COMEDIAN and TV presenter Paddy McGuinness met a Fordingbridge slimming consultant at the Slimming World awards ceremony in Birmingham.

Clare Cox, who has helped hundreds of people shed the pounds at the Avonway Community Centre, received an award from Mr McGuinness, who shot to fame in Channel 4 comedy Phoenix Nights before becoming a popular stand-up comedian and TV presenter on shows including ITV1’s Take Me Out.

Mr McGuinness was a fitness instructor before going into comedy.

He said: “Having the help and support of someone like Clare to keep you on track really is invaluable.”

Super-fan Clare said meeting Mr McGuinness was the cherry on the top of a great year for the Avonway group.

She said: “I’m so proud of all of my members – we’ve had a lot of fun throughout the year too – we’ve held parties, raised money for charity and members have cheered each other on with every step.”