Janice Battersby Becomes Unlikely Fitness Guru

Coronation Street bigmouth Janice Battersby has become Britain's unlikeliest exercise guru after topping the fitness DVD charts.

Actress Vicky Entwistle, who plays Janice in the ITV1 soap, is outselling nearest rival Jade Goody by three to one at Tesco.

She made her Weight Off Workout DVD after shedding two-and-a-half stone on a diet and fitness programme - dropping from a size 16 to a tiny size six.

Tesco spokeswoman Gemma Kirkham said: "British dieters are going crazy for Vicky's fitness DVD, which is streets ahead of the rest of the pack.

"Vicky appeals to ordinary people because of her fantastic weight loss recently. And because of her down-to-earth role in Coronation Street she's far more believable than skinny model types who used to bring out fitness DVDs."

Entwistle, 38, was spurred on to lose weight after seeing an unflattering paparazzi photograph of herself on the beach in Barbados. She turned to Jordan's personal trainer Richard Callender for help.

After embarking on an exercise regime and cutting out crisps, biscuits and take-aways, she lost two-and-a-half stone in just three months.

"I'm absolutely gobsmacked how much I've lost," she said. "My whole outlook has changed. I feel so much healthier and it's great to be able to buy nice clothes. I feel like a different person.

"I was always the fat ugly one from Corrie - but not any more."

Also doing well in the DVD stakes is former Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus. The singer is sixth in the Tesco chart with her diet and fitness plan.

Once weighing in at 23 stone, she has lost 10 stone thanks to health eating guru Gillian McKeith.

Other celebrities in the New Year chart include former Brookside star Jennifer Ellison, Fat Friends actress Gaynor Faye and singer-turned-Coronation Street barmaid Kym Ryder.

"During January, fitness DVDs are so popular they even outsell many Hollywood blockbuster films as people who piled on the pounds over Christmas feel too ashamed to show off their bellies in the gym and prefer to exercise at home," said Kirkham.

"There has been a huge increase in fitness DVD titles this year, with even minor celebrities getting in on the act."