THE Chase's Mark Labbett has revealed he's been rejected no less than four times for I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here over fears he would lose too much weight in the jungle. 

The quizmaster, known as The Beast on the ITV series, has said multiple times over the years that he would be up for taking on the jungle challenge, but has never made it onto the line-up. 

In a new interview, Mark – who has been documenting his 10stone weight loss online over the last few years – admitted he was getting annoyed with the series for repeatedly encouraging him to apply, only to turn him down. 

The 57-year-old told Daily Star at last week's National Television Awards: "Four times I’ve been asked to apply for an ITV reality TV show. But at every point they’ve gone from really wanting me to suddenly my weight is an issue. I’m getting a bit jacked off about that. Especially now that I’m down to the weight I am.” 

Despite the rejections, he added he would still love to do it, but was getting annoyed talks for his participation would repeatedly stall everytime they discussed his weight. 

“They really worry on I’m A Celebrity about big stars who have shut down," he added. "They don’t allow for the fact that a guy like me, 3000 calories is a diet.”

I'm A Celebrity is notorious for stars having massive weight losses while they remain in the jungle. Often their diets are simple rice and beans, which could equate to just 700 calories a day. Throw in some of the difficult tasks they face in the Australian heat and stars have lost stones as a result of their experience. 

One such example of this is Mark's The Chase co-star Anne Hegerty, who revealed she lost a stone during her stint in the jungle back in 2018. 

Mark has been actively pursuing a healthier lifestyle in recent years after being diagnosed with type two diabetes, taking up running and cutting refined sugar from his diet. 

As a result has had a significant weight loss. In January, he revealed he had lost eight inches around his chest, slimming down from a 5XL clothing size to a 2XL – his aim was to get down to XL. 

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Back in 2018, Mark revealed he was 27 stone at his heaviest, but had lost three stone in the time since his diagnosis. This was one of the first times he revealed he had been turned down by the jungle for fear his needed high-calorie diet would cause him to "shut down". 

Mark told us: "They interviewed me about two years ago and the big minus against me then was my weight.

"They were genuinely concerned that when they've had heavier celebrities on before – like Razor Ruddock and Colin Baker on there – they shut down with the lack of calories."

I'm A Celebrity is due to return later this year to ITV.

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