TV DOCTOR Ranj Singh is bowing out of BBC’s Morning Live to be the new face of a weight loss company.
The 46-year-old presenter landed a lucrative deal to promote Voy, which offers fat jabs and coaching for those trying to banish the bulge.
He has been a regular expert on the BBC show since 2021[/caption]
BBC sources say the move is not permanent and he’ll be returning as an on-screen expert soon.
The new paid-partnership ad launched on social media this week featuring Dr Ranj and Loose Women’s Coleen Nolan.
He tells Coleen, who is a Voy ambassador: “The reason why platforms like Voy are so effective and so helpful and useful to people is because they bring everything under one roof.
“So you’ve got coaching to address lots of aspects of your life and lifestyle, and you’ve got clinical support.
“It’s all in one platform, so it’s designed to make it as easy as possible to get all that help in one place, but also it’s designed to make it as personalised to you as it can be.
“There’s research that shows that using a platform like Voy is more effective at losing weight and keeping it off, and that’s why it’s so important.”
Voy offers both clinical help – including Mounjaro and Wygovy fat jabs – as well as Orlos capsules and coaching.
The amount of money Dr Ranj is being paid is not known.
However, BBC guidelines state “significant financial interests” should be declared “if they are in any way connected with the area in which they work or the subject matter they cover”.
A BBC spokesman told The Sun: “Dr Ranj is a freelancer who can undertake work outside of the BBC in line with editorial guidelines.
“He has stepped away from his role on Morning Live while he fulfils this third-party engagement.”
Last year, The Mirror reported that Dr Ranj had allegedly failed to tell BBC bosses about payment for appearing in an AstraZeneca advert – before appearing on TV discussing the company’s Covid jab.
He was claimed to have been paid £22,500 by the pharmaceutical company in 2021 for a childhood flu advertising campaign.
But the telly doctor did not disclose this to executives of BBC Morning Live before he presented a segment on the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Dr Ranj quit ITV’s This Morning in 2021 and moved across to the BBC’s Morning Live later that year.
He is described as one of the show’s experts – and appeared on the channel as recently as last week.
Coleen Nolan is an ambassador for Voy[/caption]
Everything you need to know about fat jabs
Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases.
Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK.
Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market.
Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss and is set to join Wegovy as an NHS staple this year.
How do they work?
The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight.
They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients’ sugar levels are too high.
Can I get them?
NHS prescriptions of weight loss drugs, mainly Wegovy and an older version called Saxenda (chemical name liraglutide), are controlled through specialist weight loss clinics.
Typically a patient will have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure.
GPs generally do not prescribe the drugs for weight loss.
Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk.
Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health.
Are there any risks?
Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild.
Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.”
Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia.
Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients’ mental health.
Figures obtained by The Sun show that, up to January 2025, 85 patient deaths in the UK were suspected to be linked to the medicines.
