A HEREFORDSHIRE man hit the small screen in a Channel Four documentary series broadcast last week.

Matt Wilson, a sport physiologist, was featured in the Too Big to Walk? series, in which eight overweight contestants endured a marathon 500-mile walk from the south coast of England to Edinburgh.

Matt, who grew up in Herefordshire, had the role of pacing the team, helping with motivation techniques, teaching map reading skills and emphasising the importance of a good diet.

The four men and four women, aged between 20 and 44, each weighed up to 32 stones but walked for up to 12 hours a day in the eight-week challenge.

Matt said: "It was hugely difficult to motivate them as they all have their different problems.

"Some of these people are going to die unless they change their lifestyles and many displayed classic heart attack symptoms, such as high blood pressure."

Matt, a Wolverhampton University sport science graduate, now runs Harrow-based CRY CSC, the world's first dedicated centre for sports cardiology.

In 2003, the 27-year-old completed the Sahara desert Marathon des Sables and has completed in the Iron Man world championships, as well as taking part in 10 marathons and 80 triathlons.