By Rory Reynolds
SCOTS lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone has revealed she’s been ordered to pile on the pounds for a new Arctic TV expedition – just a few years after losing SIX stone.
The Ultimo boss was told that she needed to ‘bulk up’ to prepare herself for the staggering -52C that she’ll encounter on 71 Degrees North.
The 38-year-old will brave 2000 miles of Norwegian tundra with other celebs on the new ITV1 show – tipped to be the next I’m A Celebrity.
But medics have told Michelle that she will lose at least a stone while on the show, and urged her to stop taking the herbal diet pills TrimSecrets, which she devised herself.
The Glasgow-based entrepreneur, who will travel to North Cape, the most northern point in Europe, admits she has struggled to over-eat after dropping from 17st to 11st in recent years.
And she will also have to cut back on her gruelling exercise regime to give her body a chance to gain weight.
Happy
The mum-of-three said: “They told me I had to build up on carbohydrates and calories.
“I haven’t wanted to, as I am so happy to have lost the weight – the last thing I want to do is to put it back on.
“But I have been rising at 4.30am to train and running 21 miles in the Campsie Fells.
“It has been exhausting but I am going to do it to win – it’s one of the hardest things I have ever done.”
Today (Monday) Michelle is to meet her fellow teammates in London, who are rumoured to include Eastenders star Shane Richie and opera singer Lesley Garrett.
71 Degrees North – named after the latitude of the Europe’s peak – will involve two teams taking part in gruelling contests, involving swimming in freezing fjords, climbing glaciers and parachuting onto mountains.
But Michelle says her greatest challenge is to leave her husband Michael, 13-year-old son Declan, and daughters Rebecca,16, and Bethany,13, behind.
Dangers
She has left a birthday card for her husband, who will turn 39-years-old while she’s away, and has asked each of them to write her a letter for her to read while she’s in Norway.
She added: “They are all worried about me but know this is something I really want to do.
“We have been told about the dangers, such as frostbite and the weather, so this will be a real challenge.
“I am still trying to work out where my limit is and I figured a trek in the Arctic Circle might help me reach it.”
