Big Breakfast fitness star Jody Bunting who is accused of trying to murder his allergic boss with a £2.25 chocolate bar has vowed to return to Britain to beat the case.
Jody, 45, insisted that he had innocently left the half-eaten bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit and Nut in a storeroom at at the health club where he worked so some of his colleagues could tuck into it as a treat.
The TV fitness guru previously revealed to that he and his colleagues at the Mickleover Court Hotel Leisure Club in Derby, knew that their manager Kimberley Hoskins had a potentially life-threatening allergy to cocoa.
He claimed that he only opted to bring in the 180g chocolate bar into the club on October 21, 2023, after his boss has been signed off sick for a week, and he knew she would not be there.
After sharing half the bar with colleagues he left the rest on a shelf in the storeroom, writing in the staff’s WhatsApp group chat that the remainder of his ‘favourite’ chocolate was their to eat as he holidayed in Morrocco.
But he alleged none of his co-workers managed to eat the sweet-treat, resulting in his Kimberley coming in five days later and suffering a serious allergic reaction after breathing the chocolate’s fumes.
An emergency EpiPen injection was administered after Kimberley began showing allergy symptoms and taken by ambulance to Royal Derby Hospital where she spent five days in intensive care.
The former 31-stone Channel 4 star, who said he was ‘paraded when he was arrested at Luton Airport back in November 2023, has promised he is ‘fighting ready’ to return to British shores and face off the allegations.
In the last seven-months Mr Bunting, who once weighed 31 stone and chartered his weight loss journey to fitness on Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast show in 2001 and 2002, has since lost a remarkable seven stone in the last six months.
He initially put on some weight due to the stresses of the potential trial.
‘I have Googled some strange things in the last year. I don’t think I will go to jail, but if they somehow find a reason to put me in there I want to be ready to defend myself,’ he said.
‘You hear all these horrible stories about prison.. I just wanted to be prepared for anything they throw at me.’
Describing the last year as ‘hell’, revealed the ‘surreal’ incident ‘changed [his life] forever,’ adding:'”You’re being arrested for attempted murder.”
‘That’s was what really shocked me, more than being paraded around the airport itself.
‘I was so shocked that Derbyshire police officers had come all the way down to Luton to get me, it made everything seem very serious and real.
‘I wasn’t particularly angry – I was just confused. I thought: “How can this actually be happening?”‘
From the airport, Mr Bunting was taken straight to St Mary’s Wharf police station where he was quizzed about Kimberley’s allergy as well as why he had been brought the chocolate into work.
He claimed that officers interviewed him in a cell for two hours before interviewing him for another two hours,’ according to DerbyshireLive.
The fitness coach said he was lucky to have a friend present when he was apprehended so his family could be informed – including his mother.
‘My mum and friends were all so worried. All they knew is that I’d been arrested for attempted murder,’ the 46-year-old said.
‘They didn’t say who or where. They were just left to worry about it. They were jumping to all sorts of crazy conclusions.’
Following his arrest, Mr Bunting was released on bail with the condition of being forbidden to return to work at the health centre, leaving the former Channel 4 star concerned about his finances.
Despite being under investigation for attempted murder, police allowed Mr Bunting to keep his passport and live in Morocco.
He travels from the North African country to the UK once a month to the UK to visit friends and family around once a month, after having ‘to adapt’ to survive and earn money.
‘Luckily enough, I found some weight loss clients who I have been coaching online, and I have been surviving through that,’ he said.
‘It also helps to live in Morocco, everything is much cheaper over here, and the weather is brilliant – it has been a key part of my positivity.’
The 46-year-old also revealed he began a new romance in Morrocco, and is recently engaged.
‘The thought of marrying the love of my life is what keeps me going after what has been a year of hell,’ he quipped.
‘I ended up moving back to Morocco as soon as possible because over here I would have people recognise me and asking about the case. I just wanted to be left alone.’
Despite the turmoil on British shores, Mr Bunting plans to return to Debry in a few weeks to set up his our health breakfast club and begin his fitness classes once more.
‘My new fiancée is following me so we can get married here in Derby in March,’ he added.
Police are awaiting advice and a charging decision from the Crown Prosecution Service and Mr Bunting has been released under investigation.
This means he has no requirement to add a police station again. However, police enquiries are still ongoing.
has approached Derbyshire Police and CPS for comment.