Nasty Nigel: Kym did well out of my ‘fat’ jibe
TALENT show judge Nigel Lythgoe says calling Coronation Street star Kym Marsh ‘fat’ on television has ‘made her an absolute mint.’
The TV director and producer caused shockwaves as a judge on the talent show Popstars in 2001 when he told Kym after a Christmas break that she needed to lose some weight, comments she later said caused her to be ‘far too critical’ of herself.
Nigel, who was nicknamed ‘nasty Nigel’, made comment after she won a place in the pop band Hear’Say on the show.
The 42-year-old has since found success as an award-winning actress, appearing in Coronation Street since 2006, and she released a fitness DVD in 2015.
Defending his outspoken approach Nigel said: “I went out there to make a statement, so of course ‘nasty’ Nigel was worthwhile.
“I used to choreograph The Morecambe and Wise Show and things Eric would say, I would - ‘You sang all the right notes, but you put them in the wrong order’.
“[People would reply] ‘Oohh, what a nasty thing to say’. Well, they never said that about Eric Morecambe.
“And then I suppose when I said ‘Christmas has gone and the goose is still fat...’ [miming outrage] ‘He called her fat!’
“And of course, she’s made an absolute mint on slimming down, looking fabulous now, acting brilliantly, and she’s made a huge career for herself, bless her.”
This summer fitness fanatic Kym, who received huge praise for a harrowing Corrie storyline which saw her character Michelle go through the devastating loss of her baby Ruairi at 23 weeks and won the Best Dramatic Performance gong at the British Soap Awards, revealed that she follows the ‘paleo diet,’ an eating plan modelled on the prehistoric diet of our hunter-gatherer ancestors – lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.
And her exercise regime includes squats, push-ups and lunges mixed with Tabata, a form of high-intensity interval training.
The M.E.N. has contacted a representative for Kym for a comment.