Fearne Cotton opens up about developing an eating disorder as a teen: ‘I had that comparison disease’

‘I disregarded bulimia for a long time and didn’t see it as a mental health illness,’ says broadcaster

(Getty Images)

Fearne Cotton has opened up about struggling with an eating disorder when she began her TV career as a teenager.

Speaking to Joe Wicks on his namesake podcast, the broadcaster explained how she would compare herself to the celebrities she was interviewing.

“I was thrust into this weird world,” she told the fitness entrepreneur.

“I was a normal kid going to a state school in London and the next minute I was sat next to these tiny, tiny pop stars in a TV studio going, ‘I don’t look like that, I don’t fit in here’.”

Cotton, who was 15 years old when she started working on GMTV, continued: “I was a teenager with puppy fat, like all teenagers have, and looked very regular and normal.

“But as perfectly fine as I was, I instantly had that comparison disease, where you sit and look at other people and think, ‘Oh God, I don’t fit in, this is awful’.”

The 38-year-old added that she felt that way for “a long time” and “dipped into this world of bulimia from the age of 19”.

“Looking back, I disregarded bulimia for a long time and didn’t see it as a mental health illness, I just saw it as a weird thing for me to be doing,” Cotton added.

Now, however, the broadcaster explained that she can recognise her eating disorder as a way of her looking for coping mechanisms because she “didn’t feel mentally strong enough” to deal with what was going on with her career at the time.

Cotton at the age of 18, 1999. (Rex Features)

“I had moved out, I had been independent for a very long time at that point, I was juggling Top of the Pops Saturday and Top of the Pops – it was pretty relentless,” she said.

It’s not the first time Cotton has spoken about her difficulties with bullimia.

In November last year, the former radio 1 DJ revealed she struggled with the eating disorder “for a good decade”.

Speaking on the podcast, How to Fail with Elizabeth Day, Cotton explained that it took “a very long time” to mentally recover.

“For the last eight years I’ve been very studious with food and very careful about how I eat, how I cook and how I talk about food. I feel really good and recovered,” she added.

“I hope I’m not being naive by saying that but I do feel like that.”

For anyone struggling with the issues raised in this piece, eating disorder charity Beat’s helpline is available 365 days a year on 0808 801 0677.

NCFED offers information, resources and counselling for those suffering from eating disorders, as well as their support networks. Visit eating-disorders.org.uk or call 0845 838 2040.