Forget the boardroom, I’m a beach babe!

Move aside Yasmina and Kate, there's a new Apprentice stunner in town. It's last year's runner-up, Claire Young, and she looks so hot, even Sir Alan wouldn't recognise her!

Claire Young puts her hands on her hips and turns slowly in front of the mirror. She can hardly believe what she's seeing. The woman looking back at her is trim, tanned and toned. She's wearing sexy skyscraper heels and a super-slinky leopard-print swimming costume. And she looks gorgeous.

"I can't believe it's me," stutters Claire, 30. "I look like a beauty queen." Then, without warning, she bursts into tears.

A year ago, Claire's reflection often made her cry - but they were tears of frustration.

Back then, she was a size 16 and weighed 13st 8lb. At 5ft 6in she was more than 3st overweight and her BMI of 30.2 meant she was clinically obese.

Her thighs rubbed together, her belly wobbled and her breasts strained against the tops she wore.

But for years she simply ignored her expanding waistline - a testimony to her love of fatty doughnuts, three-course dinners and exotic calorie-laden cocktails.

Becoming a celebrity and seeing herself on TV forced her to face up to her size - but she still didn't do anything about it. It was only when she saw a paparazzi shot of herself emerging from the sea in an ill-fitting bikini on holiday in Majorca last summer that she accepted the truth - she needed help. And who better to turn to than Fabulous? Last September we joined forces with Claire to help her get the body she dreamed of, with our tailor-made diet and fitness plan.

By the start of this year, Claire had lost 2st, after swapping her favourite fattening foods for a healthy diet of grilled chicken, steamed veg and heaps of fresh fruit, as well as three one-hour sessions a week with a personal trainer.

In January, she showed off her new figure in a sexy body-con dress for a Fabulous cover shoot. But she still had another 1st 7lb to go. And she admits it was tough to shift.

"I'd step on the scales and for those two seconds before the weight flashed up, I'd cross my fingers hoping I'd dropped pounds - but sometimes it was just a few ounces," she recalls.

MAY 2008: Size 16 13st 8lb

"It was really frustrating. I even called my mum, Cheryl, and asked her if she thought that maybe this was the weight I was meant to be. But she said no, I had to keep going."

To shift those stubborn pounds, Fabulous enlisted the help of celeb trainer Sarah Williams, famed for intensive regimes that get results in super-fast time.

"I'd become complacent in the gym and wasn't pushing myself any more," admits Claire. "But since Sarah introduced interval training - breaking up a jog with sprints or lunges - it's made a huge difference. I lost 7lb in a week."

One month later, Claire had lost a stone. And just to provide extra motivation, she was booked in for a Fabulous bikini shoot.

"After that horrible paparazzi shot last year, I wanted to look amazing. The thought of getting back into swimwear gave me an extra kick up the bum!" she laughs.

And boy, did it! This month she hit her target of 10st 3lb and a size 10-12.

Claire in the boardroom with Lucinda Ledgerwood

And the results are clear for all to see. Claire is almost unrecognisable as the large, loud and ballsy lady, nicknamed 'Rottweiler' when she first burst on to our screens in last year's The Apprentice.

Furiously wiping away tears she says: "I look absolutely amazing. It's been worth all the hard work. When I look at that other bikini picture, I can't believe it's actually me. I cringe every time I see it. But it also makes me proud. I've come such a long way since then. It has been hard work, but with running I've finally found an exercise I really like, which makes it easier."

Claire's already signed up to do two 10k charity runs this year, as well as trekking in Nepal for The Prince's Trust in September.

'I can't believe it's me in the mirror!'

"Having goals helps keep me focused," she says. "Whenever I feel like giving up I remember that I need to be fit enough to run 10k, and that always keeps me going."

Now Claire, who lives in south London, mixes her three weekly trainer sessions with aerobics and tough outdoor exercise classes with British Military Fitness.

"I have two days off exercise a week," she says. "That way it never feels like a chore and I always give myself a rest."

And she insists she doesn't even miss her old vices.

"My palate has completely changed," she admits. "I still treat myself to the odd glass of wine or bit of dark chocolate, but I had a slice of cake last weekend and it felt like I was eating a handful of sugar!"

Claire's new look hasn't gone unnoticed.

"Some men wolf whistled at me when I was out training," she remembers. "I turned around to see who they were looking at and was amazed to realise it was me! And a guy came up to me in a bar and said I looked like Claire from The Apprentice. I told him I was and he said: 'God, the TV really stacked on the pounds - you look much slimmer in real life!'"

But despite all the admiring glances, Claire's saving her new figure for boyfriend Simon, who is currently travelling in South America. She met the TV producer through online dating in February this year, and they've been keeping in touch by phone and email while he's away. Claire - who now runs her own wedding-planning business, Elegant Venues - thinks he'll be stunned by her transformation.

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"I'd already lost some weight when I met Simon, but I've dropped another 1st since then," she laughs. "He keeps asking me to send a picture, but I want to surprise him. He doesn't know exactly when he's coming back, but I know it will be soon - and I can't wait! He'll be so impressed."

Next, Claire is planning to get a boob job. "The only downside to my weight loss is that my breasts have shrunk," she says. "I knew they looked a bit deflated, but when a friend said recently: 'The stuffing's completely gone, you need to do something about them,' I decided I would." But she hasn't booked in for the operation yet.

Other than that, Claire is more than happy with her new figure and vows she'll never let herself go again.

"I feel so much better. I have got new energy, new confidence and a new man. I'll never let myself get called 'fat' or 'frumpy' again."

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Claire's old diet:
Breakfast: Special K with full-fat milk
Lunch: Sandwich or salad
Dinner: Three-course meal in a restaurant with wine, followed by cocktails
Snacks: Krispy Kremes, wine gums.

Claire's new diet:
Breakfast: Muesli with skimmed milk
Lunch: Innocent Veg Pot or home-made vegetable soup
Dinner: Grilled fish or chicken and salad
Snacks: One banana a day. The occasional bit of dark chocolate or glass of wine.

CLAIRE'S TOP TIPS

• Have achievable goals. Rather than thinking: "I must lose 3st," which can be incredibly overwhelming, I aimed to lose 7lb every four weeks. It makes it seem much more possible.

• Work in monthly exercise cycles. Every four weeks, change your routine so you don't get bored and you work different muscles. I do this by swapping a step class with aerobics or outdoor exercises.

• Don't be embarrassed. As an overweight person it can be humiliating stepping out for the first time in your gym gear. If you feel silly jogging, go for a speedy walk instead - anything to get your heart rate going and the calories burning.

• Use clothes as an incentive. I have a gorgeous size-10 dress I bought from a London boutique when I was a size 16 - and it fits now!

Claire was trained by fitness trainer Sarah Williams (www.sarahwilliamstraining.co.uk and 07949 393961)

PHOTOGRAPHY: LANCTON, RETNA, GOFFINF.COM HAIR & MAKE-UP: CAROLINE PIASECKI STYLIST: LUCIE CLIFFORD CLAIRE WEARS (TOP PICTURE): SWIMSUIT, FIGLEAVES; CUFF: FREEDOM AT TOPSHOP; SHOES, ASOS (ABOVE PICTURE): SWIMSUIT, MARKS & SPENCER; NECKLACE, FREEDOM AT TOPSHOP; HEELS, AS BEFORE

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