By Laura Carreno-Müller

Copyright mirror

Joe Wicks is on a mission – and this time it’s not all burpees and HIIT workouts. In his new Channel 4 documentary, Joe Wicks : Licensed to Kill, the nation’s favourite Body Coach is stepping into controversial territory – the dangerous reality of ultra-processed foods. The idea first came from Dr Chris van Tulleken’s bestselling book, Ultra Processed People. Joe admits although he’s not much of a reader due to his poor attention span – he still devoured Chris’ book. “I read Chris’s book and it blew my mind,” Joe says, “It was really intriguing and shocking. It definitely made me question things and be curious to look more into this,” he says. When Joe finally met Chris, he was starstruck. The pair ended up in a makeshift Breaking Bad -style lab, where they experimented with ingredients for their new show. “When I met him, I was just excited to see him,” Joe says. “The reason I’m doing this is because I feel like I’m going to translate his message to an audience.” That message? That the vast majority of the foods filling supermarket shelves are harming us more than we realise. And Joe wants Britain to wake up. “Chris is the expert in this whole thing,” Joe says. “I’m really on the journey with viewers, learning about these ingredients and the evidence that suggests that these are linked to stroke, early death, gut health issues, anxiety, depression, all kinds of things. It’s a big issue.” To drive the point home, Joe created his own ultra-processed product for the show – a protein bar with a terrifying twist. On one side of the packaging, there’s a smiling and healthy Joe. Flip it over and you see a deathly ill version of him with the Grim Reaper in tow. “I called it the ‘Killer’ bar,” Joe says, “It’s a really great vehicle to discuss this topic. The idea is to sell this product to highlight the completely relaxed laws on putting these ingredients into our foods and selling them to consumers.” But this isn’t just a stunt. Joe has real change in mind. “The end dream is to get these warnings on foods and to give the consumers the truth about the foods we’re eating,” Joe insists. His inspiration comes from abroad. In 2016, Chile passed strict food labelling laws that forced black, octogonal warning labels onto ultra-processed products, banned their sale in schools and restricted advertising to children. Other South American countries including Colombia , Uruguay and Peru have followed suit. Joe insists on his end goal: “To put pressure on the government to change the legislation policy but also put health warnings on these foods.” Joe knows the risks. Once the Killer Bar is out, it could easily blow up – but he plans to keep it firmly under control. “We’re going to make it quite difficult (to get),” Joe says, “You won’t see it in your petrol stations alongside the other brands you might recognise. But I’m not trying to demonise.” Licensed to Kill is a personal mission for Joe. Growing up, money was scarce. “When I grew up as a kid, we had a very low income. We did eat these foods,” he remembers, “That’s where my passion for this comes from.” As a father of four to daughters Indie and Leni and sons Marley and Dusty, Joe has seen first-hand how addictive these products really are. “These foods are addictive, when you give it to toddlers, you see how they react,” Joe says. “Sugar’s addictive and the combination of sugar, fat and salt in these products is really hard to eat in moderation. And they know that.” Joe admits he wavered during filming. “I doubt myself because I’m doubting whether I really need to sell it,” he admits. But ultimately, the bigger picture kept him focused. He knows criticism could be on the cards. “I’m sure I’m going to get backlash,” he says, “But when you’re trying to be bold and campaign about something, you’ve got to be willing to stick your head above the water. Some people will find this difficult to process but I have to focus on the positive impact it will have.” Once known for getting the nation moving during lockdown, Joe is now waking everyone up to a tough reality. And he’s hoping Britain will finally listen. Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .