Michael McIntyre developed shocking fear and put two stone on (for which he blames wife Kitty) after checking into £4,000-per-week weight loss clinic

Michael McIntyre stayed at a special £4,000-per-week weight loss clinic to lose more than two stone but has since put it back on and developed a fear of apples in the process.

The comedian, 47, travelled to Austria in a bid to get himself in better shape and, after undergoing various tests, was told he should avoid eating apples.

He claims he is now scared to eat the fruit, which he was told would make him ‘lethargic’ and ‘confused’.

But, despite successfully slimming down, he is struggling to keep the weight off now he’s back in the UK because his wife Kitty prefers ‘teddy bear Michael’. 

He told The Sun: ‘I went to this place called the Mayr Clinic and lost quite a bit of weight, which I kept off for a little while.

Despite successfully slimming down, he is struggling to keep the weight off now he’s back in the UK because his wife Kitty prefers ‘teddy bear Michael’ (Michael and Kitty pictured in 2010)

‘It was a week of pain and they did all these tests on me, put little probes on the end of my tongue and told me I shouldn’t eat apples.

‘Apparently apples will make me very lethargic and confused in my brain. It’s the only thing I’ve taken from it, really.’

He added that he’s now put the weight he lost back on and has also developed a fear of apples. 

Michael went on to say his wife doesn’t like him losing weight, so he doesn’t always feel motivated to do so.

He joked it would be much easier to shift the pounds if ‘she was quite rude to me about my weight’. 

The funnyman said: ‘She wants teddy bear Michael, not racing snake Michael, the man she first met.

‘She was like, “Who is this? Who is this insanely hot, chiselled man in front of me?” She didn’t like it. So that was quite demotivating.’

It comes after his BBC programme Michael McIntyre’s Big Show returned to screens last month.

Despite successfully slimming down, he is struggling to keep the weight off now he’s back in the UK because his wife Kitty prefers ‘teddy bear Michael’ (pictured left in 2020 after regaining weight and, right, slimmer in 2018)

It comes after his BBC programme Michael McIntyre’s Big Show returned to screens last month (pictured on the show) 

The series sees Michael interact with various celebrities as they share their personal and professional lives (television presenter Jermaine Jenas, centre, and his pals seen on the show)

The series sees Michael interact with various celebrities as they share their personal and professional lives.

Send To All and Midnight Gameshow have also returned as part of the series, the latter of which sees him sneaking into celebrity and civilian homes late at night.

Originally a one-off Christmas special in 2015, the series ran yearly for five series from 2016 to 2019.

Then, it returned in 2023, airing six episodes from January to February, but it was unclear whether or not the show was back for good.

During the last series, viewers watched as Jonathan Ross, Alison Hammond and Rylan Clark amongst others hand over control of their phones to Michael.

Michael said of the show: ‘There isn’t a day that goes by without someone telling me how much they love this show, although strangely nobody seems to know what it’s called.

‘It’s either: “The one where you take people’s phones”, “The one where you wake people up in the night”, “The one where the wall falls down” or “The Big Night In”.

‘Well, I’m thrilled to announce that all four of those shows are set to return for a seventh series!’

Meanwhile, Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC shared: ‘We are thrilled to have Michael McIntyre’s Big Show back on BBC One and iPlayer, it’s a show full of joy with laugh out loud moments and surprises on unexpecting celebrities.

‘I cannot wait to see who Michael with his comedic brilliance will be waking up this series and whose phone he will peek into. It really is unmissable on a Saturday night.’