Gregg Wallace, 60, fires back at backlash as he’s branded ‘self-absorbed’ for weight loss post: ‘Attention seeker!’

BBC MasterChef host Gregg Wallace, 60, has stunned fans with his body transformation in a gym video posted to social media.

The beaming presenter filmed himself flexing and bobbing along to Dance Monkey by Tones and I while boasting in the accompanying caption about his body fat percentage.

Wallace embarked on his quest to lose weight after warnings from his doctor that he was at serious risk of a heart-attack.

“My doctor did a blood test, and he said, ‘We need to do something Mr Wallace. This blood test sample, your cholesterol is through the roof. You’re in for some big illness here,” Wallace told BBC Radio 2 earlier this year.

The health scare was followed by a crisis of confidence about his body image which convinced the then nearly 17 stone MasterChef star to make a change.

“Those two things combined – being unhappy with how I looked and then the doctor telling me I was going to have a big heart attack – I started looking very closely at how I was living.”

Since then, the 60-year-old has committed himself to a regime of healthy eating and exercise, and this week, Wallace posted a video of himself posing in the gym to show off his progress.

“60 years old, 12 stone, less than 17% fat,” he wrote along with the post.

While some fans were bowled over by Wallace’s physique and complimented the MasterChef star on his transformation, others grilled him on how he shed the pounds.

“I eat nice meals every day even if I’m not on MasterChef,” he said in response to fans’ queries. “You don’t have to eat salad to lose weight! I don’t diet, I just eat healthy.”

However, amid the compliments were a number of followers who took issue with Wallace’s boastful display.

Slamming the MasterChef star’s decision to flaunt his weight loss while dismissing the need to diet, one follower critiqued: “Easy when you’re a multimillionaire.”

Wallace hit back at the Instagram user’s complaint, however, replying: “That’d be nice.”

Elsewhere, another social media user branded the 60-year-old a “self-absorbed, attention seeker” for showing off his physique.

But Wallace stood firm once again, slapping down the disgruntled Instagram user by saying: “Self-obsessed? Here to help.”

The majority of the reactions remained positive, however, including one fan who lauded: “Well done, extremely impressive. Inspirational. It’s certainly helped me to get in good shape.” (sic)

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The 60-year-old also launched his own healthy lifestyle plan and podcast where he advises followers to eat good food, not necessarily diet.

Speaking to OK! Magazine, Wallace explained that he chooses to eat the healthiest possible version of the food he loves.

“I looked at the calorie content of a piece of cod that I cooked in the pan as opposed to a piece of cod from the fish and chip shop and realised that I could eat about nine fillets of cod for the equivalent of a fried one.”

Along with losing weight, the former greengrocer has also committed himself to the gym to build muscle. In an earlier post, Wallace flexed his worked-out biceps and wrote: “I don’t go in the gym to lose weight. I ate well to lose weight. Gym is toning, stretching, building muscle and listening to rappers”