Jody Bunting

Jody Bunting
Bunting in 2025 in his 2001 size 7XL swimming shorts
Born
Jody Bunting

(1978-01-27) 27 January 1978
Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England
EducationHigh Peak College, Buxton - University of Derby
Occupations
  • Weight Loss Expert
  • Fitness Instructor
  • Holistic Lifestyle Coach
Years active2000–present
OrganisationSlim Brother
Height6 ft 0.5 in (184 cm)
Children1
AwardsIFS Group Exercise Manager of the Year 2005
Websitejodybunting.com

Jody Bunting (born 27 January 1978), is a fitness presenter who was the 31-stone (200kg) [1] TV host of Lose it with Jody on Channel 4 television's former UK TV show The Big Breakfast between 2001 and 2002.[2]

Early life

Bunting was born on 27 January 1978 in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.[3] In 2000, he became father of a girl. One year later, he separated from the mother of his child.[4]

Career

In 2001, Bunting left his job at a call centre to pursue a full-time career in fitness instruction.[5] That year, he featured on Channel 4's The Big Breakfast as the weekly guest fitness presenter which made him a public figure in the UK. Locally he continued to teach fitness classes and appeared in the line-up responsible for switching on the Burton-upon-Trent Christmas lights.[6]

Between 2001 and 2004, Bunting lost approximately 19-stone, (275 pounds, 125 kg), and in 2004 underwent surgery to remove excess skin resulting from the weight loss.[7][8][1] In 2005, he received the Group Exercise Manager of the Year award. [9]

Bunting spend several years in Egypt from 2006 teaching fitness classes in 5 star holiday resorts abroad.[4] His company, The Fat Factor, was featured on BBC’s The One Show in 2008.[4] In 2009, he promoted the role of stress reduction in weight loss and launched relaxation classes in collaboration with Historian Lesley Smith.[10] That same year, he participated in fundraising activities, including cycling in pink to support a breast cancer charity [11] and abseiling down Derby Cathedral to raise money for the Derby Mountain Rescue Team.[12]

In 2010, Bunting offered free community weight-loss courses in Derby,[13] with several of his clients featured in local newspapers for their weight-loss achievements.[14] In 2016, he launched free online weight-loss courses under the name Slim Brother, alongside in-person classes in Derby and Burton-upon-Trent. At that time, he stated that during his 15-year career in the fitness industry he had helped more than 5,000 people lose weight and had taught over 78,000 hours of fitness classes.[15]

Bunting presented the talent show Sharm’s Got Talent in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in 2017.[2] In a 2018 YouTube video, he spoke publicly for the first time about being homosexual and became a supporter of Derbyshire LGBTQ+ Pride, stating that he had known he was gay since the age of 13.[16] After working for the Weight Watchers slimming groups for a year, he parted company with them, relaunched his Slim Brother weight loss programme in 2019.[17] In 2021, Aldi UK hired Bunting to taste-test its Easter chocolate egg range and featured in several adverts.[18]

In 2024, Bunting appeared in the UK national press following his arrest on suspicion of attempted murder with a chocolate bar, involving a colleague at a gym where he worked in 2023.[19] He was released on bail and, in 2025, was released without charge.[20]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2000 ITV's The Trisha Goddard Show Guest "Is fat sexy" Episode
2001-2002 Channel 4's The Big Breakfast Diet & Fitness Expert 40 Episodes
2001-2003 Ram FM Outside Broadcaster 500+ Shows
2002 Sky's Lorraine Weight Loss Expert Guest Expert
2003 BBC's SAS: Are You Tough Enough Weight Loss Expert Celebrity Contestant
2003 Channel 4's The Fit Farm Diet & Fitness Expert Teaching the guests how to pole dance
2003 Channel 4's The Salon Fitness Instructor Colonic Irrigation Patient
2003 ITV's The Jeremy Kyle Show Weight Loss Expert "Lose weight or die" Episode
2008 BBC's The One Show Weight Loss Expert The Fat Factor auditions
2017 ITV's This Morning Fitness Instructor Holidays in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
2023 GB News Channel Obesity Expert Should Obesity Be Normalised?

References

  1. ^ a b "Last hurdle for dieting champion". BBC News. 19 May 2004.
  2. ^ a b "Derbyshire TV fitness guru Joseph Spendlove - formerly known as Jody Bunting - defies terrorists". Derby Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017.
  3. ^ "jodybunting.com - About". Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Jody's vow to be world's top pop". Burton Mail. 24 October 2008. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Obese fitness instructor appeals to the masses". Leisure Opportunities news. 22 June 2001. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  6. ^ "'Fantasmagorical' switch on". Burton Mail. 22 November 2001. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  7. ^ Fearnehough, David (15 December 2010). Derbyshire Extremes. ISBN 978-1-4456-2780-9.
  8. ^ "Lightweight Jody looks flab-u-less". Burton Mail. 13 September 2003. Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Jody scoops top fitness award". Burton Mail. 15 June 2005. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Meditation and fitness class at Tutbury Castle". Derby Telegraph. 29 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Pedal 1,426 miles? No sweat!". Derby Telegraph. 7 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Slimmers get sinking feeling". Derby Telegraph. 6 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Slimmers urged to be big losers". Derby Telegraph. 23 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  14. ^ "How a health scare led to a happier me". Derby Telegraph. 7 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Quirky fitness instructor Jody Bunting reflects". Derby Telegraph.
  16. ^ "Gay dad champions Derbyshire Pride - after estranged daughter reached out to him". DerbyshireLive. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  17. ^ "TV fitness guru Jody Bunting apologises after being sacked by Weight Watchers". DerbyshireLive. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Derby weight-loss coach becomes Aldi's Easter egg taster". DerbyshireLive. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Fitness instructor arrested for attempted murder after 'colleague suffers allergic reaction to chocolate'". SkyNews. 4 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Jody Bunting: TV star describes year of hell after 'attempted murder with chocolate'". Derbyshire Live. 4 January 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.