Matt Lucas will appear on this weekend’s episode of Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, as the show makes a long-awaited return to screens.

The star has been at the forefront of British comedy for more than two decades, starring alongside David Walliams as co-creator of Little Britain and Come Fly With Me. However, it is his appearance that has been in the spotlight lately.

In addition to acting, the comedian has been open about his weight loss journey, including the heartbreaking reason that initially encouraged him to lose the weight.

From losing a family member who changed his behavior to being shockingly ‘skinny shamed’ during a football match, Matt was driven to diet and exercise.

So why has Matt lost the pounds and improved his health?

The unexpected death of a family member caused Matt to lose weight

In 2022, Matt revealed how his family’s medical history caused him to change his eating habits and become more conscious of his weight.

Matt was only 22 when his father passed away unexpectedly at the age of 52, something he says was a much-needed wake-up call as he got older.

Appearing on sports presenter Gabby Logan’s podcast at the time, he said: ‘I’m 48, my father died when he was 52, very suddenly, his father died I think at 56, so I was looking at the law of the averages.’

“I was really big and I actually kept getting bigger during the pandemic. Kind of not being very active, not really going out, not seeing people, just eating a lot of fried potatoes. I can’t tell you how many fried potatoes I ate!’

He said this realization caused him to lose weight, but the comic said he felt like he needed to exercise more and still get fitter.

He added: “I was so big I couldn’t really fit on the screen anymore. The thing is, when you grow up, and by the way, I still have a good stomach, I’m not skinny by any means, I just lost some weight…

‘I’ve gone from maybe an XXL, sometimes I was an XXXL, to a medium now I think. Although sometimes medium is big for me and sometimes small for me…

‘The only thing I have to do is get fitter, I have gained some weight, that is my next challenge to exercise more. Maybe I should make it a game when I exercise to stay away from people. I don’t have a garden, so I have to find a way to do that.’

You’re ashamed of football

After making a concerted effort to lose weight and get fitter, the last thing Matt could have expected was to worry about being thinner.

However, that wasn’t the case, as Matt shared after a shocking incident that took place while attending a football match between his beloved Arsenal and Manchester United in April 2022.

“For the first time in my life, I think I’m just ashamed.”

His post received a lot of support from well-wishers who congratulated him on losing weight.

In response to his post, actress Sarah O’Connell wrote: “You look amazing and most importantly, happy.”

Another positive message read: ‘You look incredible and [the individual who confronted Matt] know it’.

Diabetes scare

In April 2020, Matt admitted he was keen to ‘get fitter’ during lockdown after feeling like he had ‘gained a bit of weight’.

He said: ‘All I need to do is get fitter, I’ve put on a bit of weight, that’s my next challenge to exercise a bit more.

“Maybe I should make a game of it when I’m doing an exercise to stay away from people. I don’t have a garden, so I have to find a way to do that.’

The prankster was previously told by doctors to reduce his daily calorie intake to 1,500 because he feared he was developing diabetes.

Goal – Mychailo Mudryk (Chelsea)

Christine McGuinness wore a skimpy bikini to ‘whip away her heartbreak’ in a sweet update on Wednesday.

The TV personality, 35 – who split from her husband Paddy, 50, in 2022 after 11 years of marriage – said she was ‘freeing herself from negativity.’

In the light-hearted clip, shared to Instagram, Christine wore a multi-coloured tie-dye set as she twirled around the garden.

She then donned a blue triangle bikini before showing off her skills as she hula-hooped while sipping a hot drink.

Christine captioned the post: Healing from a hula hoop heartache (not a serious story).. story!’

The model continued, “Once upon a time there was a girl who was happy and free, she danced and hula-hooped like no one could see.

‘That was until someone commented… ‘She’s rubbish at that, I’m much better at everything’

“It took her a while to pick herself up, and she soon learned not to give a fuck

‘The moral of the story is… if it makes your soul happy, do it! Free yourself from negativity, I keep smiling, just because I am me.

‘(I also need some vitamin D and I appreciate this Bob Marley DNA)’

It comes following news that Christine is ‘trying to forge her own career’ following her split from TV presenter husband Paddy McGuinness.

The model explained that her main focus is supporting their three children, seven-year-old Felicity and twins Leo and Penelope, 10, who have all been diagnosed with autism.

She said The mirror: ‘My main focus for 2024 will be on my children, they are always my main focus.’

She added: ‘Then work, work for myself and try to build a career so that I can always take care of my children and give them a future that they want and support them and their needs for as long as possible. That’s really where I am now.

‘I want to try to be more present, which I am very good at with my children. When I’m with the kids, I’m my most authentic self, and I’m just me. I’m home alone with the kids.’

Christine, who has launched a new wellness brand called Lifestyle, says she gets easily distracted outside her home life and one of her goals is to be “more present.”

The model also shared how she takes care of her children’s well-being by doing yoga and mindfulness.

It comes after Christine Was reportedly left ‘devastated’ after finding out her ex-husband Paddy is make a ‘mockumentary’ about their divorce.’

According to The suna friend close to Christine has revealed she found out about Paddy’s plan after reading about it online.

They told the publication: ‘Christine is distraught that their divorce will be the butt of jokes.’

The source continued: “She is absolutely devastated by the divorce and we are genuinely concerned about her.

‘Paddy didn’t tell her about the pilot. The fact that she, like everyone else, had to find out online that he did this broke her even more.”

MailOnline contacted Christine’s rep for comment when the news broke.

A mother has told how she experienced a wave of tragic events before winning her £405,680 Lotto jackpot.

Rachel Lee took home the gigantic prize of the People's Postcode Lottery this week, after she was the only neighbor in her street to participate.

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The 33-year-old NHS worker was left 'in pieces' by the deaths of her twin sons, her stepfather's double leg amputation and a car theft which all happened quickly. succession.

But there is now light at the end of the tunnel as she has won more than £405,000 and has pledged to use the money to become a pediatric nurse to help poor children.

Rachel and husband John, 37, burst into tears as they accepted the award.

Rachel said:“This just doesn't happen to us. We are used to picking up the phone when there is bad news.”

And speaking of her lost babies, she added: “I want to keep their memories alive by helping poor children.”

She continued: “I wanted to give back and do something with my career after everything I've been through.

“When I got the job in the NHS, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I want to become a pediatric nurse and take care of poor children.

“Now I can do a master's degree in nursing and make that happen.”

Ultimately, Rachel was the only person in her postcode in Dukinfield, Manchester to achieve a major win.

But that's because none of her neighbors buy tickets for the weekly lottery.

Rachael won the maximum ticket prize: her share of a £1 million jackpot.

The remaining money, totaling more than £594,000, was split between players in the postcode sector.

More than 1,280 players won cash prizes ranging from £419 to £1,257.

Rachel also plans to buy a Life for a Life tree for her beloved twins.

She added: “We want to have a tree for life planted in the Dove Stone Reservoir (a memorial woodland near Oldham).

“We've always wanted to do it, but it's expensive.”

Gary Rohan has confirmed that he and his wife Madi Bennett have welcomed a baby boy following their miscarriage and heartbreak.

The AFL star, 32, took to Instagram on Saturday to share the jovial baby news with his 49,000 followers in a heartwarming post.

Gary announced in August that he was expecting his first child and 'rainbow baby' with Madi, after the couple suffered a devastating missed miscarriage. Gary also lost a child with his ex-wife Amie in 2018.

Announcing the birth of their son, Gary shared a photo of himself and Madi beaming from ear to ear as they posed with their newborn, who was sleeping in his stroller.

In an accompanying caption, Gary confirmed the little one's arrival, simply writing: “Home time with our little man.”

The proud father – who also shares daughters Sadie and Bella with his ex-wife Amie – has not yet confirmed their son's name or when he was born.

His friends and fans quickly took to the comments section to share their congratulations to the happy couple.

They shouted, 'He's here!!! Congratulations you two'; 'Congratulations everyone'; 'Oh my god, congratulations'; “Beautiful family congratulations, he is beyond perfect.”

Geelong Cats player Gary confirmed he and Madi were expecting a child together in a post shared on Instagram in August.

He shared a photo of their ultrasound and wrote, “Grow'n a Rohan. Our rainbow baby is on the way.”

He continued, “What felt like the longest journey to hear your heartbeat was worth every second to soon have you in our arms.

“We are so excited to be your mom and dad.”

Gary also shared a lengthy paragraph about the child he lost with his ex-wife Amie, who tragically died shortly after Amy gave birth to twins.

The child, a daughter named Willow, had a fatal neural tube defect known as anencephaly, for which there is no known cure.

“I just wanted to take a moment to thank those who are seeing this message with broken hearts,” Gary wrote.

'A feeling I know all too well. When it feels like the whole world is getting pregnant, and you're experiencing unimaginable grief after losing your own, this is the hardest post to watch.

'I want to say to everyone who knows or is experiencing this feeling: know that you are not alone. I hear you, I see you, I feel you. We are 1 in 4.”

Gary and Amie were high school sweethearts and were married for four years before splitting in 2020.

He then went public with Geelong physio Madi in 2021, and the happy couple officially married in December 2022.

They announced their baby news in August 2023 and have since both spoken openly about a devastating miscarriage they suffered last year.

Gary recently spoke about how the heartbreaking miscarriage brought back the devastating memories of losing his daughter Willow just hours after her birth.

“I lost a child with my last partner, so this obviously brought back a lot of memories,” he told News Corp.

“Willow, she had anencephaly, where part of the skull doesn't fit together. We knew she would have no life after birth.

“We had five wonderful hours with Willow before she got her wings and left.”

Madi previously explained how she suffered a 'missed miscarriage', which occurs when a fetus is no longer alive but the body still thinks it is pregnant.

“I had what they call a missed miscarriage,” she told the Missta Mums podcast.

'My body was still going through 100 percent of the pregnancy and growth, the hormones were going up and doing everything they were supposed to do, but my body hadn't registered that I had lost the baby.

“I continued to grow and still had all my symptoms.”

She said she had to wait an awful two weeks before she knew for sure whether she had had a miscarriage.

“The two-week wait for that second scan had literally driven me crazy,” she said. “Wait any longer, I couldn't hack it.”

Madi admitted that she had no idea this experience was so common and wasn't sure if she would share the news with others.

She said: 'It's something you can't understand unless you've experienced it. You hear the stories and you definitely sympathize with others who are going through it, but it hit me like a ton of bricks.

“My heart broke in that moment, especially because I know there must have been women around me who went through this and I didn't know and I wasn't there to support them.”

'It's such a taboo subject. Before this pregnancy, I had a miscarriage myself and felt like nothing was there. There was nothing I could resonate with, nothing I could even remotely understand about the process and how common it is.

'You're not alone: ​​one in four pregnancies ends in a miscarriage.'

Gary's ex-wife Amie is also currently expecting a baby with partner Jaison Todd, and she opened up about her pregnancy earlier this month.

'I love being pregnant. “I feel most feminine and healthy when I'm pregnant,” she told the Herald Sun.

“I've felt so excited the whole pregnancy and there are so many big life changes for us.”

Amie, who confirmed her baby news in December, said she and Jaison are considering getting married and are already living together.

“With everything I've been through, we're just taking each day as it comes,” she said.

“It's not something where I have to confirm what we are. He is such a gentleman and everything that happened to him is divine timing.

“I said I would never get married again, but who knows, maybe I'm not closed off to the thought of it.”

LUKE LITTLER missed two darts to win the match as Michael van Gerwen defeated a thrilling Premier League final 6-5.

Littler had a dream start as he broke the Dutchman in the very first leg before holding on to his own delivery to take a 2-0 lead.

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Van Gerwen then got on the scoreboard by taking the third leg and broke back to seize the initiative at 2-2.

The pair then held a throw each, but Littler looked a little nervous as he struggled to find treble 20.

Mighty took a 4-3 lead after a tense leg in which Littler threatened to break, but to no avail.

Littler, 17, then narrowly held on to his own throw to restore parity at 4-4.

He had a great chance to get back in front but missed the double top to break Van Gerwen, who took the lead 5-4 before The Nuke made it 5-5.

It came down to the final leg and Littler threw brilliantly to create a match-winning chance.

With 80 still on the scoreboard he hit treble 20 and had two darts on double ten – his favorite double.

His first arrow missed the target by inches before hitting ten and giving Van Gerwen a chance at victory.

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And the Green Machine made no mistake as he took double five to seal victory in Berlin.

Littler can be very proud of his achievements, adding three points to his total Premier League tally, which now stands at five, moving the teenager to third in the table, behind Van Gerwen and Michael Smith.

The Warrington wonderkid beat Rob Cross and Luke Humphries in tense matches to reach the final, beating both 6-5, while Van Gerwen came from behind to beat Nathan Aspinall before beating Smith in the semi-final.

Van Gerwen was full of praise for Littler and said: “Games against Luke Littler are always good. I think it was a fantastic evening of darts. I feel good, but there is more to come.

“Sometimes my energy level when playing matches was not that high. You have to find a solution. I know I have the ability, but you still have to do it all the time.

“In darts it is always good to have fresh blood and people who are in good shape.

“People in good shape always encourage the other players. This is how darts goes. Of course everyone now wants to put pressure on Luke.”

After beating world champion Humphries, Littler said: “I didn't feel my best. I came in here last night. It's crazy 10,000-plus. The only thing I like is playing in front of a big audience.

“I just want to win that first match every week, so that I am guaranteed two points. Win the semis and finals if necessary. It's about putting points on the board.”

By Alison Boshoff Chief Show Business Writer for The Daily Mail

Published: 09:42 EST, February 8, 2024 | Updated: 09:59 EST, February 8, 2024

LUKE LITTLER could no longer muster magic in the Dutch Masters final.

The teenage sensation lost to the iconic Michael van Gerwen in a replay of last week's Bahrain Masters final.

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Follow all the reactions from Luke Littler's Dutch Darts Masters tournament in our live blog

Littler took his first professional title in the Middle East, but MVG took revenge tonight in the Netherlands with an 8-6 victory.

However, there was time for revenge for Littler himself.

The 17-year-old defeated Luke Humphries – the man who broke his heart at Ally Pally – in the quarter-finals.

The World Championship rematch was enthralling as Littler emerged the 6-5 winner.

Littler will miss out on £20,000 in prize money this time with his loss, but will now turn his attention to getting the Premier League underway.

Although he'll be pleased to know he still pockets £10,000 for coming second.

After his loss, he said: “I went one leg at a time, hold-by-hold.

“At the end I had to hold on. I left with 180 and he came back with one.

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“I think, just try to hold on. I connected the 170 and then it gets it.

“The whole game, every hold, was incredible. I was ready for a game. He said I was pressuring him. I tried, but he just wouldn't miss.

“The crowd was great. Obviously they want Michael to win, I understand that. How many 140s have I hit? It's an extra 40 points discount. Respect for Michael. Finally he got me.

“Hopefully I won't be burned out for the Premier League next week. I consider this competition practice. It moves on to the World Series rankings. I can't wait to go to Cardiff on Tuesday.”

Michael van Gerwen won his very first Dutch Masters, something very nice for the Dutchman who played in his home country.

The superstar appeared to be in tears as he was overwhelmed by the thought of a title win in front of his home crowd.

The 34-year-old was delighted with his victory, but had high praise for his young competitor.

He said: “This is what people like to watch. He put so much pressure on me. Everyone knows, he is the man who is in good shape.

“Luke Littler has a bright future ahead of him. We all know that. Still, you want to stop him. You still have to do the right things to him. That's what I did.

“His scoring ability is enormous. Then you have to keep fighting, keep fighting. I'm glad I was able to do that.

“He doesn't worry about anything. He just does his own thing. I think that's a good thing. The crowd here, the PDC, the sponsors, I think they made it a great tournament. And that's what I want.”

He added: “To win this trophy and against Luke Littler in front of a home crowd, it feels great. You have to move on in life and that's the terrible thing. It always means a lot to see a crowd like that.”

Both players will now head to Cardiff for the start of the Premier League season.

Littler earned his place in the Premier League line-up after his stellar performance at the World Championships early this year.

Since his heartbreaking loss, he has been living a life of luxury.

The teenager was invited to Manchester United's training ground to meet players and staff from the club he has supported all his life.

And he even had some time to take on Harry Maguire in a darts showdown while he was there.

He shares the spotlight with girlfriend Eloise Milburn, who has been by his side during his meteoric rise.

The 21-year-old also plays darts and cheered on her boyfriend at the World Championships earlier this year.

It was rumored that the pair met while playing video games, but Eloise cleared that up in an interview with The Guardian.

She said: “We met on the development tour in Leicester in August but ended up being friends [tournament] in Milton Keynes.”

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By Ali Daher for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 06:11 EST, January 16, 2024 | Updated: 06:45 EST, January 16, 2024

By Laura Fox for Mailonline

Published: 03:48 EST, January 10, 2024 | Updated: 04:39 EST, January 10, 2024