Boyband star hiding a gruesome skin condition that he's kept secret for decades

Boyband star Callum Lapsley has played to sell-out crowds of screaming teanage girls during his time in the music industry.

As a member of Irish group, Nv, he and his band colleagues played on stage with global superstars like Westlife.

Now 43, Callum has always been gregarious, confident and outgoing and describes himself as the life and soul of the party.

But for more than two decades he has been hiding a devastating - and gruesome - skin condition.

His body is almost entirely covered in fatty bumps and lumps.

Callum Lapsley (left) with fellow Nv band members, who performed alongside Westlife (Irish Daily Mirror)

Callum and his boyband have performed with Westlife (Getty Images)

Callum said: "I think I was in my mid-20s, and I found a little lump on my arm.

"By the time 15 years came, I had 30 or 40 of them all over my body, varying from pea to grape-sized."

Desperate to finally end his skin hell, Callum is visiting The Bad Clinic and his journey is shown tonight on Quest Red.

In the 20 years he has been suffering from the skin condition, Callum has tried almost every treatment available.

So desperate to hide his skin condition, Callum is rarely seen in T-shirts and covers up with long sleeves.

Callum has hidden his condition for 20 years (Discovery)

Some of his lumps are the same size as kiwi fruits (Discovery)

One person he cannot hide them from is his wife, Laura who says: "It bothers him more than he lets on."

And now some of his lumps, which are worse on his arms, are the size of kiwi fruits.

He said: "It’s kind of depressing not knowing where they’re coming from or why they’re happening.

"You’re constantly finding new ones and because there are so many of them, you wonder if there’s anything dangerous in there."

To ease his worries, Callum pays a visit 152 Harley Street to see Dr Emma and to get some long overdue answers.

Desperate, Callum goes to see Dr Emma, who removes the worst of his lumps (Discovery)

Inspecting Callum’s lumps – which are found all over his body – Dr Emma instantly gets an idea of what they are.

She said: "They’re very squishy, doughy like. I mean, I would be playing with that all the time! They’ve all got their own consistency to them."

Callum's skin problems are caused by lipomas - fatty lumps under the skin.

Dr Emma said: "They’re just completely benign – in other words, not a cancer – growths within the fat cells."

Hands washed and scrubs on, Dr Emma gets to work by sitting Callum down and injecting the lumps with local aesthetic, ready for surgery.

One of the lumps even comes out as the shape of a shamrock (Discovery)

First she tackles the biggest lump by making a puncture wound to squeeze the lipoma out of Callum’s arm quickly and safely.

After making the initial incision, Dr Emma – who is Northern Irish herself – cannot believe her eyes when she squeezes the lipoma out and it emerges out of Callum’s arm in the shape of an Irish shamrock.

She said: "Oh my gosh, it’s a shamrock! Literally, it is a shamrock! Look at that!"

Callum is also shocked but manages to keep his sense of humour as Dr Emma continues to remove the worst lumps.

He said: "Well of course, I’m Irish."

Dr Emma carefully removes two more of Callum’s troublesome lipomas.

Despite only having some of his 30 lipomas removed, Callum breathes a sigh of relief.

He said: "Dr Emma did a great job. She made me feel so relaxed, the surgery was nice and easy so I’m absolutely delighted with it."

• The Bad Skin Clinic airs tonight at 10pm on Quest Red and the QuestOD app.