Hollyoaks star Angus Castle-Doughty has revealed he secretly battled an eating disorder and body dysmorphia for five years after stripping off for his role in a Netflix show.
The actor, 29, played incel villain Eric Forster in the Channel 4 soap, and has now shared how he developed an “obsession” with food and exercise after being asked to film a nude scene in the 2019 series Shadow And Bone.
Despite never being told he needed to lose weight, Angus said Mirror who was determined to achieve zero percent body fat and began skipping breakfast and going to the gym twice a day, only to have her nude scene cut from the show.
Speaking about her disorder for the first time, she said: “Until recently, I felt like I had failed myself if I wasn’t thin and in doing so, I have denied myself many memories I could have enjoyed because of my obsession with food and exercise.”
Angus explained that after writing a fictional film, titled Dis-Morph-Ick, about his experience, he ultimately changed the way he perceives his body and credited his partner, former Hollyoaks star Niamh Blackshaw, for offering him support.
Hollyoaks star Angus Castle-Doughty has revealed he secretly battled an eating disorder and body dysmorphia for five years after stripping off for his role in a Netflix show.
The actor played incel villain Eric Forster in the Channel 4 soap (pictured), and has now shared how he developed an “obsession” with food and exercise.
The actor explained that he had to fight against “insecurities” when he was told he would have to film a nude scene for Shadow And Bone.
He said: ‘It wasn’t an insecurity of ‘oh, I’m going to get naked in front of the camera’, it was more that I wanted to do everything I could to work as hard as possible for the role.’
Angus underwent a gruelling fasting diet, eating only two meals a day and hitting the gym twice a day, six times a week, in the run-up to filming.
She added: “No one at Netflix or on the show asked me to change. I was the one who put it into my head that I had to lose weight. I managed to get down to 6% body fat (even though I was probably only around 10% to begin with) by the time I started filming the scene. But the irony is that they didn’t use it anyway!”
Even after finishing filming Shadow And Bone, Angus continued with his demanding new diet, eating just 1,500 calories a day, despite warnings from his mother Lynne, who was a former ballet dancer.
In August 2020, Angus began to relax his regime but felt insecure about his appearance when he landed the role of Eric in Hollyoaks.
As filming meant he wasn’t able to exercise as much, the actor admitted he felt like he had “failed” when he found himself in front of the camera and struggled to abandon his regime even after leaving the soap in 2023.
Two weeks ago, Angus said he finally started eating breakfast again, and while he still exercises, he no longer does so twice a day.
Angus explained that after writing a film about his experience, he ultimately changed the way he perceives his body and thanked his fellow Hollyoaks star Niamh Blackshaw for her support.
Angus told The Mirror he was determined to achieve zero per cent body fat and began skipping breakfast and going to the gym twice a day, only for his nude scene to be cut.
He has now revealed that he plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds needed to make his short film, which will tell the story of a young man who dives into the world of fitness.
Angus says his film is still “a work in progress” but that writing it has been a healing experience.
The soap star made headlines for his role as incel Eric in Hollyoaks, tormenting Maxine Minniver and threatening to attack other women in the village, due to his twisted misogynistic views.
It was reported earlier this year that cuts at Channel 4 would see a number of changes including fewer episodes of Hollyoaks per week, all in a shorter schedule.
With the changes came the sad news that jobs would be cut, with cast and crew members being made redundant. Several fan favourites have left the soap, including Stephanie Waring, Ross Adams and Emma Rigby.
The soap has planned a dramatic time jump of one year into the future to seemingly explain some of the departures, following reports that up to 20 characters would be leaving the town.
In May it was revealed that Hollyoaks had become the latest soap to be hit by strict budget cuts, with show bosses planning to reduce the workforce by 40 per cent.
It has also been said that a big stunt will air before the time jump and before the new era of the show begins.
Earlier this year, Hollyoaks chief executive Hannah Cheers said of the changes: “When we first started talking about moving to three episodes a week, we realised we needed a mechanism through which to transition our stories and characters and we kept turning to this. It’s bold, daring and a first for a UK soap – it sums up Hollyoaks perfectly.
Two weeks ago, Angus said he finally started eating breakfast again, and while he still exercises, he no longer does so twice a day.
‘The new three-episode pattern offers us a different model of storytelling, meaning we’ll see the characters on screen for much longer.
‘Our viewers are very smart; in order to serve them well, we need to kick off this new structure in a meaningful way. Moving the show forward permanently by a year gives us unlimited story possibilities.
‘Sadly, we will have to say goodbye to some much-loved Hollyoaks residents, some sooner than expected.
‘It’s not good for our characters or our audience to have a prolonged sequence of goodbyes on screen, and an over-the-top stunt didn’t seem like the right approach.
“We also want to have the flexibility to see our favorite characters again and we’re really excited about how this would work.”
