TV star Gethin Jones is the picture of health, with a super-fit physique, so he was shocked to discover he is living with high cholesterol, which could put him at a greater risk of a heart attack.
The 45-year-old star of BBC Morning Live says: “I’ve got really high bad cholesterol – the LDL kind. It’s hereditary.”
Gethin’s father recently suffered a heart attack and his grandfather died from one.
“My sister Mererid is a physio and she told me to get tested. A blood test showed my cholesterol was high so as I get older I’ve to keep an eye on it.
“I don’t take medication but I make sure I get tested regularly and the last one was OK. They talk about statins, but I’m not sure I’m quite there yet.
“I try to make good choices and then ‘live’ as well.
“It’s all about moderation.”
The star, who does enjoy a Guinness but says he’s “not a big drinker” is unsurprisingly careful with his diet. “I’m quite disciplined in the week because in a TV environment, there’s usually pasties knocking about, so I have oats with seeds, berries and bananas in the morning,” he explains.
“I will have eggs on toast after training and then in the evening it’s veg, chicken or fish – I don’t eat too much red meat and I very rarely eat any pasta or stuff like that.
“Then at the weekend, all bets are off. If someone asks, ‘do you want to come and have pancakes?’ I’ll say yes. My favourite dish is steak, dauphinoise potatoes and sprouts.
“I feel like if you are disciplined in the week and you train hard you can sort of enjoy that.”
The Welshman certainly has a tough exercise regime. He works out five times a week and is currently training for a gruelling HYROX event, involving everything from doing burpees and running to rowing and sledge-pulling. “It’s pretty horrendous but I do enjoy a physical challenge.”
The star also does triathlons.
“Swimming is amazing for your fitness. At the weekend I try to do a longer 2km swim in the pool.”
But it’s not all plain sailing. Last year Gethin had an arthroscopy and lateral ligament reconstruction operation on his left ankle.
“It was overuse,” he says. “Both ligaments had disappeared really. I turned on my ankle a few times, the first time was when I was playing rugby at 21. My ankle would just come all the way round. You’d go over on it and it would be bloody painful and blow up out of control.
“They sort of put a ‘seatbelt’ on it. I was quite disciplined with the rehab. It still gives me a little bit of gip. If I get up in the night and go for a wee it’s like a sniper’s hit it, but when it gets going it’s fine. It does feel much stronger. I’m glad I had it done.
“A lot of it comes down to mobility. There’s been a lot of emphasis from the guys I train with on stretching and mobility. The doctors say just move as much as possible.”
The 2007 Strictly Come Dancing contestant, who does a regular Strictly Fitness feature on Morning Live, is clearly confident in his recovery, because he recently volunteered to complete a 24-hour danceathon for Comic Relief. Thankfully his ankle stood up to the back-to-back routines, helping him raise over £900,000 for good causes, and he’s thrilled with the result.
“It’s going to change lives. I’m
so proud.”
- It’s not too late to support Gethin’s Red Nose Day challenge – visit comicrelief.com/dance
