Johnny Vegas has told how getting stuck in a tunnel abroad was a huge “wake up call” that spurred him on to lose weight.
Johnny Vegas says getting wedged in a tunnel abroad spurred him on to lose weight
The 52-year-old comedian was honeymooning in Vietnam with ex-wife Maia Dunphy back in 2011 when his “midriff got jammed” going down a tunnel.
The ‘Benidorm’ star, who weighed around 18 stone at the time, has now trimmed down to 12 stone after ditching calorific treats, and admitted the embarrassing incident made him take his health seriously after he was wedged in for over 10 minutes.
Speaking to The Sunday Times newspaper, he said: “Ha Long Bay was spectacular ... but I had a bit of a mishap when we visited one of those underground tunnel systems the Viet Cong used to hide in during the Vietnam War.
“I was told they’d dug a larger tunnel to show Westerners, but I still got wedged in it.
“I got my legs through but then my midriff jammed.
“I was there for 10 minutes (and) people were like, ‘Shall we go and get help?’ and I was like ‘No, I can do this, please, just pull my arms’.
“It was a positive thing in the end, though. One of those wake-up call moments about my health.”
The Cu Chi tunnels, are an immense network of connecting tunnels in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, that stretches over 400km.
The underground trenches were dug out manually by the Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerrillas during the Vietnam war that took place from 1955 to 1975.
The Viet Cong soldiers hid there to protect themselves during the Vietnam War.
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