RTE's Baz Ashmawy has admitted his love of Italian cooking has seen him pile on two stone.
The 47-year-old quit drinking in 2016 but indulged in carbs during the pandemic.
The DIY SOS presenter revealed: “I got into my Italian cooking, I cooked pasta and I’m trying to run it all off now, I’d say I put on a couple of stone.
Read more: RTE DIY SOS viewers cry their eyes out as wheelchair bound mum gets dream home
“I hope to get rid of that for the summer.”
The Dublin dad-of-six said if he had been drinking during lockdown he “might not have stopped” but his mammy convinced him to have one drink to celebrate his birthday this year.
He added: “For my birthday, Nancy persuaded me to have a cigar and whiskey. Nancy was like, ‘Go on, have a nice whiskey and cigar, everything in moderation’.
“You have to have your moment as well.
“That was it though, I never went back to drinking.
“Maybe it’s an age thing or the fact I’ve too many young kids, I’m so busy with work too.
“If I was on holidays I might have a pina colada, if you’re in the right place at the right time.”
But Baz said his booze binging days are far behind him, adding: “As far as binges and drinking are concerned it’s not my thing. There’s nothing wrong with having a few glasses of wine after working hard all week.”
The popular presenter said his new show has taught him not to complain about the trivial things.
Baz explained how his makeover show for the most vulnerable in Irish society keeps him grounded, adding: “I’m in the middle of the third series, we keep going with them.
“The families are so amazing they inject me with something, I guess it’s an injection of reality I suppose, what they live with and don’t complain about.
“They’re all so different.
“Laura Sheridan is this week’s one, this is a woman who worked in a retirement home down in Waterford and she ran the place. She’s got Hodgkin lymphoma, she’s got two young kids with autism. They were like a flight risk, jumping off the bannisters and the windows. My heart was in my mouth the whole day when filming.
“They were getting into the water fully clothed and I was freaking out.
“She has a gorgeous little girl too and she was managing all this while she’s going through chemo.
“I’m looking at her in awe, ‘Where is she getting the energy from’, sometimes when there’s no other option someone needs to take care of it.
“She’s a lovely woman.
“I just love hanging out with people. I love all my build team, it’s a real privilege for me.
“You know, to tell someone your truth, we get to know each other quite well. It’s so bonding, it’s really sweet how they open up to me.
“I like having the craic and I like hearing their perspective on life that you’re privileged enough not to have to go through.
“The families I meet are so resilient, you’d be amazed what power we have.
“They’re a real inspiration for people living through the exact same stories they’re living through.
“When they see them on TV they give them strength.”
The Emmy award-winning creator of 50 Ways To Kill Your Mammy revealed his only real skill is loving people.
He said: “I don’t have that many skills. I just love people, I’m doing presenting so
long now and around long enough that if people don’t like me, that’s fine but in general everyone I meet is so lovely.”
As for managing his big family, he said: “My family life is like everyone else’s.
“I give out about sandwiches and having to drive to piano lessons but then they’re moments when you think my daughter is so lucky to get to go to school.
“I feel so grateful that my daughter gets to go to school and eat a sandwich, other kids are peg fed and can’t eat.”
His beloved mammy Nancy, the star of 50 Ways, always raised him to count his blessings and she’s still keen to get back on telly.
Baz said: “Nancy has always raised me to be grateful. I feel very blessed with everything I’m doing, you know this game can get you down, but I’m so happy at where I’m at right now.
“Nancy just came back from the Canaries, she was there for a long time since October.
“If a TV show comes up for her well and good but she’s having a ball with her friends at the moment drinking brandy and playing bridge.
“She loves being with her grandkids, with my mam you can’t buy her, she has to be really into something before she’ll do it. She’s always saying, ‘Any ideas for me?’”
Read more: Baz Ashmawy welcomes mum Nancy home for Easter after six months away
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