Michael McIntyre is one of the nation’s best-loved comedians, and he appears on our screens weekly for The Wheel on the BBC. Away from the TV, the 48-year-old enjoys family life in Hampstead with his aromatherapist wife Kitty, and their two sons, Lucas and Oscar.

McIntyre previously divulged how he lost a stone in less than a week, when he visited a prestigious but gruelling weight loss clinic. He and fellow comedian Paul Tonkinson said: “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.” Detailing what happened during his stay at the Mayr clinic in 2017, he recalled: “You drink the Epsom salts first thing and then within 20 minutes, the whole of the clinic – which is full of wealthy fat people – are all rushing to the lavatory.”

While Michael persevered through six days at the high-end retreat and shed a stone, the experience wasn’t quite as he imagined. In retrospect, he revealed: “I was so emotional, depressed and confused and Paul was skeletal”, reports Birmingham Live.

The father of two has since regained the weight, much to the delight of his wife Kitty. He shared: “She wants teddy bear Michael not racing snake Michael”.

Last year, Michael was forced to cancel tour shows when he was rushed to hospital. He had to have emergency surgery for kidney stones.

His team announced he had undergone an operation as they rescheduled his tour dates. “We regret to inform customers that Michael McIntyre will be unable to perform on Monday 4 March at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton,” said his spokesman on social media. “Unfortunately, Michael has had an operation to remove kidney stones. The show will be rescheduled to a later date which will be announced shortly.”