36-stone Newark mum hopes ITV show changes public's view of overweight people

A 36-stone woman who appears tonight on a prime-time ITV show said she hopes it will change perceptions of overweight people.

Alice Young, of Newark, features on The 18-30 Stone Holiday, filmed earlier this year in the Caribbean. It will be shown at 9pm this evening.

She was among eight people who travelled to a resort on the island of Eleuthera designed for those weighing more than 30 stone.

In addition to the wider doorways and reinforced beds, the hotel also offered a programme of activities which helped guests to re-evaluate their bodies. Group therapy was also encouraged.

“We became so close that we became each other’s therapists. I don’t think anyone expected how powerful it would be,” said Alice, a 32-year-old mother of five-year-old twins, Grace and Dylan.

“We were free to be ourselves and I am just going to be me from now on.

“Because the hotel was built for comfort, we could concentrate on how we were feeling.

“It gave us the tools to want to change - you experience such freedom and no one is judging you.

“In general, people find it acceptable to fat-shame people. I’ve been judged while walking down the street, with people saying things to me which they think are perfectly acceptable.

“I am hoping that the show gets a positive response and that the good outweighs the bad.”

Full-time mum Alice said she had taken the positive lessons from her experience on the programme and applied it to life back in the UK.

“I am trying to work from the inside out,” she said.

“Mentally, this has been a massive journey for me. I have been binge-eating less and I do want to lose weight. It’s more of an emotional problem.

“Life is too short to let other people dictate what you should be doing.

“I have certainly been feeling more confident to do normal things – because I can.

“I am just going to be me from now on.”