Vanessa Feltz says her gastric band hell was worth it

After major gastric bypass surgery,Vanessa Feltz ended up in intensive care. But now fully recovered and looking fabulous, she says she wouldn’t change a thing....

Radio presenter and best agony aunt Vanessa Feltz has been to hell and back since 2010, when she had a gastric band fitted. It made her life a misery – even her partner Ben Ofoedu admits they were years of ‘hell’. But she says those ‘brutal, unpredictable’ years, followed by yet another serious operation at the start of this year, were worth it. Now almost four stone lighter, Vanessa, 57, is quite literally a new woman…

Hi, Vanessa, you look amazing! But getting to this point was traumatic, wasn’t it?

It was pretty much hell before I had my gastric bypass in January. The gastric band I had fitted in 2010 would have been alright for some people, but for me it was brutal. Your food can get stuck in the band – and you puke it up. It’s very unpredictable.

That’s awful…

I could never eat out in public – I never knew when I’d need to rush to the loo and throw up. Ben loves that he can now take me out for a romantic meal without any disasters. I could eat things such as chocolate mousse and ice cream, Cadbury Milk Tray – the papers joked that I was drinking custard, which I wasn’t. Essentially, all the things you’re not supposed to, as they wouldn’t get caught in the band. But I couldn’t touch items you should eat, such as celery, apples, chicken…

When did things take a dramatic turn for you?

I started getting deadly ill in 2018. Some days I couldn’t even drink water – I could never get the balance of liquids right. I was told that taking all the fluids out of my band would improve things. It made it worse, though. I was

in so much pain. I appeared on This Morning to talk about it – I wanted to be honest about what could potentially happen. On the show, surgeon Shaw Somers told me it sounded like mine had slipped badly and needed to be removed. He suggested a gastric bypass while I was under the knife, which I didn’t like the thought of. But he said, ‘ You could do this now – or wait until you’re older and potentially bigger.’ So, I went for it.

Your operation was in January – you must have been terrified…

Petrified. And also guilty, thinking: ‘ Why I can’t I lose weight on my own, like other people?’ I’ve had a lifetime of yo-yo dieting. I’m also a mum and a grandma and didn’t want to risk not being around for my family. My younger daughter Saskia and Ben were there when I went down to theatre at 8.30am. They said it would take 45 minutes, but at 1.30pm, I was still there. The pair of them told me afterwards that they were terrified they’d lose me. Surgeons discovered that the gastric band had imbedded itself into my liver – that’s why I was feeling so bloody awful!

You seemed to bounce back very quickly…

I didn’t feel great afterwards in intensive care, but I was back to work after five days. And I’ve lost a lot of weight – almost four stone. I look and feel very different and I can eat – I haven’t been sick once since the bypass. I’m not as hungry as before, even though I think I am sometimes, because I’m still that girl who loves her food. And I can eat everything, which is marvellous. I love apples, but for nearly 10 years, I wasn’t able to eat one.

So would you say it’s been worth all the pain and heartache to get here?

It was hell, but definitely worth it, though I wish I hadn’t had so many years struggling with the band. It affected my mood and social life – as well as making me so sick. But I’m here now and not looking back. The best part of the whole new me thing is buying clothes. For the first time in 40 years, I’ve got a brown tummy, because I can now wear a bikini on holiday. I’m not saying I look like Elle Macpherson, but I’m happy. I’m a size 12 these days. Before the bypass I was a size 18.

Are you getting loads of compliments now?

All the time! People who haven’t seen me for a while do comedy double takes when they do. I love it when people compliment me, but I do tell them, ‘Look, it’s not me, it’s down to the gastric bypass.’ I tried so hard in the past to keep my weight down, but I just found it incredibly difficult. What can I say? I was never a disgusting binge eater, but I was the girl who thought ‘the finger of fudge isn’t quite enough…I’ll have three.’

Do you still have those ‘pinch-me’ moments over the new-look you?

I’ve got body dysmorphia now and always think I look fatter than I am. I haven’t quite got my head around looking like I do. I’ve even had people say that classic thing, ‘Don’t lose any more, Vanessa…’ But thankfully, I don’t seem to have got that gaunt, looseskin look that can come with dramatic weight loss.

Has it changed your relationship with Ben?

I feel more confident in the bedroom! I always was and sex was never an issue – but now I’m more like, ‘ Where is that chandelier, let me swing from it’ – knowing I won’t break it this time. We watched the new Jennifer Lopez film Hustlers recently. I want a pole for Christmas now, for a spot of pole dancing of my own! Ben’s always thought I was gorgeous, though. He notices my new body more in clothes and how they fit me. But yes, I’ve definitely got my old sparkle back.

I’m nearly 4 stone lighter!