BBC Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay has confronted his co-star Paddy McGuinness, questioning whether his dramatic body transformation was genuine. During Scott Mills’ show on Monday, Kay admitted he left McGuinness a voice note accusing him of using AI to create a fake beer belly in his before photo.
McGuinness, 52, has been sharing images of his six-pack after completing the 75 Hard challenge, a strict fitness and diet programme. Kay said he had been let into the secret early but still had doubts when he saw the results. “I left him a voice note that said, ‘Patrick, come on… that before picture — that’s a fake belly. That’s not real, that’s AI,’” Kay revealed.
However, McGuinness insisted the transformation was real, explaining that he had been “sitting on the sofa and eating garbage” before starting the programme, which was inspired by Andy Frisella’s self-help book 75 Hard. The challenge requires 45 minutes of any activity plus 45 minutes in the gym daily, abstinence from alcohol, drinking a gallon of water, reading 10 pages of non-fiction, and taking a daily progress photo. Failure means starting again from day one.
In an Instagram post, McGuinness admitted he was shocked by how much he had let himself go. “That before pic is the result of just under two months of binge eating — beer, cakes and biscuits! The effect it had on my body, and more importantly my mind, was staggering,” he wrote. He said he thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and is now looking for the next one.
Celebrities including Matt Baker and Scarlette Douglas praised his new look, while radio host Andy Goldstein joked that AI was “getting out of hand”. Kay and Mills also speculated on the programme’s rules, with Mills questioning whether outdoor knitting could count as an activity.
