Strictly Come Dancing's Hamza Yassin has shed a stone in weight thanks to his gruelling nine-hour days in rehearsals.
The wildlife presenter, 32, admits his training schedule has been "crazy" and has left his body aching all over, but he is reaping the benefits just weeks after his Strictly journey began.
He said: "I've lost a lot of weight already, around 6.5kg [1.02-stone], which is unheard of really.
"But if you're training nine hours a day you kind of get that. It's hard.
Everything just aches and aches. With the foxtrot my knees ached, then it was my knees and my lower back for the jive, and this week it's a hard dance."
Countryfile host Hamza and his professional dance partner Jowita Przystal will dance the Salsa to I Love Your Smile by Shanice on this Saturday's live show, and while he is finding the training tough, the star is enjoying the BBC series.
He said: "These guys [the professional dancers] have been doing it for 12 to 15 years and we have to come to their standards in four days.
"We [the celebrities] are never going to get to their standards, but we still have to learn the basics and do a show and perform and deliver it on a Saturday.
"It's kind of crazy, but I'm absolutely enjoying it."
Hamza does tend to flag in rehearsals when the clock hits 3pm, but he credits Jowita with picking him back up.
He said: "It does get tough sometimes. Jowita's fitness levels are out of this world, but by about three or four o'clock I'm flagging, so she has to pull out all the stops to bring my energy back up again."
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The star has likened his Strictly training to being at school for hours a day, because he is "stuck" in the rehearsal room until he has learned the routine.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, he added: "It's a little bit like school.
You're stuck in a studio listening to the same song a million times and you're trying to do the steps and everything. But it's enjoyable, because if you have a good partner then time flies. Some days we look at the clock and we haven't even eaten lunch and I say, 'Wow, now I understand why I'm hungry.'
"But I'm loving every moment of it with Jowita. She's a really, really good teacher, and she's understanding and caring."
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