A fake tan range or a budget fashion collection and innumerable sponsored social media posts are de rigueur for today’s starlet’s and influencers, but in the noughties the real mark of success was launching a weight loss DVD.
You weren’t a true success unless you were pictured on a beach spilling out of a too-small bikini only to appear again months later, looking toned and tiny in the same swimwear, and ready to spill the diet and fitness secrets that helped you transform.
Yet the trend came crashing down in 2018, when Scarlett’s SuperSlim Me Plan was exposed as a sham – with the Gogglebox star revealing that she’d survived on 700 calories a day at a Swiss boot camp to achieve her new look.
Now, Natalie Cassidy, a leader of the modern market after launching her first workout plan in 2007, has confessed: ‘The DVD wasn’t a good move for me – I did it for the money.’
Celebrities including Charlotte Crosby, Vicky Pattison and Lauren Goodger all followed the same path, and while some have stood by the advice they offered, others have admitted that it perhaps wasn’t quite so realistic.
Now, stars are more likely to sing the virtues of weight loss jabs, making fitness DVDs look like a relic of the past – but which plans had some merit, and who achieved their weight loss with a regime of utter misery that was impossible to stick to?
The celebrity workout DVD has long-been a staple of the showbiz world, yet the trend seemed ready to come to an almighty close in 2018, when Scarlett Moffatt’s DVD Scarlett’s Superslim Me Plan was exposed to be a sham
In 2007, EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy unveiled a workout DVD for which she lost four stone and released a second in 2013, which netted her £100k
NATALIE CASSIDY
– Then & Now, 2007
– The Perfect Ten, 2013
In 2007, EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy unveiled a workout DVD for which she lost four stone and released a second in 2013, which netted her £100,000.
She has now been candid that her fitness overhaul and weight loss were not related to her desire to promote health – but merely for money.
Natalie, who is best known for her role as Sonia Fowler on the soap since 1993 until her departure this year, admitted: ‘The DVD wasn’t a good move for me – I did it for the money’, before confessing she ‘can’t be bothered’ to maintain her lifestyle.
She said: ‘I’m now 42, and to be honest, I could be doing a bit more exercise at the moment, but I just can’t be bothered.
‘I think, if this is the size I’m meant to be, then I need to be happy with that. I don’t overeat. I enjoy my food…
She released her second DVD in 2013 – in a move she branded a mistake
‘I like a glass of wine. I like a packet of crisps, but you can’t do it every day. I think everything in moderation. If I go the other way and want to lose a lot of weight, my days aren’t as good.’
On promoting a healthy attitude towards food and exercise to her children, she said: ‘There’s so much pressure with image that I just try to put it into perspective and say to them, “You’re so lucky to be able to see, to be able to hear.”
‘As long as you’re not abusing yourself – drinking too much, overeating, you know – whatever shape we are, we’re just very lucky to be here.’
On Grace Dent’s Comfort Eating podcast, she admitted that as soon as she finished the DVD she turned her back on her healthy lifestyle.
She said: ‘I was very overweight and they approached me and said, “Listen, we’re going to give you £100,000, we’re going to get you really fit and you’re going to lose four stone”.
‘I got there, and as soon as that DVD came out, I ate for England. I put all the weight back on in eight weeks.’
Natalie now says: ‘As long as you’re not abusing yourself – drinking too much, overeating, you know – whatever shape we are, we’re just very lucky to be here.’ (Pictured: the soap star promoting her 2007 DVD)
SCARLETT MOFFATT
– Scarlett’s Superslim Me Plan, 2016
Scarlett Moffatt was at the heart of the famous DVD scandal, when the truth behind her means to lose 3st for her 2016 Scarlett’s Superslim Me Plan came to light
Scarlett Moffatt was at the heart of the famous DVD scandal, when the truth behind her means to lose 3st for her 2016 Scarlett’s Superslim Me Plan came to light.
The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here winner went from 11st 4lb to 8st which saw her drop from a dress size 18 to a petite size 8.
In unveiling the DVD, the Gogglebox star claimed to have lost the weight with the routines in her video alongside a 1,200 calories a day diet.
However messages came to light between Scarlett and her DVD choreographer David Souter showing she had allegedly lost the weight by jetting to a Swiss bootcamp, being forced to take diet pills and living on 700 calories a day.
Messages reportedly read: ‘He worked me to the max had me popping pills and I lost 0.4 of a pound. I said the drugs don’t work and he called me a t*t. Had me in tears yesterday, forcing me to take these tablets that were giving me heart palpitations.’
David later told The Sun On Sunday: ‘The messages about the pills were sent to me by Scarlett two days after she complained to me that she felt sick and had vomited after arriving in Switzerland.’
The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here winner went from 11st 4lb to 8st which saw her drop from a dress size 18 to a petite size 8
In unveiling the DVD, the Gogglebox star claimed to have lost the weight having used the routines in her video alongside consuming 1,200 calories a day
After the release of the messages, Scarlett’s representatives confirmed elements of the story – yet staunchly denied the star ever took pills.
Her team stated: ‘[Scarlett] did go to a boot camp and it was a horrid experience. She had to weigh herself every day and was put on a very low-calorie diet — but she categorically did not take any pills.’
She also admitted she ‘purposefully gained weight’ to discourage fans from buying her fitness DVD, following its release.
Scarlett confessed she deliberately piled on the pounds to discourage her fans from buying the release and branded the DVD the ‘worst thing I’ve ever done’.
She said: ‘I slowly realised it was quite detrimental to my mental health. I’ve also deleted all my before and after pictures…
Scarlett pictured in February
‘Not only were they bad for my peace of mind it wasn’t really good for other people because now I look like my before picture again. I sort of rebelled against the DVD because I just didn’t like how it happened and I just wasn’t for it anymore…
‘I purposefully started putting weight on. I was sort of like, ‘if I get big again it can’t get brought up’. I can’t have this stigma attached to me about this DVD and people will stop buying it.’
The Saturday Night Takeaway star went on to share she did cut down her food: ‘I think people thought I had been walking and rambling up mountains for six months but it wasn’t, I genuinely did just do those exercise [in the DVD] but obviously I had to cut out a lot of food from what I was normally eating.
‘I think now that is what I want to try to say to people: “Please don’t think that you can just own this DVD and then instantly you can lose that amount of weight, it is a lot of pressure and it is a lot of work”.’
She has confessed she is much happier in her own skin now
VICKY PATTISON
– Vicky Pattison’s 7 Day Slim, 2013
Geordie Shore star Vicky jumped on the workout DVD trend in 2013, when she went from a size 16 to a size 6, allegedly with the use of her 7 Day Slim workout
Geordie Shore star Vicky jumped on the workout DVD trend in 2013, when she went from a size 16 to a size 6, allegedly with the use of her 7 Day Slim workout.
In the face of Scarlett’s scandal, she conceded the lifestyle was ‘not sustainable’ – yet blamed her extreme mentality rather than her DVD.
She said: ‘I can’t argue with you. It makes perfect sense. For me, being a size 6 was amazing, for a while. But there’s not an awful lot of Pop-Tarts and prosecco involved when you’re a size 6 and I can’t live life without them.’
She added: ‘It’s completely subjective and everyone’s different. The one thing I will say about fitness DVDs is they give an amazing entry point into fitness, into health and nutrition, for some women who probably are a bit intimidated of gyms, who are scared, so for that reason I will say they can be good.’
Vicky admitted she was ‘unhappy’ in the throes of her health kick – admitting she was too thin and unhappy, having become ‘obsessed’ with her weight.
In the face of Scarlett’s scandal, Vicky conceded the lifestyle was ‘not sustainable’ – yet blamed her extreme mentality rather than her DVD
Vicky is now a body confidence advocate, with her Instagram filled with positivity (pictured earlier this year)
Of the suggestion DVD plans aren’t sustainable, she said: ‘I can’t argue with you. It makes perfect sense. For me, being a size 6 was amazing, for a while’
She said: ‘I’ve also been really honest about that all the way through and I don’t blame the fitness DVD for that either, that’s just who I am.
‘If I am exercising, if I’m eating right, I am going to be doing it for like hours a day, drinking kale smoothies and giving birth to avocados. That’s the type of person I am. Also, if I’m on a night out, I’m on a night out – I’m quite extreme.’
In the wake of comments about the DVD scandals, her spokesperson said: ‘Vicky has been open and honest about her weight battles. She has also been very vocal about the potential dangers surrounding quick weight-loss methods, including fitness DVDs.
‘This doesn’t, however, take away the positive results that thousands of real women achieved from following her DVD.’
Vicky did however – unwittingly or not – come to blows with her former Geordie Shore co-star Charlotte Crosby, when she commented on her 2013 3 Minute Belly Blitz and 2015 3 Minute Bum Blitz DVDs.
While appearing on Lorraine, the TV legend – who has released a workout DVD of her own – said: ‘There shouldn’t be air brushing and people making claims you can’t use, I don’t know 3 stone…’
Vicky then quickly added: ‘In three minutes,’ appearing to reference Charlotte’s 3 Minute Belly Blitz workouts.
Charlotte later hit back, insisting the names were not misleading.
She has shared images of her frail figure and spoken about her obsessive dieting
CHARLOTTE CROSBY
– Charlotte Crosby’s 3 Minute Belly Blitz, 2013
– Charlotte’s 3 Minute Bum Blitz, 2015
Charlotte Crosby insisted she had never gone to extremes with her own workouts
In the face of the storm around Scarlett’s DVD, Charlotte Crosby insisted she had never gone to extremes with her own workouts.
Charlotte told The Sun: ‘I have never over exercised and I don’t starve myself – I never did, not even through the DVD process.
‘I never felt the pressure to lose weight, definitely not – I had a totally different experience to Scarlett…
‘I have obviously been able to keep the weight off because I did it very normally and I did it by the book; it’s just strange.
‘I don’t know what it was like for Scarlett – everyone feels differently about it. Some people struggle.’
Charlotte told The Sun: ‘I have never over exercised and I don’t starve myself – I never did, not even through the DVD process. I never felt the pressure to lose weight, definitely not – I had a totally different experience to Scarlett’
Charlotte’s DVD became the best-selling release in 15 years
Charlotte’s DVD became the best-selling release in 15 years.
Following Vicky’s comments about the ‘3 Minute’ title, Charlotte later said in 2018: ‘Well she had an exercise DVD that said 7 Days Slim. You definitely can’t have a slim body after seven days.’
‘So I think Vicky and I both know that the titles of our DVD are just meant to be eye- catching and really it was three minute sections, like hers was a seven day workout.
‘So I’m not going to get nasty. I am sure Vicky just got confused.’
LAUREN GOODGER
– Lauren’s OMG! Workout, 2015
Lauren Goodger lost 4st in weight and dropped 5 dress sizes ahead of releasing Lauren’s OMG! Workout in 2015 – yet struggled to maintain her weight loss
Lauren Goodger lost 4st in weight and dropped 5 dress sizes ahead of releasing Lauren’s OMG! Workout in 2015 – yet struggled to maintain her weight loss.
DVD choreographer David stated: ‘Lauren was promoting her fitness DVD but struggled to keep the weight off. I moved in with her, trained her and cooked her meals.
‘She told me she had done boot camp after boot camp with her team, who were desperate to stop her weight yo-yoing.
‘She would lose the weight, but then she would resist the process. Once she disappeared to Paris for two days and managed to put on about 10lbs.
DVD choreographer David stated: ‘Lauren was promoting her fitness DVD but struggled to keep the weight off. I moved in with her, trained her and cooked her meals’
Earlier this year, Lauren expressed her desire to get back her bikini body
Having been open with fans about her struggles with her weight in the past, and previously admitted that she was’ bored of her curves’ and wanted to get ‘really skinny’
‘So then she’d been sent back to another boot camp. She went to around ten in total. I felt quite sorry for her when I met her.
‘She’d been forcing herself to eat the same thing every day — chicken, broccoli and rice.
‘That diet must’ve made her feel like she was in prison. And she trained hard so she should have been able to eat a decent amount between sessions.’
Earlier this year, Lauren expressed her desire to get back her bikini body. Having been open with fans about her struggles with her weight in the past, and previously admitted that she was ‘bored of her curves’ and wanted to get ‘really skinny’.
However, as she kicked off 2025, Lauren used an old image of herself as inspiration to get back to her former look, captioning the snap: ‘To be like this again’.
In July last year, Lauren confirmed she had returned to the gym after taking a three and a half week break from her fitness routine following a health scare.
