At 41 years of age, father-of-two Charlie Albone thought his days of rocking a sixpack were behind him.
But after combining daily gym sessions with exhaustive dance rehearsals to prepare for his appearance on Dancing With The Stars, the garden guru and Better Homes And Gardens presenter is as trim as his hedges in his backyard!
“I’ve lost 10kg,” he boasts to Woman’s Day. “It’s such a fantastic feeling. Who doesn’t like walking around with a sixpack?”
“It’s such a fantastic feeling.”
(Image: Phillip Castleton)LIFE LESSONS
The Seven personality says he had two major reasons for getting into shape before he hit the ballroom floor.
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“One was I’ve never been on the dancefloor unless it was four o’clock in the morning with a few beers under my belt, and I knew it was going to be a lot of physical work, so I wanted to be as fit as possible – I didn’t want the fatigue to hold me back.
“The other was I have two boys, Leo, 10, and Hartford, eight,” who he practised with at home because “they’re much easier to throw”.
“I wanted to show them you can have a go at something, and not be the best at it, but just have a go for the fun of it.
“I thought it’d be a good lesson to teach them,” he adds, before pausing.
“Knowing I’d be wearing a lot of tight-fitting costumes was definitely part of the reason too,” he laughs.
Charlie completed his pre-dance training with Em & Chief Brabon from TransformationCoach.com.
The star hoped his journey would inspire his sons.
(Image: Phillip Castleton)SUPPORT TEAM
While normally already “quite healthy” – his wife and BHG co-star Juliet Love is a type 1 diabetic – Charlie says he still overhauled his diet.
“I got really stuck into it, and together with the exercise, the weight just dropped off,” he says. “But I’m slowly introducing different foods back into my diet again now, that way it’s more of a long-term thing, rather than just a fad diet. I’m totally addicted to it.”
Charlie says despite “loving every minute” of the DWTS experience, there was a moment where he thought he wasn’t going to make it.
Albone is ready to hit the dancefloor.
(Image: Seven Network)“For my first dance I actually had a massive blank. Like I was fine doing it in the studio, but with all the lights on and having to do it exactly on time with the beat – I just freaked out. It was horrible.
“But I’m so proud of myself for doing it and carrying on.” As are his wife Juliet and his BHG co-stars Joh Griggs, Adam Dovile and Ed Halmagyi.
“They all came to watch me. They took out the first two rows in the audience, actually.
“Not sure if it was to get ammo to make fun of me later, but it was nice to have the support,” he says.
The star also had support from his four-legged friend.
(Image: Phillip Castleton)