A television fitness guru says he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a colleague had an allergic reaction to chocolate.
Jody Bunting, who presented the ‘Lose it with Jody’ feature on Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast, said he was accused of intentionally planting the chocolate at his leisure club – something he strongly denies.
The colleague was taken to the intensive care unit at the Royal Derby Hospital on 29 October last year after an allergic reaction to the snack, Mr Bunting said.
Mr Bunting, who appeared on the Big Breakfast in 2001 and 2002, has been working as a group exercise instructor at the Mickleover Court Hotel Leisure Club in Derby since 2017.
The 45-year-old said he was in Morocco on holiday on the day the colleague fell ill.
“I was in shock, being arrested in front of a friend and then being paraded around Luton Airport in cuffs, however, the members at the gym had warned me it may happen,” he told Derbyshire Live.
“I was shocked my local south Derbyshire police officers had come all the way down to London for this issue. The custody sergeant did ask if I could still do my high kicks as he’d Googled me and realised who I was.”
He said he was bailed after his arrest, with conditions including not contacting specific staff members at the leisure club, and not visiting the club.
Mr Bunting added: “I am doing OK. I am working a lot less now as Mickleover Court was my main job, so I’m just focusing on the fitness classes I still have and the online weight loss coaching I do.
“I am just focusing on the future and hoping I get the ‘no further action’ letter from the police any day now.
“It’s hard to just say ‘I got arrested for attempted murder’ and not explain the whys. When I tell people it’s over a piece of chocolate, they actually laugh out loud, which is even more amusing because of my slimming work and past.”
He said he had not heard from the police about any significant developments since his arrest on 2 November.
A spokesperson from Derbyshire Police force said: “A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and wounding with intent on 2 November. He has been bailed as investigations continue.
“The arrest relates to an incident at the Mickleover Court Hotel in Derby between 22 and 29 October 2023.”
