COMEDIAN and actor Johnny Vegas has opened up about fighting the flab for the sake of his son.

Johnny, whose lad Michael is seven, says: “I wanted to shift some weight because I have a son and wanted to be around a bit longer. Also, a few years ago, I was getting incredibly painful bouts of gout.”

Gout is one of the most common types of arthritis and men are four times more likely to be affected than women.

It is estimated that one per cent of all men in England will be affected by the condition which occurs when there is an excess of uric acid in the blood. It forms into crystals in the joints, causing inflammation.

Risk factors include drinking alcohol, particularly beer, and a diet high in red meat and seafood.

Johnny, who plays Moz in the BBC3 comedy Ideal, was once known as a hell-raising, heavyweight comic. These days his revamped lifestyle has resulted in a five-stone weight loss.

He says: “I never had a health warning – in fact when I had medicals nothing ever came up and doctors always looked gutted because my blood pressure always came out normal!

“But the gout – I had it in my foot and ankle – was a real incentive as I didn’t want to take daily medication for it. I preferred to control it through diet as I have done and I’m free of it now.”

He made his TV debut in ITV’s Win, Lose Or Draw in 1996 under his real name, Michael Pennington, but the adverts for ITV Digital and PG Tips, appearing with a knitted monkey, made him a household name.

He works at maintaining a healthy eating regime, saying: “My secret technique is not to have temptation foods in the house. Luckily I don’t have a sweet tooth and I now eat regular meals and lots of salads and fish – but cheese is my downfall so I give that to the mice.”

For exercise, he walks regularly but avoids the gym: “I do have a rowing machine and I burn off a few calories by dusting it! But I definitely don’t obsess about my diet or get preachy about how much better I feel as I worry I might get too smug and go back to my old ways!”

Johnny, 38, who started out in stand-up – a career which earned him a clutch of awards in the late ’90s – has starred in BBC’s Shooting Stars, ITV’s Benidorm and in BBC classic dramas such as Bleak House.

He’s been divorced from Kitty Donnelly, the mother of his son, for two years.

“I’m quite robust physically, but perhaps not like that emotionally. But you come out stronger from bad phases and learn from them.

“As I’ve got older I’ve learnt to balance things more, because when I was younger I was quite angsty,” he admits.

And despite his success, the funnyman who started his career as a Butlins Redcoat says he can be affected by the insecure, competitive nature of showbusiness.

“Although I probably don’t suffer from low moods any more than any other comedian, it’s certainly part of my make-up,” he says.

“You have to have an active imagination when you’re in my job and that’s a huge help creatively. But imagination can turn in on itself and it can sometimes put you in a bad place.

“Occasionally, you just have to go through your emotional laundry and get it sorted – nothing is healthy if it is bottled up.

“Everyone has ways of coping with the down days and it’s all about not dwelling on them and then you come up the other side.”