Bradley Walsh says he has given up unhealthy food and got a puppy after being told he had to lose weight.

The Chase star, 60, said he was worried because his father died from heart failure at the age of 59.

He told The Sun On Sunday: “I was a time bomb. I produce too much cholesterol. It’s a silent killer. My heart guy said, ‘Look, Brad, you need to get get fit’.”

The Doctor Who actor, who has a regular carotid artery test, put on weight during lockdown, hitting 14st 9lb.

“I thought, ‘Oh crikey, I’m gonna be bang in trouble here if I don’t lose the weight and start dealing with this’,” he told the newspaper.

“I’ve stopped eating cakes, breads, pasta, and we got a puppy, a Shiba Inu called Lulu –  not after the singer – which has been brilliant because she’s got me out walking every day now.”