Under the microscope
TV presenter Chris Tarrant, 71, answers our health quiz
CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS? YES. I walk two or three miles a day when I’m at home in Berkshire. I’ve always been quite fit and still play a bit of cricket. GET YOUR FIVE-A-DAY? POSSIBLY not, as there aren’t many vegetables I am fond of. I am good with fruit. But, otherwise, I eat lots of meat — probably a little too much. POP ANY PILLS? I TAKE a statin and clopidogrel, a blood thinner, which I have taken since I had a stroke in 2014. EVER DIETED? YES. Filming in a studio a lot, doing long hours, means you can’t help but put on weight, as you grab whatever is to hand to eat. When I was filming Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? I was always on a diet of some sort. I am 6 ft 2 in. I would like to be 14 st 8, but tend to hover over 15 st. ANY VICES? I USED to smoke a lot — around 30 cigarettes a day — but gave up 30 years ago. Then I smoked cigars for about ten years and gave that up, too. MOST SERIOUS ILLNESS? THE stroke, which happened when I was flying back from Bangkok to Heathrow. When I lost the use of my right leg and I couldn’t lift my right arm up, I knew what it was. I was in Charing Cross Hospital for three weeks. My six children and partner Jane were very worried. I had six months of physiotherapy and speech therapy, now I feel incredibly lucky. COPE WELL WITH PAIN? I’M ALL right, actually. I tend not to take painkillers very often. HAD ANYTHING REMOVED? I HAD a bit of skin removed from an eyelid last year, which was a nonmalignant type of skin cancer. It was very painful. IS SEX IMPORTANT? IT IS essential and has been since I was a teenager. TRIED ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES? IN MY 30s, I had a lot of back pain, I think from playing rugby. I was told nothing could be done and I should take painkillers and learn to live with it. After four years, I went to see an acupuncturist and I was pain-free after two sessions. EVER BEEN DEPRESSED? NO. I am on a fairly even keel. HANGOVER CURE? A NURSE at Central Television used to give me a mix of soluble aspirin and glucose in the Tiswas days. WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE? I WAKE up at 2am most days and I lie there worrying about being awake. I tend to sleep about five hours a night. HAVE ANY PHOBIAS? SNAKES. I hate them. EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY? NO. I will grow old naturally.
n A new series of Chris Tarrant: extreme Railway Journeys airs later this year.