Candace Cameron Bure is best known for portraying the character of DJ Tanner on the hit sitcom, Full House (1987-95). The series, which helped launch the careers of many of its stars, was beloved for its portrayal of the Tanner family and their antics following the death of their matriarch, Pam.
On a recent episode of Pod Meets World, hosted by former Boy Meets World (1993-2000) cast members Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle and Rider Strong, Bure opened up about the awkwardness she felt filming one particular episode of Full House, which centered around DJ’s desire to lose weight.
Full House
Full House aired on ABC from 1987-95. Starring John Stamos as Jesse Katsopolis and Bob Saget as the widowed Danny Tanner, its cast also featured Candace Cameron Bure, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Lori Loughlin, Dave Coulier and Jodie Sweeten.
While not a mega-driver when it came to ratings, the series had enough people tuning in each week to allow it to run for eight full seasons. Some likened it to The Brady Bunch (1969-74), while others simply enjoyed that it presented a quirky American family whom they could, on some level, relate to.
In 2016, Netflix premiered Fuller House (2016-20), a sequel series to the original run. While not as popular as the original, largely due to what viewers felt was a move away from the content that made Full House so endearing, the hype around the show allowed it to run for five seasons. Aside from the Olsen twins, the majority of the original cast returned in some capacity.
Candace Cameron Bure gets candid about one particular episode
While appearing on Pod Meets World, Candace Cameron Bure revealed she took issue with one particular episode of Full House. Titled “Shape Up,” it centered around TJ Tanner’s desire to lose weight, which she aims to achieve by subjecting herself to a week-long crash diet.
According to Bure, who would have been in her mid-teens at the time, the production team approached her and her parents about the episode before filming began, to make sure they were okay with it.
“They actually talked to my mom and dad, and they talked to me and said, ‘Would you feel comfortable if we wrote an episode like this?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, sure,'” the actor revealed. “But when you’re in it and doing it, it feels a little awkward.”
Losing weight between seasons of Full House
Candace Cameron Bure continued to discuss how her weight was approached during the production of Full House, mentioning the reaction she received when she’d lost 20 pounds between seasons, “They thought it was so great and they were like, ‘Oh, on the opening titles, why don’t we have you on an exercise bike, like just to promote that?'”
She added that, at the time, she didn’t think it “was bad,” saying, “I mean, I really put a lot of hard work and effort into losing 20 pounds.”
Candace Cameron Bure got candid about growing up in the public eye
Prior to their discussion about the “Shape Up” episode of Full House, Candace Cameron Bure and the hosts of Pod Meets World discussed what it was like growing up in the public eye, with Bure commenting on how it made her feel when people she didn’t know commented on her weight.
“I was always the chubby-cheeked girl and a lot of people loved that I was,” she said. “And I can look back and go like, I was just a normal, average girl. And yet you meet people and they’re like, ‘You’re so much thinner in person.'” She added, “Of course, as a teenager, you feel that insecurity whether you’re on television or not. It gets magnified when you are, so those ages were a little bit more awkward for me.”
In the past, Bure has been open regarding her past struggles with bulimia nervosa, telling fellow sitcom star Mayim Bialik in 2022, “Food is still something that’s a comfort for me but also a battle for me.”
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She added, “I’ve gotten into a healthy place for the most part […] but I’m still very aware of it. And there’s days like, ‘Oh, this is a trigger for me. And if I pick this up to eat this, this is not going to end well.’ And then I have to consciously make a good choice.”