Can you give us a bit of an overview of the Big series?
This is a very different show. It's not a competition, it's a journey following six people through a very big commitment on their behalf to lose a massive amount of weight in the course of a year. Some of the guys clock in at about 260 kg to start with so we're talking some extremely super obese people. If someone was to be losing a massive amount of weight, they would be doing it this way. They'd be living in their home, taking their kids to school, going to work, just doing what they normally do every day. But we give them the tools to help them, so we give them the trainer, nurtitional support, emotional support and in some instances we've sent them off to addiction clinics to try and deal with their addiction to food. Some have felt the need to go as far as surgery and have a gastroectomy to help them in terms of food intakes. My role is pretty much to hold the audience's hand and just take them through the journey. I just interview them every couple of months to see how they're going so it's a look into what it's like to be of this size and its restrictions on them.
Quite often the host of a show just does a commentary so it's great that you get out there and interview them as well. Were there any parts of those interviews that were particularly emotional for you?
I found the experience quite sad. You know, you sort of say why did these people end up this big. I mean some of them were bullied at school and there have been issues when they were quite young that they've taken on to real life so it's a way of hiding. The addicition to the food is very much comfort eating. But there are also families where there have just been chubby kids. They've got fat parents and the mother loves the kid so much that she's feeding them to death. I see how sad it is when one particular woman doesn't even want to pick a kid up from school because of the taunts. So just the loss that they suffer and feel in everyday situations that you and I just take for granted. I mean one guy can't even get on a plane. He has never travelled outside of Adelaide. So I found it really sad. But then of course at the end of the year, the one I was talking about in Adelaide who is a younger guy, he has changed his life significantly. He's lost a massive amount of weight and he will actually beat it and become a very different person. It will change his life considerably and that in itself is just such an inspiration.
Are there any plans to catch up with these people again, say another year later?
Not at this stage. To be honest with you I think that some of them will absolutely make it and I fear that some will go back to the way that they were because it's just too hard. I think a lot of it comes down to laziness but also in my sort of journey of discovery with them there was one particular instance where I was quite surprised. One of the girls didnt want to get below 100 kg and I was quite surprised because 100 kg for a woman is still a lot of weight on a normal sized frame. I asked her why that was, and she said there's an absolute fear around it because she doesn't know what it's like to be thin. They've got their defence systems up and running so there is a great fear around what the change would feel like. So it's really enlightening. It was a absolute eye-opening experience for me.
You're really into fitness and health, were you able to impart any of your own advice to the people in this show?
Yeah a little bit with cooking actually. I was quite surprised that they really have no idea about how to cook properly. Everything is covered in fat and butter. I was just surprised because I eat really well, I certainly don't do without and you can eat really well without feeling like you're eating the wrong things.
Trainer Lee Campbell sounds like a no nonsense kind of guy. How does that go down with the people who he is helping?
Yeah pretty tough. A couple of the women couldn't stand him and found it difficult but they were really not fighting him, they were just fighting the whole idea of losing weight. He is a tough guy but he has to be. One of them became so dependent that if Lee wasn't there he'd just eat because he felt like he needed to do it with Lee. If Lee wasn't around and left him for a month and said, right you just continue going, he fell off the blocks a bit because he just didn't have that emotional support. It's like they need someone to hold their hand, they're just not strong enough which is really quite sad. But Lee is great and he has done a great job.
Was there anyone who tried to back out of the show completely?
No, and you wouldn't want to. I mean you've just got to look at it. All they're trying to do is save their life because it's not a competition. It's really something where they're just trying to get out there and change their lives for the better and save themselves.
In the description for this show it says that a significant percentage of Australian kids are overweight and I can imagine it's a similar situation over here in New Zealand. Do you think this show will teach these people how to eat and exercise better?
I just hope it scares some people who are quite big. Then they can look and say I never want to get that big. I think a couple of the episodes are really inspirational in terms of what people can do. Wayne for me, the kid from Adelaide is an absolute stand out. So I think it should help on two levels. One is the scare factor where people will say, "God don't let that be me!" The other side is that you can do it. There is a way through and you can do it with help. You do need help, you need support from people without a doubt. But you know that's something that everyone can access to some degree. You've got to have family on board because it's a very lonely journey if you're trying to battle those in your household that don't want to change their ways. So this is a commitment that it takes more than just one person to do it particularly if you're big and you've got people around you who are very like minded. You've got to be around people who are positive and who want to change.
What is the feedback that you get back from these people after the year is up?
Very positive but I wonder if some of them just say that! You know, I think it has been an absolute hell of a journey for them but you know to loose a lot of weight they feel a lot better. So I just hope they hang on to that feeling of not having to carry that much weight around and how good that feels and that will just see them to continue on.