MRS Brown’s Boys star Dermot O’Neill has revealed how he had to get back on his bike after he piled on three stone in lockdown.
The 69-year-old — who plays Grandad in the hit show — could only fit into his pyjamas after hitting 18st 3lbs.
Dermot O’Neill is back on his bike after gaining weight during lockdownCredit: Vinny Gregan - The Sun Dublin
Dermot told the Irish Sun: “It was the heaviest I’ve ever been. I was cooped up at home eating biscuits and watching TV. Then some biscuits.
“I didn’t realise what was going on until about three weeks ago. I’d grown a beard as well because I was fed up shaving because I had nowhere to go.
“When I saw myself in the mirror I got a shock. I decided all this is going to change.”
Dermot’s bingeing on the bikkies had a lot to do with giving up smoking and a longer lockdown than most after he went into isolation earlier while he recovered from cancer treatment.
He explained: “With my immune system being down, I didn’t go out.
“And not smoking means you have nothing in your hands so you’re picking stuff up to eat instead.”
Dermot, who is the oldest member of the Mrs Brown cast, can recall being just 15st when he got married to wife Chickie a few years ago.
'HAVE TO BE CAREFUL'
The TV star, nicknamed ‘Bugsy’, is now committed to get back to his ideal weight after investing in an exercise bike, bench and a set of weights.
He said: “I’ve got stents in my heart so I have to be careful about exercise but I’ve lost 10lbs already.”
Dermot credits nutritionist wife Chickie with helping him overhaul his grub. He explained: “The diet I’m on doesn’t feel like a diet — poached eggs, chicken sausages, turkey sausages and plenty of vegetables with all sorts of nutritional food, which is delicious.”
The former window cleaner used to get his exercise on the golf course but had no use for his clubs in lockdown.
Dermot said: “I bought three golf jumpers for the colder mornings but never got a chance to wear them.
“I never understood why they closed the golf courses because you’re out in the open, and the way we play we’re never beside each other.”
MASSIVE TOUR
He is due to be on a massive UK Mrs Brown arena tour this summer, which is postponed from 2020, but has no idea if the dates will go ahead.
Mrs Brown D’Live Show was to kick off in Glasgow on June 4/5 but the website for the city’s SSE Hydro venue is already saying they expect the shows to be rescheduled.
And Dermot thinks it might be best to postpone the dates to 2022 rather than attempt them this year.
Mrs Brown's Boys are due to go on tour this summer - but it's not known if the dates will go aheadCredit: Universal Pictures
He told us: “Everyone will have the vaccine by then. If we try to do those dates this year, it means making them Covid-safe.
“We normally play to 9,000 people in an arena, but if we were only allowed about a third full, that would never cover the cost of a Mrs Brown Show. That wouldn’t even cover the costs of our accommodation.
“And how do you keep people two metres apart all night, from the queue to going in, to going to the bar and toilet?”