Biggest Loser UK champion Kevin McLernon has admitted that his time on the show probably saved his life.
McLernon was awarded the series crown by host Davina McCall last night, when it was announced that he had shed 12st, 12lbs during the series, a total 40% weight loss.
The 38-year-old from Sunderland confessed to Digital Spy that appearing on the show had got him out of a "vicious circle" and waiting for "the worst to happen".
"I'm in a bit of a daze. The whole thing seems so unreal. I've worked so hard over the last weeks and months... it's a dream come true. Literally," he said.
"The producers who picked me to take part, I owe them my life. I was stuck in a rut, a vicious circle. I was waiting for the worst to happen, it was going to end my life.
"I needed something to break that circle and Biggest Loser did that. I will forever be grateful."
He also insisted that this is not the end for his weight loss, claiming that he would like to lose "a couple more stone".
"I don't want people saying in six months, 'Are you the guy from Biggest Loser, boy you've put it all back on'. That isn't going to happen. It is pressure, but I'd rather have that pressure than the physical pressure of being overweight," said McLernon.
Talking about his new life, he added: "The best part is the blending in. I wasn't just a fat bloke, I was what I call 'American fat'. Now people stop me because they've seen me on TV, not because I'm fat.
"When we got fitted for suits for the final I was looking around for my trousers and I kept saying, 'They are not mine, they are not mine', but they were. I tried them on and had to have them cut back in the end. That's just a great feeling."
