A group of 14 comedians is going on a diet to raise money for the charities MIND and Comedy Support Act.
They are aiming to lose a combined weight of 23 stone in 12 weeks.
The team consists of comedians Tom Glover, Steve Day, Suzy Bennett, Graham Whistler, Jon Pearson, Cerys Nelmes, Ashley Frieze, Nik Hill, Ben Milden, Danny Posthill, Mike Cox, Dave Arnold, Tony Cowards and James Cook.
They weighed in on July 7th and at their first weigh in on Sunday had already lost a combined total of 31lbs. The final weigh-in will be on Sunday, September 29th.
Organiser Tom Glover (pictured) said: "It started out as just a personal challenge to lose some weight as I was the biggest I'd ever been and it was affecting me in my everyday life and even on stage. I had such a response from fellow comics in a similar position that I decided to get us all together and make it a joint effort that would not only help us but also raise some money for some good causes that are fairly closely linked to us all."
Glover, like a number of comedians taking part, will be performing at the Edinburgh Fringe over August so will face a particularly tough challenge of resisting junk food while gigging every day. "It has already been very helpful for everyone involved. Being a comedian can be a fairly lonely existence at times so having a team of us aiming to achieve a goal together has been a lot of fun." Click on names for Edinburgh dates.
MIND provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. Find out more at www.mind.org.uk.
Comedy Support Act is a new charity based in the UK set up by professional comedians for professional comedians. Funded by benefit shows across the UK, it aims to provide emergency funds and assistance to professional comedians who find themselves in financial hardship through serious illness or accident, as well as providing information and links to other professional and relevant organisations. Find out more at www.comedysupportact.org.uk.
Here is a link to the go fund me page to support them - https://www.gofundme.com/f/be-funny-or-diet-trying
