Tragic final days of UK's heaviest man who spent £22k on Chinese takeaways

Carl Thompson was interviewed at his bedside on This Morning in May 2015
Carl Thompson on This Morning -Credit:Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock


Britain's heaviest man Jason Holton has tragically passed away just shy of his 34th birthday, it has emerged this week. Jason Holton, aged 33, died with his mother at his side after succumbing to organ failure.

He had previously captured national attention in 2020 when a crane was required to lift him from his flat for hospital treatment.

His heartbroken mother, Leisa, 55, expressed her grief: "He's probably had about eight lives and I thought the doctors would be able to save him again, but sadly it wasn't possible."

Jason tipped the scales at 50 stone, assuming the title of Britain's heaviest man following Carl Thompson's death at 33 in 2015. Carl, who weighed 65 stone at the time of his death, experienced a catastrophic increase in weight after his mother's death led to uncontrolled eating, which ultimately claimed his life, reports the Mirror.

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However, Carl's struggles with weight began much earlier. As a child, he would sneak food from the fridge at night. His adult diet included a breakfast of four sausages, five fried eggs, fried bread, mushrooms, and a bowl of cereal.

For his midday meal, he indulged in pasta, chips, bacon, pork pies, crisps, pasties, sandwiches and chocolate. For dinner, he consistently splashed out on either a Chinese or Indian takeaway.

Over the course of his last six years, he spent an astounding £22,000 on takeaways. Trapped in his flat where he consumed 10,000 calories a day, he earned the nickname 'gentle giant'.

Takeaways and online shopping drained £200 from his wallet every week. In a clever but unfortunate procedure, he gave fast food delivery drivers a key to his home to deliver directly to his bed.

Just weeks before his untimely death, he vowed to make significant changes to his lifestyle during a Channel 5 Supersized documentary. Speaking to the crew, he shared: "I want to walk around my flat and get to my bed and get to the toilet and get to the bathroom first. That's my first goal. The second goal is to get around this flat with no problem whatsoever.

"As I gradually gather strength, I believe I can achieve that. Then there won't be any concerns at all. My initial dependence might be on a zimmer frame and crutches for smaller tasks, however, once I ditch the zimmer frame and gain confidence with my crutches, I will manage everything else currently out-of-reach due to my weight."

His primary motivation was his then one-year old nephew. Insisting he "loved him to bits", he expressed a resolve to witness his nephew's life unfold - to see him grow up, marry and eventually have kids.

Evidently for Carl, things didn't turn around, and he died in June 2015, shortly after ordering a crumble with ice cream. Only a month prior, he had emotionally opened up about his weight struggle on live television - This Morning, expressing his fear of getting a gastric band.

During the interview conducted bedside, the host stated that Carl couldn't dress himself and hadn't left his abode for over a year. Even though he battled with breathing during the conversation, Carl disclosed to viewers his efforts reducing his overeating tendencies.

Making an impassioned appeal to the public, Carl said: "Any professional opinion or other knowledge would be great. I've had a lot of that coming in anyway but the more the better. I could die, that's the bottom line if I keep going the way I do. Because of what I eat I'm missing out on everything in life."

He shared his aspirations to consult a dietician and psychiatrist to support his weight loss journey, fearing that a gastric band might pose a sizeable risk. The medical world had alerted him that shedding 70% of body weight was crucial to prevent premature mortality.

When the interview took place, Carl relied on incapacity benefits and requisite assistance from NHS staff for daily needs like bathing and meal preparation. However, Carl's commitment to weight loss tragically came too late.

After the tragic news broke, Merdad Mohebbi, owner of Q Pizza near Carl's home, told The Sun: "I can't believe it. He had cut right down on what he was eating. He was only ordering one or two things a day. When I took the order he seemed happy enough. He was talking about going to the hospital and they were going to do tests on him. He was full of life."

A friend paid their respects saying: "I have just seen that Carl Thompson has sadly died. I've known Carl many years and (he) was a very good friend of mine when I lived in Dover. I used to play pool and have a few pints with him when he was mobile. I can't believe it, so tragic."

Lyn Garret expressed her condolences on Twitter: "RIP UK Heaviest man Carl Thompson. Gentle Giant. Dover is in shock."