Biggest Loser star's heart attack and health battle after show finished filming

A star of reality series The Biggest Loser suffered a heart attack and health battle after the show finished filming.

Streaming on Netflix from today (August 15) on Netflix is a new docuseries all about the show. Fit for TV: The Reality of The Biggest Loser takes an inside look at the making of the hit reality TV competition that ran for 18 seasons beginning in 2004 and finishing in 2016. Although there was an attempted revival back in 2020.

The three-part series explores the good, the bad, and the complicated during the show's lifespan. It features interviews with former contestants, producers, and health professionals involved in making the show.

READ MORE: Great British Bake Off return confirmed as trailer reveals future of hosts and judges

READ MORE: BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2025: Historic line-up and huge show firsts

It examines the show’s approach to transformation, the support systems in place, and the unique challenges of filming reality television. The series explores how the experience shaped the lives of those involved with the show long after the cameras stopped rolling and invites viewers to reflect on the balance between entertainment and well-being, and what it truly means to pursue lasting change.

One of the people who was involved in the show during the entire time it was on the air and features prominently in the Netflix documentary is Bob Harper.

Bob was a celebrity trainer since the 1990s and was eventually hired to be on the show. He was responsible for leading many of the contestants in their exercise regimes. It was a role he performed for 10 years until he was promoted to become the host of the show for its final two seasons including its return in 2020.

However, one aspect that is briefly mentioned in the new Netflix documentary but not in great details is that a year after The Biggest Loser's initial run ended, Bob suffered a near fatal heart attack at the age of 52 while he was working out.

In an interview with NBC news nearly a year after the incident, he said: "On February 12 2017 I was in the gym, the next thing I knew I woke up in a hospital two days later being told that I had a heart attack and that I immediately went into cardiac arrest. Talk about a life-changing experience."

He eventually diagnosed with familial hypercholesterolemia, a hereditary condition that causes high levels of LDL cholesterol and increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

It lead him on a health battle of his own and new struggles as he was so publicly known for being a figure of good health. He told NBC: "I've always been a person that was so driven and type A and I have my routine, which I love, and when all of that was taken away from me and my whole identity of fitness was taken away.

"I went through an identity crisis I didn't know who I was and it became a journey for me. I was going through this new life of mine and having to rediscover different sides of me. It was really hard. It was really emotional; I went through a lot of depression because of it."

His health battle is still ongoing, which was witnessed during Bob's appearance on the US version of The Traitors last year. He appeared during the third season of the show as a contestant.

In the fourth episode of the series, along with his fellow stars, he was tasked with carrying Easter Island replica statues up a hill onto one of 10 pedestals. Doing so before time ran out would earn them safety from leaving the show.

Attempting the challenge, Bob became winded and was unable to complete the challenge without the help of his fellow players. The experience left him emotional and in tears.

Speaking to the cameras afterwards, he admitted: "This mission is more difficult than I had ever imagined. I have always imagined myself especially when it comes to health and fitness that I can do anything. I am invincible. And now here I am on this hill and I'm just doing the best I can and I'm realising that I can't do it.

"When I had a heart attack, seven years ago, it kicked my a**. I had less than a 20% chance of surviving and I did. And realising that I have to redefine who I am, it's just really hard."

Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser is streaming on Netflix.