loss down to running around with his “hyperactive” toddler who was at home with him rather than in nursery.

Speaking on Loose Women last year, he confessed: “I found at the end of the evening instead of going to the fridge for late night snacking, all I could do was collapse on the bed.”

His trusty Labrador Retriever Baloo also contributed to his changes, as discussed on ITV’s The Pet Show with Dermot O’Leary and Joanna Page. “I was walking him around the fields, taking me places… I think he’s helped a lot, simply because I’m doing more activity.”

Mark looks vastly different nowadays ( 
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ITV1)Mark, who split from his long-term girlfriend Hayley Palmer last year, also explained that a low-sugar and low-carb diet were key to his “complete nutrition overhaul”, highlighting that he slimmed down without any surgical help after being recommended against a gastric band due to his particular metabolism.

An interesting twist came when Mark experienced a loss of taste and smell, symptoms that led to less eating and added weight loss over a fortnight.

Now that he’s feeling and looking his best, Mark remains a firm fixture on ITV’s The Chase in Britain, despite no longer appearing on the show’s US version – a change that’s been linked to a significant fall in ratings.