The Chase star Bradley Walsh reveals 'seriously bad' secret health battle

He's best known for ITV's The Chase, but Bradley Walsh has confessed he suffers from a health condition that can alter his appearance.

Bradley Walsh, The Chase
(Image credit: ITV Pictures)

He's best known for his hilarious one-liners on ITV's The Chase and Breaking Bad with son Barney, but Bradley Walsh has confessed he suffers from a health condition that can alter his appearance.

The TV star has revealed he suffers from blepharitis—a condition where the edges of your eyelids become red and swollen. Symptoms of blepharitis include sore eyelids, itchy eyes and a gritty feeling in the eyes.

Speaking to Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes on This Morning, Bradley explained it can sometimes cause his eyes to look red and swollen—which often causes concern among fans.

“People don’t realise I have seriously bad blepharitis," he explained. "I have to take one pill a day for it or I really struggle. I am going to need my eyes operated on at some point to sort it out.

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“So many times, people have commented on how I look. But they don’t realise. If I take medication though, I’m fine.”

It comes after fans began questioning whether he'd be drinking prior to filming Beat The Chasers because of his red eyes.

"I love Bradley Walsh, but he always looks like he’s been on the piss all day with his red eyes #BeatTheChasers," one fan tweeted.

It's not the first time Bradley has opened up about his health and wellbeing, after revealing he was a "ticking time bomb" and at risk of dying of heart disease after his father Daniel died of it at just 59. He previously had a health scare during filming for a TV show last year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxsBDD854yQ

He told The Sun, "I was a time bomb. I produce too much cholesterol. It's a silent killer. My heart guy said, 'Look, Brad, you need to get fit."

The former Coronation Street star knew he'd be "bang in trouble" if he didn't lose some weight and began by ditching carbs and alcohol in a bid to prevent underlying health conditions.

He told the newspaper, "I thought, ‘Oh crikey, I’m gonna be bang in trouble here if I don’t lose the weight and start dealing with this’.”

Because of his father's death at a young age, Bradley described turning 60 as a "milestone" moment.

"I had a hang-up because my father, Daniel, died at the age of 59," he confessed. "I had it in the back of my mind that I just had to get past my dad's age. So turning 60 was a bit of milestone."

Celebrity writer

Georgia is a Celebrity and Royal Writer working across GoodTo and Woman & Home, and the Director and Founder of communications company Farq Media. Prior to this she was Online Editor at New! Magazine – managing all of their digital content and social media accounts. Where she interviewed all of the hottest reality TV stars and spent far too much time commuting to London. She trained at Nottingham Trent University – where she achieved First Class Honours in Print Journalism whilst juggling copious amounts of work experience, freelance writing, blogging and having far too much fun with the dance society.