Celebs Go Dating was forced to halt filming as The Chase’s Mark Labbett was rocked by a health scare on the Channel 4 set.
The 59-year-old – best known for taking part in ITV‘s The Chase – is one of the famous faces taking part in the upcoming series of the much-loved E4 show.
Mark will be joined by Christine McGuinness, 37, Louis Russell, 24, Kerry Katona, 44, Olivia Hawkins, 30, Donna Preston, 39, Sam Prince, 28, and Jon Lee, 43 for the 13th series.
The celebrities will be on the search for The One and get help from experts Dr. Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, 36, Paul Brunson, 50, and Anna Williamson, 44.
But Mark, who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2017, suffered from a hypoglycaemic attack – which is when your blood sugar drops to a low level.
‘Low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia or a hypo) is usually where your blood sugar (glucose) is below 4mmol/L.
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Celebs Go Dating was forced to halt filming as The Chase’s Mark Labbett (pictured) was rocked by a health scare on the Channel 4 set
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The 59-year-old (pictured) – best known for taking part in ITV’s The Chase – is one of the famous faces taking part in the upcoming series of the much-loved E4 show
‘It needs to be treated quickly to stop it getting worse, but you can usually treat it yourself,’ the NHS website states.
Recalling the moment, Mark said: ‘One night, I had a hypoglycaemic attack.
‘I might have been a bit grumpy that night. I apologised to everyone after.’
Mark got diagnosed with the condition after a routine check-up.
Previously opening up how it happened, Mark told The Express: ‘I’ve got skin that doesn’t heal properly in my lower legs
‘A nurse looked at me and she asked, “Are you sure you are not diabetic?”
‘They took a test and she said, “‘Yes, you’re diabetic”.’
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Mark (pictured), who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2017, suffered from a hypoglycaemic attack during Celebs Go Dating – which is when your blood sugar drops to a low level
Mark has recently lost a lot of weight, after ballooning to 29 stone at his heaviest.
After being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, he has since lost a whopping 10 stone.
He’s managed to do so from changing his diet and doing more exercise.
Back in March he revealed that he now has the same figure that he had when he was 18.
He told OK!: ‘I’ve got roughly the same physique as I had when I was playing rugby at 18 years old, but I’ve got less muscle so that might take it down even more.’
As he continues with his weight loss journey, Mark is feeling good, especially for son Lawrence’s sake.
Mark was married to his ex wife Katie, who is his second cousin, between 2014 and 2020.
The former couple share one son.
The Chase icon also said that one of his life goals is as a mature father to be around to see his son graduate.
He explained: ‘He’ll be 21 when I’m, 71, 72, and that’s my mission. I’m just happy he’s a well adjusted young man.’
‘He’s inherited my maths ability, which I’m not upset about either,’ Mark joked.
Mark told Daily Mail: ‘There’s been so much speculation about my dating life, I thought, “Well, if that happens, I might at least as well get paid for it”.’
He announced his break-up from his ex, TV presenter Hayley Palmer, 43, in May last year, just days after their one-year anniversary.
She later spoke out against him, claiming she had been left needing counselling for ‘betrayal trauma’ after being dumped in a three-minute phone call.
Before this, Mark separated from his wife of seven years – and second cousin – Katie in 2020, who is 27 years his junior and mother to his son Lawrence, seven.
While the stars move their focus to dating, a lot is happening around them in the world of TV, especially at ITV, which produces Mark’s show The Chase.
It was announced in May that from January, both Loose Women and Lorraine will air only 30 weeks per year, as opposed to their current year-round schedules.
Lorraine’s run time was also slashed from an hour to 30 minutes.
ITV will also axe more than 220 jobs – nearly half its daytime TV staff, who also work on Good Morning Britain and This Morning.
Mark commented: ‘We’re really lucky because The Chase is family viewing and that’s one of our big strengths and ITV know we’re one of those shows the whole family watch.
‘And the number of people they hear, they watch The Chase before, during or after tea as a family and that’s our big strength and we’re really proud of that.’
