Lorraine Kelly has revealed she lost 10kg after changing her diet and exercise habits following the death of her father. The ITV presenter said she had put on weight while grieving, finding comfort in chocolate and drinking too much at weekends.
Grief and a turning point
Her father John died in January at the age of 84. In a new interview, she said: “Some people deal with bereavement by not eating, but I ate for comfort. I found solace in chocolate. I was eating too much and, frankly, drinking too much at weekends.
“In April, I had a good, long look at myself, and I’ve now cut out chocolate and drinking, I swim every day and, since April, I’ve been going to an over-55s gym twice a week.
“The workouts are all about building muscle, confidence, balance and strength, and it’s made all the difference. Judging by how my clothes fit, I think I’ve lost a stone and a half. I was a size 14, pushing a 16, and I’m now what I call a size 11!”
ITV show changes
Kelly also discussed her role at ITV amid the job cuts to daytime shows and reduced budgets this year. Her programme was cut from one hour to 30 minutes, with fewer weeks on air.
Posing for the Christmas issue, she told woman&home magazine: “I’d love to do an hour’s show again. Every time I’m in Tesco, people ask, ‘Why are you not on for an hour?’. At the start of the year I asked myself the same question because it didn’t make any sense and it was really hard because I’d said goodbye to all my team. Then I thought, ‘It’s now my half hour of sunshine’.
“When I had the one-hour show, because everything was so s****y in the world – and it’s got s****ier – we decided to try and put good news out there. That’s what we’ve been doing since January. We’re getting a pint into a half-pint pot. The contract always runs year to year and I’ve signed up for next year. I wish I could say to myself, 40 years ago ‘Don’t stress every July when the contract is up, because you will still be here’.”
Family and Christmas plans
Kelly, married to cameraman Steve Smith since 1992, is now a grandmother after daughter Rosie had a daughter called Billie in August 2024. Kelly said: “Billie’s a bright wee thing and knows what’s going on, so this Christmas will be extra gorgeous.
“Steve and Rosie are very organised at Christmas. They do all the cooking. I set the table! I start off by putting on a comfortable dress, then it’s tartan pyjamas and comfy slippers as soon as the dinner’s done and we’ve been out for a giant walk, wearing our new Christmas jumpers, with our dog Angus and Rosie’s Dachshund Ruby.”
The December issue of woman&home is on sale October 22.
