Top Gear star and former cricketer, Freddie Flintoff is opening up about his 20-year struggle with bulimia in a candid new documentary released by the BBC. Set to air on Monday 28 September, Freddie Flintoff: Living With Bulimia examines the presenter's decade-spanning battle with the eating disorder, as he admits that he "probably should get help".
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Freddie Flintoff: Living With Bulimia will air on Monday 28 September
Eight years ago, Freddie first went public about his struggles with bulimia while filming Sky1's documentary Flintoff: From Lords To The Ring. Revealing that his battle with the disorder first began in 2001, Freddie explained that upon joining the England cricket team, he felt the pressure to keep his weight down, and almost 20 years later, he's still learning to cope.
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Freddie pictured with his wife, Rachel
In the trailer for the BBC documentary, Freddie says: "This is such a hard thing to define or even admit. For years I've managed to keep it hidden – it's not right, is it? I know it's not right." As well as opening up about his personal experiences with bulimia, the 42-year-old will also meet with sufferers and specialists to challenge the stigma around eating disorders in men.
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According to the Daily Mail, Freddie confronts his condition in the documentary: 'I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed the results," he says. "I don't know whether it's just being a bloke, you feel you should be able to stop it." While the TV star does have some coping mechanisms in place, he states that he still experiences the urge to make himself sick after eating, admitting: "I've had periods when I've done it this year."
As reported by the Metro, Freddie also revealed that he thinks about his weight every 20 minutes:
"It's something that affects me every single day. It's something I am acutely aware of when I look in the mirror, when I eat my food, when I try on my clothes, it's something I don't stop thinking about. This is the frustrating thing about it - I know it's a problem and I know it needs addressing, so why am I not doing something about it?"