Gaunt McCririck blames ‘bad year’
LOOKING frail, celebrity racing pundit John McCririck declared yesterday, “I’m not dead yet,” after a TV appearance sparked concern among fans.
The eccentric 78-year-old tipster looked gaunt as he joined guests on Channel 4’s Big Brother’s Bit On The Side.
But last night he told the Daily Express that a series of illnesses – together with a new diet – had taken their toll.
Worried viewers took to social media after the show on Thursday night, expressing their shock at his appearance.
But the outspoken star, who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2005, insisted: “Don’t you dare write my obit. I’ve had a very bad year, I’ve had a rough time.
Dieting
“I’ve had the flu, which really laid me low, and then I had a chest infection which hit me for six. And I’ve also been dieting – no-one likes to see a fat old man unless they are Winston Churchill.
“If you put all this together, this is probably why people are kicking up a fuss about my appearance. But I’m not dead yet.”
The one-time BBC Grandstand and Channel 4 presenter raised eyebrows back in April when he appeared on Good Morning Britain looking a lot thinner than his familiar 19st frame. He claimed then that his three-stone weight loss was down to cutting out potatoes from his diet.
Last night he also revealed that his poor health had forced him to turn down lucrative offers to appear on I’m A Celebrity and A hearty looking McCririck before illness Strictly Come Dancing. He said: “They asked me to do Strictly but when they said I’d need to do a month’s training beforehand I said it was too much.
“And I was offered I’m A Celebrity, but they throw people out of planes.”
Asked if he would make it to 100, he laughed: “I don’t want to live that long. I am a great believer in euthanasia. I wouldn’t want to be a burden to anyone. You should be allowed to end your life if you want to.”
Wife Jenny, who McCririck calls The Booby, tweeted that her husband is “getting better, but slowly”. She suggested he is now at a healthy weight, “unlike before”.