John McCririck I just have no purpose in life
TIPSTER & I’M A CELEB STAR’S ANGUISH
Known as the larger-than-life racing pundit with a flamboyant dress sense and enormous sideburns, John McCririck appeared on TV looking a shrunken shell of his former self this week.
The controversial 78-year-old reality star has lost more than 3st, which he says was partly deliberate and partly due to a grim bout of flu.
But what really ails him these days, he says, is being out of work.
McCririck was sacked by Channel 4 in 2012 and says: “The main trouble is I’ve got no purpose in life.
“I worked for well over 50 years and never missed a day. I’m not working now and that’s the depressing thing.
“You wake up in the morning and you’ve got Jeremy Kyle, which is unmissable. I try to avoid Judge Rinder and Deal or No Deal.
“I’ve not lost my drive but nobody wants to employ me. People think I’m past it... I probably am.
“I go to the racecourse now and feel like a dinosaur.”
After McCririck appeared as a guest on Channel 5’s Big Brother’s Bit On The Side on Thursday night, worried viewers took to social media.
One poster said: “Shocking to see such a transformation.” Another said that McCririck was “literally a shadow of his former self ”.
The veteran pundit has now told the Mirror he is still suffering the effects of the flu he contracted more than nine months ago.
Fears about his health first arose last summer, when it emerged he had lost more than three stone.
He began suffering problems with his legs and speech over Christmas. It stumped doctors, who eventually diagnosed a severe form of flu. The 2005 Celebrity Big Brother star now insists the weight loss was “deliberate”. Speaking at his home in London, he confirms: “I’ve lost a lot of weight since being sacked by Channel 4 in 2012.
“Apart from Churchill you never see fat old men – because you can’t carry the weight – so I’ve done it deliberately.
“I haven’t weighed myself for a long time but I feel much better for being lighter.
“Things have probably been exacerbated by the chest infection, which has been really terrible.”
The flu was so serious that his regular attendance at Cheltenham this year was put in doubt.
But with the help of Jenny, 77, his wife of 47 years, he got himself well enough to attend the famous festival, where he had worked since the 1960s.
But McCririck says he is still suffering complications from the virus.
He says: “It was flu, we all have flu, but
there were complications so it was really bad and wouldn’t go. I’m feeling stronger and getting better but still weaker because of it. “I’m not well and healthy. It takes time to recover. “I’m not wonderful, I can’t go running anywhere or do anything like that because of my chest but I’m not in pain. “Let’s just say if I had entered the London Marathon next year I would be cancelling my application.” Divisive McCririck’s TV appearances have been few and far between since being sacked. He launched legal proceedings, accusing Channel 4 bosses of “ageism” and seeking £3million damages. But an employment tribunal found against him in November 2013.
Witnesses had told the tribunal that McCririck was dropped because he was “offensive” and “irritating”, and the panel described him as “bigoted and male chauvinist”.
The judgment said: “It is clear that Mr McCririck’s standing went down as his celebrity profile increased and further evidence of his personal behaviour and opinions became public knowledge.”
The ruling referred to him being asked to leave the TV shows Hell’s Kitchen and Loose Women, after airing his views. It also mentioned his appearance on The Alan Titchmarsh Show in 2007, when McCririck made such offensive comments to Ingrid Tarrant about her failing marriage to TV presenter Chris, he was forced to leave the set by the host.
McCririck, a former bookie and tic-tac man, had also worked for the BBC and ITV, and became a controversial figure because of his views, facing accusations of misogyny for referring to his wife as “The Booby”.
He has struggled to find work since the tribunal ruled against him but on Thursday appeared on Channel 5 talking about the final season of Big Brother.
However, viewers were distracted by his shrunken appearance, with his hat and blazer looking far too large for him. One wrote: “I’ve never liked John McCririck but it’s sad he looks so ill.”
Another added: “John McCririck swamped by his clothes tonight. Why is he on there when clearly he is very frail?”
McCririck denies being at death’s door but admits he has made final arrangements in the event of his passing. He wants Jenny to scatter his ashes at the site of the Alexandra Park racecourse, in North London, which closed in 1970 after 102 years.
McCririck says: “When you’re approaching 80 your life is coming to an end anyway. For goodness sake don’t be buried, be cremated. It’s selfish to take up six feet of England’s green and pleasant land.
“My soul died when they closed down the Ally Pally – the meetings there were absolutely fantastic.
“The Booby is going to scatter my ashes at the furlong pole.
“I’ve shown her where it is.”
I’m not wonderful. I can’t run anywhere because of my chest JOHN MCCRIRICK ON HIS SLOW RECOVERY