This morning on Good Morning Britain, hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls were joined by TV personality James Lock…
James – best known for being on the reality TV show The Only Way is Essex – opened up about his battles with his body image and how comments on social media led to him taking steroids and having cosmetic procedures.
Explaining how he believes he has body dysmorphia, James said: “I can acknowledge that there is a problem but I still act a certain way. I know that sometimes I am being irrational. I can sit here now and I know I am a good looking guy and I’m in good shape but I will still find fault. Whether I am on set, or even if I am just going on holiday or I’m doing a shoot for a brand – I will find fault. It’s gotten to a point where I can’t even look at the pictures. My agent will go through the pictures for me because if I go through myself, I will find fault in something, in some aspect. It’s a constant battle with yourself and even though you’re looking in the mirror, you’re not seeing what other people are seeing.”
He added: “From the outside world, people see me as a confident man. To a certain degree I am, but behind closed doors, I am insecure. I am constantly finding fault. I’m constantly battling with myself, I’m competing and comparing myself to other people because of how I look.”
Opening up about the procedures he has had done, he said: “It’s got worse since I have been in the industry but I started off with a hair transplant. I’ve had my ears done before. I’ve had my teeth done… Recently I’ve done another TV show and I injured myself a little bit and the injuries were bad but they probably weren’t as bad as the problems I created in my head. So I’ve gone and had my eyes done, my nose done and then you just get carried away.”
Describing how the industry makes him feel in constant competition, he said: “You’ve got to remember whether it’s the shows that I’ve been on or other shows, we might all be friends on the show but we’re actually all in competition. It’s a very vicious thing where you are all in competition… Looking a certain way or looking that bit better will get you picked over the other person. It really is like that because you’re not going to get a fitness campaign if you’re not fit and looking a certain way.”
Good Morning Britain weekdays from 6am on ITV1 & ITVX
