I can see the impact of food on my body quite quickly
In the late 90s and noughties, straight-talking Trisha Goddard was the queen of confessional daytime TV. She had her own ITV show, Trisha, and then Trisha Goddard on Channel 5, which ran until 2009.
Then, aside from guest appearances on shows such as Loose Women, The Wright Stuff and Big Brother’s Bit On The Side, she disappeared from UK screens.
Trisha, 64, who lives in the States and is divorced with two daughters, admitted that she was a workaholic and said “a breakdown in 1994 served as the first sign that my hectic media lifestyle was not only unsustainable but a danger to my mental wellbeing.”
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and went on to make a full recovery. In 2020 she took part in Dancing On Ice and now she’s back on the box, fronting a remake of the healthy eating/wellbeing show You Are What You Eat. Here, she tells us why it’s close to her heart...
Why are you glad to be hosting You Are What You Eat?
Chat show host Trisha Goddard is on a mission to help kickstart our healthy eating resolutions
It’s very me. I’ve always been interested in nutrition, mental health, fitness and getting the most out of my body; even more so post breast cancer. I can see the impact of food on my body quite quickly because I run every day, I ice skate four to six hours per week and I hike on Sundays for five to 10 miles. Plus I work out with weights.
Did you enjoy talking to the people whose stories feature in the series?
People will open up to me and talk to me about how they’re feeling and I’m honoured and grateful that they feel safe enough to do so. I love listening to their stories. For many of them, it’s about being heard and I love being part of that, it’s special.
Will it inspire viewers to adopt healthier habits?
Yes, because I did. There is an area that I did not know about, which is the difference in diets for black people. I didn’t realise that ethnicity has such a bit impact on health outcomes. I also learned that we need to change what we eat as we get older due to changes in hormone levels and bone densit y. Why do you think the UK has such a problem with obesity? We’ve become lazy at cooking.
I swear by slow cookers. When my kids went to university, I bought them both a slow cooker, so they have a hot stew waiting for them when they get home.
Did you enjoy filming in the UK again?
Yes. I absolutely clicked with co-host Dr Amir Khan too. We’re both runners, so were quite competitive with each other and sometimes we’d run together at daybreak. l You Are What You East is on Wednesday, Channel 5, 8pm.