Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has revealed that he almost asked for help with his bulimia battle in his early 20s, but felt like he was ‘unable to speak out’.
In a BBC documentary airing tonight the former England cricket captain admits he is still suffering from bulimia, eight years after first going public about the problem.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain today, the Top Gear presenter explained that he nearly told one of his cricket team’s dietitians he ‘had a problem’, but decided not to, after she assumed that a ‘group of lads’ wouldn’t suffer with eating disorders.
The father-of-four, who now lives in Manchester, felt that as a ‘6ft 4 bloke from Preston’ he wasn’t ‘meant to have an eating disorder’ and so kept his battle hidden.
Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, pictured in new BBC documentary, has revealed that he almost asked for help with his bulimia battle in his early 20s, but felt like he was ‘unable to speak out’
Appearing on Good Morning Britain today, the Top Gear presenter admitted he felt that as a ‘6ft 4 bloke from Preston’ he wasn’t ‘meant to have an eating disorder’
‘I nearly asked for help in my early 20s,’ Freddie said. ‘We had a dietitian come in to speak to the team. I was at that point where I was about to say I have a problem here.
‘She signed off by saying that she worked with a lot of women… and she wouldn’t imagine there was anyone with an eating disorder in the room, because we were a group of lads, obviously.
‘I didn’t feel like I could speak or say anything. Being a bloke, 6ft 4 and from Preston, I’m not meant to have an eating disorder by rights. So, you keep it hidden away and you don’t want to speak about it.’
Freddie added that while he still isn’t completely certain about speaking out about his bulimia, he feels ‘more comfortable in his skin these days’.
In an upcoming BBC documentary, due to broadcast this evening, the former England cricket captain admitted he is still suffering from bulimia, eight years after going public about the problem
‘I’m 42 now’, said Freddie. ‘I’m still not 100 per cent sure how comfortable I am with the documentary tonight going out and the reaction there will be towards it. But I suppose I’m more comfortable in my skin these days.’
On the documentary, the sports star told he met ‘amazing people’ who taught him a lot about his own illness, which he still has not had treatment for.
‘As it unravelled we spoke to some amazing people’, said Freddie, ‘Some lads who had been through it.
‘I started to learn a hell of a lot more about myself and how I deal with this, and I need to have a word with myself now and then.
On the documentary, the sports star told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid (both pictured) he met ‘amazing people’ who taught him a lot about his own illness, which he still has not had treatment for
Freddie added that while he still isn’t completely certain about speaking out about his bulimia, he feels ‘more comfortable in his skin these days’
‘It isn’t something that I’ve had treatment for or something I’ve seen people for, but I’ve had it for such a long time.’
Freddie also revealed that over-training can be part of his condition, admitting that sometimes he’ll exercise after eating rather than being sick.
He explained: ‘It’s something I didn’t know, I thought bulimic was being sick after you eat and what you realise is there’s other ways it manifests itself.
‘There have been times I’ve eaten and I thought I really need to work out before and after.’
He added: ‘What I’ve realised as well is I could be living better and a little bit easier through this. Probably treatment and seeing someone, something I’m definitely looking into. ‘
Freddie also revealed that over-training can be part of his condition, admitting that sometimes he’ll exercise after eating rather than being sick
Andrew also spoke about how he’s come out of his skin since starting his professional cricket career, admitting that his ‘Freddie’ persona was a way of feeling more in control
Andrew also spoke about how he’s come out of his skin since starting his professional cricket career, admitting that his ‘Freddie’ persona was a way of feeling more in control.
‘I remember when I was young when I started playing professional cricket’, said Andrew, ‘and I was a shy and quite retiring young lad, and I don’t think that would have cut it in the world of professional sport.
‘So, this Freddie character seemed to develop, where he seemed bullet proof, nothing is going to bother him, every time you walk out onto a field or into a situation, you have got it under control.
‘I developed that over a period of time, I suppose, just as a coping mechanism. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun as well. As I get older, I think I’m coming back into myself a little bit, more comfortable in my own skin. Probably more like Andrew, than Fred.’