Table of contents for 7 - 2016 in Best

It’s that time. Time to put a bit of spring back in our step, shake off what’s seemed like a very long winter and embrace the slightly longer days. If the anticipation of sunshine around the corner is making you rethink your wardrobe, turn to our edit of the best of the high street for some inspiration (p28). We’ve picked pieces that start from just a tenner – so no need to splash the cash to make an immediate impact! Still struggling to lose that last 7lb? Turn to p48 for our easy belly blitz diet and follow a plan to suit your shape. Or, for a cheat’s tip, we’ve got the ultimate figure-flattering frocks on p58. Complete your look with a beauty masterclass on making dark, tired eyes sparkle…

Queen of the Naughty Step Jo Frost has always had a ‘fuller’ figure – a big part of her bubbly, no-nonsense on-screen persona. But it looks like the TV nanny (Prince William’s favourite childcare expert, as the royal dad confessed) has acquired quite a bit of extra weight recently. Since the Londoner was plucked from obscurity in 2004 (she was a nanny in real life before starring in Supernanny on Channel 4), Jo’s flaunted her generous curves with confidence. After a decade of TV shows, both here and across the Atlantic, Jo moved permanently to the US. And a recent appearance on Good Morning America last month revealed that her weight has really stepped up since then. The United States is the land of massive portion sizes. Perhaps Jo’s dramatic…

‘Spending time with her is the best thing I’ve ever done’ While Matt LeBlanc wowed audiences with his carefree portrayal of ladies’ man Joey Tribbiani in hit comedy Friends, nobody could have predicted the sadness that was awaiting him when the final episode aired in 2004. Following the phenomenal success of the sitcom, which earned the 48-year-old actor £670,000 per episode, his life took a downward spiral when his daughter, Marina, was diagnosed with cortical dysplasia, a condition which affects the brain, bones and motor skills. Matt recalls the magical moment when he first held his baby girl. ‘I remember when Marina was born. The second I laid eyes on her, I was in love, and I had never felt that way before. I couldn’t believe it. I knew from…

No mum ever likes to hear their child being unfairly criticised. So when my four-year-old boy, Jack, brought home a letter that said he was ‘overweight’, I was upset – and completely shocked. More than that, I couldn’t believe it. He was healthy and active and, along with his three sisters, he never sits still. I was also furious because I know the impact being labelled ‘fat’ can have on a young mind. As a teenager, I was weighed by a school nurse and discovered my body mass index [BMI] showed that I was considered overweight. I’ll never forget the day the nurse measured my height and weight, when I was 14 years old. She hadn’t said anything, but I’d made a note of my measurements, too. Later, using a…

THIS WEEK... What on earth is going on with Channel 4’s reality TV show, The Jump? Every challenge has got more extreme. It’s just too dangerous – and this series has proved it. The latest star to crash out of the show is Made In Chelsea’s Mark-Francis Vandelli, after fracturing his ankle. Actress Tina Hobley fractured her arm, former swimmer Rebecca Adlington dislocated her shoulder and Linford Christie, actor Sid Owen and actress Louisa Lytton have all hurt themselves. Poor Beth Tweddle suffered the worst injury of all – she broke her back crashing into a safety barrier. She is still in hospital having had major surgery. Thankfully, reports say her chances of a full recovery are good, but to think she risked being paralysed for a reality TV show!…

THIS WEEK... PRICE MATCHING Price promises are cropping up all over the place, and whilst they can be really beneficial for consumers, beware, as they all have sneaky get-out clauses, and Tesco even recently scrapped theirs completely! They used to offer a Price Promise, but now offer a Brand Guarantee, where they compare the cost of branded grocery shopping against what it would have cost to purchase the same items at Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. The difference will then be deducted from your final bill. COMPARE AND CONTRAST To know whether you are getting a good deal, you can head to mySupermarket.co.uk, which finds your basket of groceries for the cheapest price across 13 retailers (including Aldi, although they don’t deliver... yet). You can then place your order at the…

Your new, film, How To Be Single, is set in New York, depicted as a city full of lonely hearts. Tell us about your character Robin… She’s the eternally single girl who knows what she wants. She has the best life in the best city in the world [New York]. She drinks, parties, has one-night stands and dances up a storm, without any of the baggage of a relationship. You are very, very funny. Did you have much input into her character? Thanks. I try. Christian Ditter, the director, is very German, very technical. He’d never done a comedy before, so we’d start improvising and he’d say, ‘Just stick to the script.’ But I like to make things up and throw in jokes. Did you make your family laugh a…

Both these sets of clues lead to the same answers, revealing in the shaded squares a film starring Ryan Gosling (3,3,5) WIN £550 STRAIGHT CLUES ACROSS 1 Green vegetables (8) 5 Press chief (6) 10 Dining seat (5) 11 Skills (9) 12 Physically industrious (9) 13 Licit (5) 14 Compass point (4) 15 Medicine amounts (5) 18 Publish, distribute (5) 20 Slender (4) 22 Detested (5) 24 Suspends (9) 26 Said (9) 27 Asian country (5) 28 Most pleasant (6) 29 Remote (8) DOWN 1 Bikes (6) 2 Arm bangles (9) 3 Fine, good enough (7) 4 Precise (5) 6 Made round holes (7) 7 Object, article (5) 8 Fidgety (8) 9 Circular plate (4) 16 Botanist or biologist, e.g. (9) 17 Four squared plus two (8) 19 Never ceasing (7)…

1 IS LIAM STILL SINGLE? SEVEN YEARS AFTER HIS WIFE NATASHA’S DEATH IN A TRAGIC SKIING ACCIDENT, Liam Neeson, 63, announced last week that he was dating a ‘really famous woman’. Unsurprisingly, the rumour mill went into overdrive about who the lucky lady could be. Susan Sarandon was the firm favourite, followed by Uma Thurman and even Kristen Stewart. But days later, Liam’s agent responded to the rumours saying they were ‘stupid’ and ‘meaningless’. Was he joking? Time will tell. 2 SEEING DOUBLE IT’S THE SHOW EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT! The People V OJ Simpson began last night on BBC Two, 9pm, with an A-list cast including John Travolta and David Schwimmer as defence attorneys Robert Shapiro and Robert Kardashian, and Cuba Gooding Jr as the sports star accused of murdering his…

‘Those awful thoughts were fighting their way to the front of my mind’ Ask how Eamonn is doing following his double hip op, and the look that spreads across Ruth Langsford’s face is one of relief. ‘I don’t want to make it sound worse than it was – I know for any family facing any kind of major surgery, the stress levels are high,’ she begins, ‘But so is the relief when the operation is over and successful – it’s like a high.’ ‘I can only imagine the pain Eamonn has been in, not feel it, though. I could see it etched on his face. It was awful – so to know he’s going to be pain-free is fantastic. ‘He’s dealing with some discomfort and that’s not pleasant but it’s…

Two shows potentially facing the axe is bad news Is X Factor facing the chop? Simon Cowell’s record label, Syco, has flatly denied it, but the rumour mill is in overdrive. And Simon’s scruffy appearance is adding fuel to the fire. Gone are the crisp white shirts and immaculate black (if rather high-waisted) trousers. Last week, the music mogul left the Britain’s Got Talent auditions wearing a sloppy grey tracksuit, trainers and gripping a bottle of beer. He had a briefcase but, frankly, Simon looked anything but ready for business. And it’s not like this is the TV star’s only dishevelled outing of late. Days earlier, the 56-year-old turned up to the British Asian Trust Annual Dinner in London an hour-and-a-half after Prince Charles and Camilla, wearing a shirt almost…

THIS WEEK... WORKING ON WELLNESS BEST OF INTENTIONS Eamonn: Belfast boy George Best was a footballing legend, and one of the first ‘celebrity’ sportsmen. He was a star at Manchester United at just 17, married a beautiful model and was treated like a god wherever he went. It seemed he had the world at his feet, but his battle with booze took over and cost him his career, his marriage, his son and, finally, his life. Growing up the child of an alcoholic is difficult – Calum Best had to deal with that AND cope with the media pressure of living in his father’s shadow. Ruth: He’s now a Patron of NACOA, the National Association for Children Of Alcoholics, a charity which helps some of the 1.3 million children in…

It’s official, we are the fattest nation in Europe, and Jamie Oliver has fought for years to give our kids a fighting chance of being healthier. It started with his school dinner campaign and now the dad-of-four is taking absolutely no prisoners in his crusade against sugary drinks and snacks. He wants sweet treats to carry a new symbol – a teaspoon, with the amount of sugar clearly visible. And our favourite celebrity chef says he’s acting as ‘a parent, not a politician’ – to Poppy, 13, Daisy Boo, 12, Petal, six, and Buddy, four – when he says he’s going to get ‘very upset’ if the Government doesn’t slap a 20 per cent tax on sugar in its upcoming anti-obesity strategy. If the measures do not go as far…

Garden tagliatelle Here pasta is mixed with fresh vegetables in a tasty tomato sauce to make a sustaining but healthy dish. SERVES 6 • 350g (12oz) tagliatelle • 2tbsp olive oil • 350g (12oz) mixed yellow and green courgettes, sliced • 200g (7oz) button mushrooms, sliced • 50g (2oz) Parmesan cheese, grated, to serve FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE • 2tbsp olive oil • 1 large onion, chopped • 3 garlic cloves, crushed • 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes • 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped • A pinch of sugar • 1 small bunch of basil, chopped, plus garnish • Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 First make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and garlic and fry over a mediumhigh heat…

Peter Andre reveals why he stopped drinking after his brother’s death three years ago, and why Strictly may be his last appearance on reality TV… Peter, you’re 43 this month, and you lost your brother to kidney cancer three years ago, when he was just 54. Does that make you worry a lot more about your health nowadays? Yes, it does. When my brother Andrew died, I stopped drinking altogether. I’m not saying alcohol is bad… in moderation, almost everything is OK. But when you lose someone so close to you, it affects you – you start to look at yourself more closely. I used to have the occasional cigarette but I don’t now, because doctors said smoking was at the heart of Andrew’s problem. I still like my food…

We saw Pam struggle to cope with her husband's cross-dressing when he unveiled his alter ego, Christine, last year. Do you think Pam can ever put that behind her? I don’t know. Obviously, Pam loves her husband and is desperately trying to make a fresh start but, try as she might, she can’t shake the image of Christine out of her head. Poor pam: Her whole inside is shaking. She’s split between her love for Les (played by Roger Sloman) and the overwhelming embarrassment she felt, meeting Christine in front of her grandson, Paul. Seeing his cross-dressing through someone else’s eyes bounced her into reality. We’re going to see Les set fire to all of Christine’s dresses and wigs tonight as a declaration of his love for pam: Will that…

Most of us have complained about a roll of fat around our middles at some point, and it’s a fact that the stomach area is the first place to show weight gain. But belly bloat isn’t always just a sign you’ve over-indulged: the apple shape can be due to a rush of sugar, and is often the result of drinking alcohol – as the body finds it hard to break down the toxins it contains, so stores it around the waist until it can – while stress can be a major cause of bloating. But, once you know what’s causing the problem, you can start to solve it – repeat the two-day plans and you could lose 3lb in five days... THE BOOZE BELLY Are you on a diet, but…

Whatever your shape, you’ll turn heads in the right dress – and the choice is better than ever for those who prefer not to bare their arms. Look for detailing on the arms, or bellsleeve designs. COLOUR-POP COURTS Step into spring with a new pair of shoes. TIMELESS TUNIC Style and comfort are combined in an easy-towear tunic dress with a V-neck that works well if you’re busty. Instead of playing it safe with black or neutral shades, opt for cobalt blue, which lifts all skin tones. All in all, a great wardrobe staple. Dress, £55, Oliver Bonas A WINNING WRAP A classy classic that suits all figures. The clever two-tone print draws attention to your top half to balance out your shape, and the waist tie is another flattering…

Nude and improved M&S Autograph All In One in Mink, £6 A sophisticated nude with argan oil to nourish. Rimmel London 60 Seconds Super Shine in Caramel Cupcake, £2.99 Shimmery for a glossy effect that’s pale and very interesting. Bourjois 1 Seconde in Greige, £5.99 A fat brush + speedy formula = your fastest mani yet. Nailberry L’Oxygéné in Au Naturel, £14.50 Free from nasties, a classic, workappropriate colour that’s kind to nails. Pastel perfection Mavala in Petunia, £4.75 The ultimate classic, this candy-coloured lacquer is a spring staple. W7 in Sheer Mauve, £4.95 Avoid a chalky streaky pastel with this delicate shade. Orly Lacquer in Trendy, £10.50 A soft but wearable peach, particularly flattering on pale skin. Gel: Avon Gel Shine in Rain Washed, £7 (out in March) A…

‘I’d never had surgery before and, like anyone, I would have liked to have left it that way. But I left it that way for too long! Day-to-day life was increasingly limited. I couldn’t walk the dog, or watch my youngest lad play sport from the sidelines, or stand at parties, or go shopping, I couldn’t put my own shoes or socks on – that task fell to Ruth or a particularly odd-looking, but effective device called a Soxon – which does just that! I was getting a reputation for being anti-social, which I’m not. It just hurt too much. I’ve always been such an enthusiast for what I do, and it was hurting me in a different way to have to turn down projects that involved standing. The last…

The CBB star and ex-partner of football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson seems to think heavy makeup, sky-high heels and leopard-print are casual wear. If she ditched the shimmer tights and platforms, it’d be a start. Asked if she was a fashion victim, the Italian said, ‘Of course not! A fashion victim is caught by fashion – like a prison. I love fashion. I am not in a prison.’ Sounds like she’ll continue to delight us with more glorious fashion faux pas. Fantastic. The former Countdown queen ditched the librarian look and unleashed her inner sex kitten almost a decade ago. As soon as she quit the show in 2008 over a pay dispute, Carol began revealing some seriously stunning curves – and a whole new lust for clingy outfits. We’re all…

DERMATOLOGIST DR HADI ABUSHAIRA has made it his business to know everything there is to know about skin ageing, having treated clients for everything from psoriasis to acne. After more than 30 years’ experience, Dr Hadi developed the Vivderma range, specially designed to protect skin from environmental stress. Here, he shares his expert advice on looking after the skin around our eyes, whether your worry is wrinkles, bags or dark circles. How to perk up your peepers • Accept that some deterioration can’t be helped. For example, blinking, smiling and squinting causes wrinkles over time, while loss of fat takes away underlying support and results in sagging and hollows. And bear in mind that fairer skins are more prone to environmental and UV damage than other complexions. However, there are…

CINDY CRAWFORD SHIRT Instead of a classic T-shirt, copy Cindy and invest in a casual shirt, which looks elegant teamed with a pair of well-cut jeans. JEANS Dark, skinny jeans are more flattering than light and work well teamed with shades of grey, beige and navy. SUNGLASSES Round tortoiseshell sunglasses are a classic look and a great way to protect your eyes from early spring sunshine. BAG Cindy’s distinctive bag is by Louis Vuitton and roomy enough to carry all your weekend essentials. BOOTS A pair of natural boots will lighten your wardrobe as the season changes. The versatile colour not only works well with denim, you could also wear with a pair of off-white jeans later in the season. HITTING THE SHOPS A silky grandad shirt gives jeans and…

Hi, Sarah, the show has just started, but can you catch us up on where Sergeant Catherine Cawood is now? Well, it’s 18 months since we last saw her, and Tommy Lee Royce [played by War And Peace heart-throb James Norton] has been in prison for a year and a half. He was charged with three murders, so he’s in there for life, but in this episode he’s allowed out for a funeral and the pair meet again. Catherine found a body in episode one, and the rest of the story unravels from there. There has been a lot said about the violence in Happy Valley and whether it went too far in the last series. What do you think? For me, it’s an absolutely honest portrayal of what a…