TV FOOD guru Gillian McKeith has helped Pop Idol singer Michelle McManus lose four stone.

And she revealed that when it comes to knocking back the bevvy, Michelle could match a 20-stone man.

The TV nutritionist is in the process of turning the Pop Idol singer's diet around for a You Are What You Eat special.

And she revealed Michelle's biggest downfall was her drinking habits.

Gillian said: 'The problem with alcohol is that it tends to go hand in hand with bad food - you drink and you nibble.

'The only other person who compared to her was a guy from Leeds called Nick Hughes.

'He was probably the worst case I've ever had, he ate enormous quantities.

'Michelle didn't do that, but what she did eat was rubbish. In terms of alcohol though, they equalled each other.'

Michelle was size 22-24 when she embarked on Gillian's healthy eating drive before Christmas.

But under Gillian's guidance, the 24-year-old has already lost four stone.

And if she keeps shedding the pounds at that rate, by the time the show airs in June, she'll have lost seven stone.

Gillian said taking on the singer was her biggest challenge yet. She added: 'I was horrified. I didn't think she'd be able to do it. I'd watched Pop Idol and Michelle seemed to be really stuck in her eating and drinking ways.

'She didn't want to change. She seemed to be happy the way she was.'

As well as enjoying a drink, Michelle was 'addicted' to junk food, said Gillian.

She added: 'Michelle's lifestyle was as bad as it could get.'

Gillian said that fresh food was off the menu for Michelle who preferred to feast on takeaways.

She said: 'She never ate anything fresh, just takeaways and processed food, which might be OK every now and then but not all the time. Funnily enough, she wasn't overeating.

'She's one of the first overweight people I've met who didn't tell me they wanted to lose weight.

'I thought that was really different and it actually inspired me because she told me what I really wanted to hear - that she wanted to know what it feels like to be in tip-top health.'

#The 60-minute You Are What You Eat special, featuring Michelle, will be screened on Channel 4 in June. The full interview appears in this month's Now Magazine.