Celebrity panellist Claire Sweeney has been dropped by a dieting firm after admitting she lost 7lbs using a rival’s plan

Sweeney, 39, known for her role as a panellist on the Loose Women show, had been set to sign what was believed to be a lucrative deal with weight-loss company Go Lower.

However, the Edinburgh-based firm has ditched Sweeney following an appearance on the cover of the latest magazine from WeightWatchers.

In its October cover story, titled ‘How I stay at a healthy and happy 10st’, Sweeney claims her shedding of pounds during the filming of the forthcoming BBC1 series Candy Cabs was thanks to the points system used by WeightWatchers.  This caused infuriated Go Lower executives to ditch their new role model, who rose to prominence in the Channel 4 series Brookside, particularly after Sweeney had previously informed a different magazine – Closer – that her weight loss was due to the Go Lower program.

In the feature article inside the WeightWatchers magazine, Sweeney said she was so happy with her trim new figure that she had even encouraged her mum to sign up. The glamorous TV star said that by sticking to the 18 points values every day she was delighted with the resulted for her 5ft 8in figure, adding that her mother’s recent complaints about her own weight issues had led to her signing up Sweeney senior to the WeightWatchers system last week. She also suggested that she was looking for a toy boy for whom to have kids with.

The Crown Estate has shortlisted bids for part of London’s fashionable West End.

Crown Estate, the property manager of the British monarchy, has collected a shortlist of hopeful bidders for an asset stake in around 25 per cent of Regent Street, the historic shopping strip in the trendy inner-west district of the capital.

A limited number of bidders will be part of detailed discussions ahead of the partial sale of the street according to a statement released by the management group today, although the identity of the bidders has been kept a secret. The strip in question has been part of ancestral land and property holdings that were originally exchanged by the monarchy back in 1760 for annual payments.

Several pension fund and sovereign wealth funds are believed to be vying for the area in question, which marks the second time that the Crown Estate has attempted to generate income towards a redevelopment of Regent Street worth around £750 million ($1.15 billion). An attempt to create a fund to off sell units was blocked by the corporate board in 2009 after it was labelled overly complex.

The district of Regent Street, situated between Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus, is the biggest asset for the Crown Estate, recently valued at £1.6 billion. The estate owns the freehold rights to Regent Street, which was one of London’s largest ever construction projects, completed in 1825. Since then, some of the biggest global companies have made their home on the street, which separates trendy Soho from blue-chip Mayfair, including Hamleys, Burberry and Apple.

Stacey, ‘Fergie’, Ferguson, has once again gone blonde.

The Black Eyed Peas singer, a long-time brunette, has decided that the old maxim ‘blondes have more fun’ still rings true.

The new look for the iconic songstress coincides with a her partnership with leading cosmetics company Avon, for which Fergie is a spokeswoman. The sultry diva joins the likes of Nicole Richie, Katherin Heigl and Sarah Jessica Parker in sporting the look that gentlemen apparently prefer, showcasing the lighter locks in her role as an ambassador for Avon’s Advanced Techniques haircare brand. Fergie also has a new perfume, after earlier this month she launched the new fragrance with Avon called ‘Outspoken’.

The BEP lead singer will show off her new do in an upcoming music video for legendary rocker Slash, where she is featured on the single ‘Beautiful Dangerous’, which both the music heavyweights recently celebrated live onstage with Fergie joining the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist turned soloist in concert.

In another development with fashion staple Avon, Fergie has also been unveiled as one of the judges on the forthcoming Avon Voices global singing competition, which will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the cosmetics giant. She will be joined by Dianne Warren in finding the next female superstar, with details of the competition available on the Avon website. Whoever is nominated will have some major shoes to step into, with the gorgeous Fergie idolised by millions for her performances in BEP videos such as ‘My Humps’.

The end of an era in fashion as Kate Moss leaves the leading high street retailer.

Supermodel Kate Moss has designed her last regular range for the fashion giant run by Sir Philip Green, ending a successful four-year partnership.

Topshop has confirmed that the 14th collection from Moss, the upcoming autumn/winter collection, will be her swansong, although she may feature in a number of one-off designs in the future according to parent company Arcadia, who also owns fellow fashion outlets Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and Bhs.

Industry insiders claim that the separation has been amicable, highlighted by the opening of the New York flagship store last April when Moss and Sir Philip appeared side by side. It is understood that the considerable amount of time required to put a collection together was the main reason for the departure of Moss, who has chosen to concentrate on other opportunities. Only recently, Ms Moss appeared on the cover of British Vogue magazine, marking the incredible 30th time in her career she has graced the iconic magazine.

The four-year collaboration with Topshop, considered to be a lengthy relationship in the fashion industry, was believed to have netted Moss around £3 million per year. She was snapped up by Sir Philip in 2005 after the tabloid scandal which featured photos of her snorting cocaine, when many thought her career was over. Her last collection will be released in October.

Leading music and enytertainment group HMV has announced the launch of a new fashion arm.

HMV will partner with Boxfresh and Lee as it enters the world of fashion retail, the latest phase of the group’s evolution into what calls a ‘broad based entertainment brand’.

The move will see HMV stores add a dedicated fashion section in their stores, to be called ‘The Studio’. These will feature predominantly menswear and accessories from well known brands including FLY53, Lee Jeans, Boxfresh and Eastpak, and are set to debut on September 1.HMV’s Oxford Street London flagship store will also feature items from Rocawear, the designer label from hip-hop star Jay-Z. UK rapper Kano will also be involved in the new initiative, along with the indie band Everything Everything, who are brand ambassadors for Boxfresh and Lee respectively. It is understood that both artists will make live, in-store appearances to celebrate the launch of the new fashion direction.
 
The entertainment group said that it sees itself as the perfect outlet for which to capitalise on the crossover between the music and fashion industries, claiming that the fashion foray was a natural progression.

The new clothing range will also feature online at the e-commerce site run by HMV, with the possibility of making an appearance at stalls run by the group at music and festival sites. Richard Stockwell, the HMV fashion manager, said that the two genres over-lapped each other strongly, making HMV the perfect fit to showcase both.