Legendary advert star looks unrecognisable after shedding five stone – can you tell who it is?
TV star Wynne Evans looks unrecognisable after shedding five stone following his rise to fame as the “GoCompare man”.
Wynne – known to millions as as the singing tenor Gio Compario in the Go.Compare adverts – has revealed his incredible health kick in new photos on Instagram.
Wynne reached 23.6 stone at his heaviest following the breakdown of his marriage and a battle with depression.
Both his parents had also passed away, and the advert star said he turned to food for comfort.
He realised he had to change when suicidal thoughts crept in.
He said: “I was doing a daily radio show where the feel of it is upbeat and keeping people in a good mood and cheering up the nation.
“The strapline of my show is, ‘cheering Wales up by one o’clock,’ but I was going through the worst depression, clinical depression.
“I would think about (suicide), I would try and action it… I couldn’t see a way out; I couldn’t see a way of ever being happy again.”
Wynne experienced a watershed moment one Easter when he broke down in tears in front of his family.
He decided to see a therapist and was prescribed tablets for his anxiety and depression, which made him feel “much better, practically instantly”.
He told The Mirror: “Life is about putting in the work yourself. You put in some work on your mental health or your physical health, and then you get a bit of luck – that luck could be an opportunity, like it was with me getting the Go.Compare job, or it could be the spark that makes you lose weight or get healthier.”
Wynne, 51, is set to join a slew of stars who have agreed to take part in the BBC cooking contest judged by Gregg Wallace and John Torode.
A source told The Sun: “Wynne has signed up to Celebrity Masterchef and wants to finish on a high note.
“Fans of the show will be getting to see the real Wynne and not his character Gio Compario who they are used to seeing on the Go Compare adverts.
“Wynne has a show on BBC Radio Wales and is a big hit with listeners – so the Beeb wanted to try him out on a big show like Masterchef.
“He isn’t the best cook in the world but Wynne is no novice in the kitchen and will be bringing a touch of Welsh influence to his dishes.”
A MasterChef spokesperson said: “We do not comment on speculation over the Celebrity MasterChef line-up.”
Wynne is joining stars including Strictly Come Dancing professional Dianne Buswell and singer Jamelia in the Celebrity Masterchef kitchen.
Dianne is following in the footsteps of her Strictly co-stars Katya Jones and Oti Mabuse, who have both previously taken part.