Honed and super healthy from his stint on Dancing On Ice, Dr Hilary Jones is back doing exactly what he does best…talking to the entire nation about health.
A slightly jaded Dr Hilary Jones warmly shook everyone’s hands at the at home photo shoot, but it was hard to tell he wasn’t in tip top condition.
We only discovered that when he admitted to having had just three hours sleep following the Dancing On Ice farewell party the night before.
‘It was as you’d expect,’ he told us. ‘Lots of people who’d worked very hard, letting their hair down.’ Tall, lean and tanned, Dr Hilary looked much younger than his 56 years and not remotely tired or hungover. Which by all accounts he probably wasn’t.
GMTV’s doctor is a specimen of fitness, chiefly because he exercises frequently – the key to good health, he says. ‘I run four miles twice a week, swim for a mile and play squash for an hour. I do some exercise most days.’ He believes this is what we all need to be doing – be more active and cut down on our portion sizes. No surprises there but he’s not preachy about it and his philosophy on life is refreshingly liberal, dare we say hippyish. His prescription for a healthier life? ‘Enjoy it by making sure you have time to do things you like to do, whether that’s travelling, reading or socialising. Avoid things and people that upset you – why do it to yourself? And spend more time with your family and friends – it’s easy to forget what’s important so never lose sight of the people who you care about most.’
There’s no doubt that Dr Hilary is charming. You can imagine he melts all his patients, from the young to the, shall we say, slightly more mature. He has been doing the same on GMTV since it was first broadcast 19 years ago and it’s easy to see why he is still so popular. He seems to genuinely like people. ‘I went into the medical profession to help people. I have patients coming to me who are at the end of their tether because they have been told by other doctors that their symptoms are all in their head. Being told there is nothing that can be done is so negative.
Often all they really need is a sympathetic ear. It’s then about helping to lift their spirits and enabling them to manage their health problem.’ That’s why he still practises as an independent GP in Hampshire two days a week. ‘I’m very happy doing what I do on GMTV reacting to topical news stories. Being on breakfast television means we are the first to comment live on air about a breaking story. I enjoy putting it in perspective for viewers. The only downside is that you have to be very general – you can’t give specific advice as you do in the surgery. That’s where my roots are and what I still love doing.’
A winning formula
But let’s rewind and see how Hilary Jones ended up as one of the nation’s favourite TV doctors. Trained at the Royal Free Hospital in London, he then worked for a year as a junior doctor on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha in the middle of the South Atlantic. He found the experience ‘one big adventure’ and admits he felt claustrophobic coming back to London and having to cope with ‘people arguing over one inch of space’. From there he worked at Basingstoke Hospital, starting his GP career in 1982, also in Basingstoke, and becoming a GP trainer in 1987.
The adventurous doc was never destined for just a life in the suburbs though, which is why, 10 years later, he wrote to TV-am, as it was then, pitching his ideas, telling them what the could do better and asking for a job. His idea was simple – talk about common ailments that affect people on a daily basis.
After meeting the team, he was given a two week trial and, nearly 20 years later, he’s still going strong. So what’s his secret? ‘I think I’m quite natural and come across as someone the viewers can relate to.’ He still loves it but would also love to front his own medical series – he has recently pitched an idea to several television companies. ‘I think it would work, but you have to compete with so many other pitches and it’s all about ratings. It’s a question of proving what you are suggesting is going to be a winner,’ he says. So was Dancing On Ice, his first foray into reality television, a bid to broaden his appeal and not just be seen as ‘the TV doc’? ‘That wasn’t the reason I did the show.
GMTV gives me a big profile anyway and being on a reality show isn’t going to help my medical career. What it did was present a good example to my patients about fitness and learning something new. But there’s no doubt that people who don’t watch GMTV but saw Dancing On Ice now know who I am. I get lots more comments from the public now, even if they are ribald comments about tight spandex! One week a lorry driver wound down his window and shouted “Oi doc, what’s the required dance element this week?”’
Learning the routines was a struggle for Dr Hilary, though. ‘Every week on the live show my knees were knocking with nerves and all the basics left my head.’ Nevertheless, he lasted a respectable six weeks, with his popularity seeing him through. ‘I stayed in for six weeks which was half way through and I was thrilled. It helps doing a regular programme like GMTV because viewers treat you like you’re family so I had a lot of support. I was consistently at the bottom of the leader board but every week the public rescued me. I’d never skated before the show (or just once when I clung onto the side of the rink) and the viewers could see I was making progress.
I think that’s why they voted for me, rather than on my performances!’ But it wasn’t an easy ride. ‘Ice is very unforgiving and inevitably you get bumps. I had a huge bruise on my left hip that went blue all the way down to my knee and I fell on it again three times. I fell on my elbow 12 times, I bruised my ribs and had to have cortisone injections in both shoulders. It was much harder than any of us competitors thought it would be.’
He has been skating since and he is particularly effusive about being able to skate with ‘my partner’. The woman in question is relatively new on the scene and the relationship caused a big furore in the papers last year because Dr Hilary had been married to his second wife Sarah Harvey, seemingly happily, for 18 years and had three children with her. He also has two children from his first marriage. Now he is with 38-year-old Dee Thresher, a celebrity fitness trainer who has had great success helping her clients lose their flab and shape up.
Was it a tricky time when it all came to a head? ‘If you’re on television then you’re always going to be a target with people wanting to shoot you down. Rival newspapers are going to go for a rival columnist, too (he writes a health column for The News Of The World). I expected attention but it has all settled down now and because it wasn’t particularly scandalous it died a death quickly. It’s par for the course but it’s nobody’s business apart from ours.’
So what’s the next reality TV stint? ‘Unless I’m asked to do Strictly Come Dancing, because I’d love to be able to dance properly, I wouldn’t want to do any of the reality shows – I’m not a fan. I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, for example, has become a circus freak show asking people to do tricks for the sake of it and there is no endurance about it. Strictly is the only one I’d do because you’re learning a new skill and you have to give blood, sweat and tears, like we did for Dancing On Ice.’
A trusted professional
For now though Dr Hilary still loves being on the GMTV sofa dispensing his reassuring medical advice to the nation. But, with so many changes afoot at the station, is he worried about his own position? ‘GMTV is now under the control of ITV which means the management will be looking at the show and making improvements. There have already been staff changes – Penny Smith is leaving and John Stapleton, who is a fantastic, eloquent journalist, is having his role changed.
It doesn’t worry me, I take it as it comes. I thoroughly enjoy what I do and I know the medical issues are very popular and well received by the viewers. If you have been in the public eye for a particular amount of time, you develop a certain trust with the viewers. There are so many salacious headlines about medical stories and people want to know what a professional like myself thinks about it.’ His other media regular slot is on Steve Wright’s BBC Radio 2 afternoon show discussing more medical matters.
Tough talking
Just recently, Dr Hilary took time out from GMTV and went on the streets to give health advice to individuals. It wasn’t difficult to pinpoint the predominant health issues. ‘The main health worry is anxiety and depression, born out of a time of uncertainty. It’s a strange irony because we’ve all got a roof over our head and enough to eat compared to centuries ago, but there is now uncertainty about jobs, children’s schooling, where elderly parents will reside when they are ill. They are all things you can’t control. Another big fear is cancer. People are more aware of health issues because of the internet, which is a good thing, but it can instil fear into people. Eating disorders are another health worry now with obesity becoming an epidemic.’
One of the main problems with people in this country, he continues, is that they don’t think about how their health will be in 20 years time. ‘They are worried about their jobs, their children, their mortgages. They are not concerned that their diet is poor and they are eating too many burgers. They put it off, maybe staying with a diet for a month, then going back to their old ways because it’s not easy changing habits. I find that people do get more conscious about their health later on, but often it is too late. By then they have reached 20st say, are totally unfit and to get back to the fitness level they had 20 years previously is very difficult.’ But not impossible, he says.
‘There are some inspirational stories – I am the medical adviser for the Fitness First group of gyms and they have New You Achievement Awards every year. There are people at this event who have fallen into the abyss of life, by becoming morbidly obese or drug addicts for example, their addiction, going to the gym and becoming very fit and healthy. They should show these sorts of stories on the television because they are so much more inspiring than the usual reality television rubbish.’
Dr Hilary, medicine man GPs are often the first port of call for people suffering health problems as a consequence of living an unhealthy life. They may tell a few white lies about their habits, mainly because they can’t admit how bad it has become. How does Dr Hilary deal with that? ‘I will lecture them about how what they are doing isn’t good for them, but I never judge. I always say it’s entirely up to them. I make sure they have the information to make decisions for themselves. I can’t chase them and be their daddy.’
And he doesn’t believe that the so called ‘poor’ are losing out because of the state of the NHS. ‘You hear a lot about the discrepancies between the healthcare that the rich and poor receive. But in this country the poor have as much access to healthcare as the rich and it’s free. Sometimes, it’s like taking a horse to water – you can’t make it drink. If you are obese, for example, and you want to help yourself, there are groups out there offering advice. But there is only so much you can provide to people who are just not interested.’
‘The NHS is still doing a wonderful job,’ he continues. ‘I really believe people shouldn’t knock it so much. It’s not till you go abroad that you realise this – in the USA you only have access to health treatment if you can afford private insurance. In patches the NHS is brilliant. But we need to get rid of the issues that make the headlines like cleanliness problems and high death rates in some hospitals. But some areas are fantastic. For example at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford there is a one stop clinic for moles where your sample is sent to a lab as soon as it is taken and if treatment is required it is given all in one day. It is so much more efficient for both patients and staff.
But you have some hospitals where patients are having to wait on trolleys in corridors and it seems that targets are more important than actual treatment. ‘Another big problem is that we are spending millions on health tourism where people are coming from countries like the USA, for free NHS treatment. We’ve got to be tougher about this and protect people from our own country so we stop wasting millions of pounds.’
Living and loving by example
With five children ranging from age nine to the mid 30s, Dr Hilary must know a thing or two about parenting. So what should we be advising our children about health wise? ‘To be physically active and feel good about themselves. I tell my children how much I love them and I join in activities with them because as an adult you’ve got to set an example. I taught my kids to play squash and we go on bike rides and swim. I am an average parent but I’ve learned a lot through the years. Children don’t come with a manual and everyone’s parenting experience is different. Just because I’m a doctor does not make me a perfect parent.’
Carry on, Doctor!
The next move for Dr Hilary, apart from avoiding I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, is to keep his much admired spot on the GMTV couch and to present another medical series, if possible. His own website is also under construction. ‘It will be my reflections on the latest medical news and a source of information for people of all ages who want to know more about common ailments,’ he explains. ‘There will be videos with first aid demonstrations, how to get the most out of your doctor, that sort of thing. It will be useful and informative but with a commercial element so you’ll be able to buy my books, which are about finding out what is wrong before you call the doctor.’
He also plans to stay fit. ‘I am a typical doctor in that I wouldn’t go and see another doctor about my own health because I wouldn’t trust them! I’m not very good at that and, like most men, I am a bit of a wimp but, saying that, I’m pretty fit and healthy so I’m lucky because I don’t have to worry too much.’ And with that we leave him – still looking dapper and with no hint of a late night etched on his face – smiling into the camera with that boyish smile of his that will, as always, charm the nation.
Photograph: Neil Cooper
