'Weak and frail': BBC The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman's long-running health issue which left body 'crumpled'

The star, who also presents BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, has talked about her ongoing struggles with a type of back pain which has significantly impacted her daily life and left her feeling more than 20 years older than she is.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, the TV host and mum-of-three candidly shared that she often feels "crumpled" and physically drained throughout most of her day because of L4 L5 back pain. The L4 and L5 are the two lowest vertebrae of the lumbar spine, according to Spine Health. The L4-L5 spinal motion segment provides a variety of functions, including supporting the upper body and allowing trunk motion in multiple directions.

She told Norton: "I'm 52, and I feel 75. I always do my back in. I've never exercised, and I have no core. I'm weak and frail, and I live on Hula Hoops.”

She went on to discuss a particularly challenging period she recently experienced while filming the last series of The Traitors, during which she sustained an injury that meant she needed medical attention. She underwent extensive physiotherapy in an effort to alleviate her discomfort.

“I'm in the Highlands filming for Traitors, and there's quite a lot of standing around. It's an uneven floor; if you are 52, you get it, and my back went. I begged the head of production for physio,” she said. "The next day, a man arrives and starts working on my back. . . who said, 'I'm a vet and an animal physio'. . . He was excellent. He sorted me. I've got L4 L5, I'm just crumpled."

She explained that she hasn’t “stood up straight" for 52 years because of the condition, and added that she's also been working with a Pilates instructor to hopefully improve her posture.

She further spoke about her back issue recently on Gabby Logan's podcast, sharing: "My body is made entirely of crepe. [I'm] falling apart. I've got a bad back, and I need some form of strength. You know what I mean? I've got my core,” she said.

"They talked to me about parts of my body. They said, 'The problem is you've never used your lats'. I was like, 'What is that?'. So my shoulders are up by my neck. . . And I don't like the look of people standing up straight. It feels somehow cocky, so my stance has always been like a turtle.

“I've now got so many backbones. So I go to Pilates and they try and open me up. When they open me up and I sit or stand like I'm supposed to, like that, it feels alien."

In addition to her back issues, Winkleman provided an update on her chronic eye condition, myopia. Short-sightedness, or myopia as it's known medically, affects numerous individuals' ability to clearly see objects at a distance, as stated by the NHS.

The presenter has previously said that her eye condition has caused her to bump into walls, stopped her from driving, as well as causing challenges with reading. Despite undergoing surgery twice to correct her vision, she acknowledged that difficulties are still present, especially with reading.