Former CBBC presenter Dave Benson Phillips has recounted the terrifying moment he lost the ability to walk during his battle with type 2 diabetes. The 61-year-old, best known for hosting the game show Get Your Own Back, said the symptoms began while he was performing in a pantomime.
“I began getting tingling in my legs and to lose mobility. It was very slow, but it was very painful. It was quite scary,” he explained. Phillips, who was already pre-diabetic, received the diagnosis ten years ago. “I realised it was my own doing, my own fault. But it was still an incredible shock. It was a frightening thing,” he added.
To manage his condition, Phillips now uses a Dexcom ONE+ continuous glucose monitor, which he says “has made having diabetes a lot easier, because it takes away all the guess work.” He is encouraging others to prioritise their health, stating, “I’ve had a real battle. I don’t like the fact that there’s things I’ve had to give up. But having diabetes made me aware of making good decisions about my lifestyle. I want to be around for as long as possible.”
In addition to his health struggles, Phillips previously revealed he was an early victim of fake news. A false Facebook page pretending to be his posted derogatory comments about children with special needs. “It was a horrible thing to read,” he recalled. The police became involved, and despite tracing a quarter of a million emails from one source, the perpetrator was never identified.
