In today's G2, Kira Cochrane describes the controversy surrounding the This Morning presenter Fern Britton's use of a gastric band to aid weight loss.
Revealed in a News of the World exclusive - headlined Fern Britton's big fat lie - the story sparked a barrage of criticism, as Cochrane writes:
"The fallout arrived thick and fast. In the two years since Britton has had her gastric band fitted - a period in which she has lost five stone - she has attributed her weight loss to healthy eating and exercise, something that might literally be true when you've had the size of your stomach reduced considerably, but also involves an obvious, significant omission.
The NoW suggested that she had lied through her teeth, bolstering its case with an unfortunate comment from her husband, the TV chef Phil Vickery, that "Fern has lost a lot of weight through cycling, walking the dog and not eating too much, simple as that".
From message board posters who feel betrayed by the "cheat", to feminist bloggers, to the more usual media suspects, many have been wading in to shake their heads and tut.
Even a candid on- air apology from Britton doesn't seem to have calmed the situation.
As Cochrane points out, there is nothing like a woman's weight fluctuating to trigger such moral panic. "Britton's situation isn't unique," she says. "The arguments played out over the bodies of women in the public eye are intense and unrelenting. Whatever their weight, women just can't win."
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