Diet pickle for Dr Phil

The popular daytime TV host hawks his son’s diet books on his show. Inside the McGraws’ cosy clan. Pat Wingert and Aram Roston report

THE packed audience on the Dr Phil show is hungry for advice. It is four days after Thanksgiving 2010, not long before the next holiday season of heavy feasting is to begin.

Phil McGraw, the folksy host, is dressed in a light grey double-breasted suit, impeccably tailored to fit his brawny 6-foot-4 frame. He stands behind a festive holiday table laden with desserts. “Bad news,” he warns the crowd as the hour long show begins. “You could gain 12 pounds during the holidays. Twelve pounds!”