Jonathan Ross denies claims he ‘instigated’ his daughter’s diet

Jonathan Ross has denied claims that he and his wife “instigated” his daughter Honey’s diet.

Back in 2020, Honey, 27, appeared on Loose Women and denounced the “insanely toxic” diets that her parents once suggested to her when she told them she was unhappy with her body as a teenager.

“They tried to give me solutions to a problem that I had brought to them which was me wanting to lose weight. They presented me with diets,” she said at the time.

“Diets, as we know, do not work and are insanely toxic,” she added. “I think my advice to parents now is: keep that as far away from your kids as possible. If you want your children to have a good relationship with food and their bodies growing up, do not shame them.”

Speaking to The Times’ Relative Values column, Ross cleared up claims that he and his wife Jane Goldman, 53, tried to control their daughter’s diet.

“[Honey] developed some body issues when she was very young and we could see it was making her unhappy,” explained Ross. “She talked about getting fitter and going on a diet, which Jane and I tried to help her with. Crucially, though, the minute that Honey said she wanted to stop the diet, we said, ‘Great!’”

The comedian and broadcaster, 63, said that he and Jane were “taking cues” from Honey and the feelings she was expressing to them, rather than trying to control what she ate.

“Some of the headlines have hinted that we were the instigators of the diet, but we took our cues from Honey. We loved her dearly and we wanted her to be happy.”

Ross went on to praise his daughter, who is a writer and body-positive campaigner. The pair co-host the podcast Reel Talk together, in which the pair dive into new TV and film releases each week.

“[Honey] is now a writer and a body positive campaigner. It was her decision to put pictures of herself out there,” said Ross. “Did I talk to her about the dangers of being in the spotlight? Absolutely not! She’s a smart adult, old enough to make her own decisions and her own mistakes.

Ross added that Honey sometimes calls him out when he gets things wrong and tries to help him learn.

“I have f***ed up countless times in public. But all you can do is apologise, learn from it and be a better person. Honey has had a word with me once or twice. Not to bollock me, just to steer me in the right direction.

“I’m a work in progress and, at 63, I haven’t got much time left. Any help from Honey is greatly appreciated,” he said.