Jack Whitehall reveals bulimia battle as he praises ‘brave' Freddie Flintoff on documentary
COMEDIAN Jack Whitehall has revealed that he suffered from bulimia when he started out in his career.
The funnyman makes the confession in the new Disney+ doc, Flintoff, which chronicles the life of cricketer-turned-TV star Freddie Flintoff.
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Jack and the Ashes hero, 47, became pals when they started working together on Sky panel show A League of their Own, but they also had something deeper in common.
Talking in the show, which drops today, Jack, 36, said: "I was bulimic when I first started doing television, it's not something that I've ever really spoken about.
"But I remember that pressure of being on television.
"And it's not something that I've seen other men or people in the media talk about, until Fred came out and spoke about it.
"I just remember thinking that was incredibly brave of him."
Jack made the revelation in the documentary that looked at how Freddie had been candid about battling the eating disorder.
He recalled how they struck up a surprising friendship on A League of Their Own after host James Corden insisted the cricketer be on the panel.
Jack said: "I remember being quite intimidated - I was meeting Freddie Flintoff, who I looked up to alot as a kid, for the first time.
"I was also like, he's this big burly northern bloke and I'm this rather effeminate flouncing boarding school boy, I'm probably not going to be his type of chap.
"So many people think of him as so strong and so alpha but he's definitely fragile.
Freddie Flintoff's Top Gear crash seen for first time in dramatic documentary about England cricket legend
"To see how open and honest he's been about his struggles - like his bulimia."
Freddie made a documentary for the BBC called Freddie Flintoff: Living with Bulimia, in 2020.
He explained how his struggle with bulimia started in the early part of his international cricket career, when focus was put on his weight.
Freddie was even making himself sick when he was helping England to their first Ashes victory in 18 years in 2005.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.
He said: "The first Test of that series, I was being sick.
"Everyone is talking about how well you're doing, and there's part of you that thinks, 'it's working, let's just crack on with it'."
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Flintoff is available on Disney+ from today.
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