Have I Got News For You host Jo Brand says people's 'attitudes changed' after 3st weight loss

Comedian Jo Brand has been a familiar face on the comedy circuit for the past three decades - she opened up about how her sudden weight loss in her teens changed opinions

Comedian Jo Brand has been candid about feeling like she was "treated differently" after losing weight in her teens, revealing how her appearance led to a change in behaviour from those around her. Chatting on Lorraine Kelly's and her daughter Rosie's podcast What If? in 2022, the star of Have I Got News For You discussed losing three and a half stone rapidly in her teen years.

Jo, aged 67, reflected on her younger self and noticed how her treatment by others was influenced by her size. "I don't know in this society whether it's worse to be really attractive or really unattractive. Because actually, the difference between them, is walking down the street and having some bloke perving and leering over your chest area or whatever, and saying awful things to you," she said, reports OK!.

"Or a bloke just saying awful things to you about how you look. I know this sounds like I'm justifying it, but I would rather be like me and them not be interested because I remember when I was about 19 I lost loads of weight really quickly."

Jo then recounted a time when a male friend's behaviour shifted dramatically during a night out, all due to her weight loss. She recounted, "His attitude towards me had totally changed - he was a bit sort of slimy and pervy," expressing her discomfort with the shift in dynamics. "I don't know if I actually consciously thought about that, but I just kind of thought 'I really don't like this, and I like the relationship we had before.'"

Before finding her calling in comedy, Jo had a career in nursing, leaving the profession in the eighties to dive into the thriving comedy circuit. Reflecting on her decision, she shared with Virgin Radio: "I remember thinking, before I started stand-up I really wanted to do that job because, at the time, the circuit was thriving. I thought, 'What a job'."

She described the stark contrast between her nursing shifts and the life of a comedian: "I was a nurse, and sometimes I worked 13-hour days, but as a comedian, I could work for 20 minutes and then go home or go out to a club or something. What a perfect life."

Jo also touched on the challenges of juggling both professions, adding, "I did comedy and nursing for a couple of years, and that was very stressful, like driving to Sheffield and then back for an early shift and stuff like that. But once I segued into it full-time, I was amazed."