Jessica Fostekew takes to the toilet to tackle the 'Great British Poo Taboo'.

Jessica Fostekew has filmed this video for Holland & Barrett, the health and wellness retailer, following a poll revealing over half (58 per cent) of people have experienced gut health issues, with 45 per cent of those admitting the issues are chronic (lasting three months or more), but 58 per cent are too embarrassed to talk about the 'taboo' subject. As a result, over a quarter (26 per cent) of respondents choose to ignore their declining digestive health.

The intimate 'sit-down' show aims to help people listen to and improve their gut health. The show has been designed for loo viewing, where the research has revealed 57 per cent of people can be found scrolling on their phone.

The 'Great British Poo Taboo' means the public are tolerating anything from bloating and gas (51 per cent) and constipation (33 per cent) to acid reflux (30 per cent) and diarrhoea (28 per cent) - and it doesn't stop there. The new research has revealed that 37 per cent have suffered with severe symptoms for as long as three years, with a third (30 per cent) saying that symptoms have worsened over the past 12 months.

Jessica Fostekew says: "Like many, I've experienced the odd gut health grumble. I haven't always known what's going on in there or where to seek help. So being able to work on this campaign and find out more about how our guts affect our whole wellbeing has been fascinating. Who knew our guts are the new eighth wonder of the world!? This is a really important thing to be shouting about because it affects every single one of us but it's something lots of us still rarely think about. Also, however clever we comedians pretend to be, it is our secret dream-come-true to be asked to tell a whole set of poo jokes."

Alex Glover, Senior Nutritionist at Holland & Barrett, comments: "At H&B we're on a mission to break the poo taboo, and we have trained gut health experts in every H&B store, to provide personalised advice and solutions, and we also offer free 1-2-1 online consultations, at a time that is convenient to our customers. As well as our expert guidance, we're so confident in our products we're offering our customers a 90-day gut health challenge, so they can try one of our recommended products and if they don't feel the difference after 90 days, receive their money back."

The wellness retailer has created an online hub of information with advice and tips for those wanting to know more: www.hollandandbarrett.com