Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp came back from a gruelling stint on a desert island a changed man.
He looked radically different, having lost two-and-a-half stone and resembled “Uncle Albert from Only Fools and Horses”.
His wife was so shocked by his appearance that she burst into tears.
But more than a month on Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls also profoundly altered the former EastEnders star’s views on life.
Going back to basics on the Pacific island, facing hunger and a severe leg injury made Martin focus on what really matters in life.
He said: “Everything is stripped away from you, including food and water and everything.
“It worked for me, not just physically but psychologically as well. I love everyone 10 times more than before I left.”
Martin’s island experience came after a traumatic time in which close pal George Michael, 53, died suddenly on Christmas Day 2016.
The singer was at Martin’s wedding to wife Shirlie Holliman, one half of duo Pepsi & Shirlie who backed George’s band, Wham!
George was also godfather to Martin’s son Roman, 25, a Capital Radio DJ and daughter Harley, 29.
Martin said surviving on the island “was like a rehab for your appreciation of everything that you have.
“It was the loveliest feeling I think I’ve had for a long time.
“It was a reboot I needed in my life.”
But it was no picnic in the jungle and Martin suffered a four-inch gash down to his shin bone. The star, who survived the removal of brain tumours in 1995 and 1997, feared he would lose his leg.
He said: “The humidity doesn’t let you get better. A small cut just opened up into a massive gully. It started to get poisonous.
“I’m looking at my leg, thinking, ‘I’m going to get gangrene if I’m not careful and I need my leg!’”
The pain was so bad he could not put on his shoes and nearly had to leave the island to be treated. It was not the first time Martin has injured himself on a TV show.
This year he and Shirlie, 56, rolled their Mini in a time trial for BBC’s Eight Go Rallying.
Martin was trapped but luckily escaped with just a bruised hand.
He was joined for series three of the island adventure by Towie’s Pete Wicks, 29, actor Eric Roberts, 62, TV doctor Saleyha Ahsan, and Olympian James Cracknell, 46, and boxer Anthony Ogogo, 29.
The other four were 2017 Love Island contestant Montana Brown, 23, Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood’s ex Jo, 63, journalist Paris Lees and ex Emmerdale star Roxanne Pallett, 35.
After such dramatic weight loss, Martin described his before and after pictures as “ridiculous”.
He said: “When I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time I thought, ‘Oh, my God. I’ve turned into Uncle Albert from Only Fools and Horses!’ Shirlie just cried. I think it was a bit of a shock and also we hadn’t seen or spoken to each other in a month.”
But Martin said hunger never really bothered him. He said: “Every couple of days, I had a little bit of fish and then I’d not eat again for six or seven days.”
Martin, who has since put a stone-and-a-half back on, said the experience has given him a fresh outlook on life and strengthened his 29-year marriage to Shirlie.
He added: “You take everything for granted and I’m included in that. You realise what’s important in life. I think I don’t sweat the small stuff as much.”
* Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls, next Sunday, 9pm, Channel 4
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