'I'd hate to have Madge's muscles!'
Monday 28 April 2008
Prancing around the studio in a skimpy leotard and corset to recreate Madonna’s recent Vanity Fair cover, shot by Steven Meisel, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Chanelle Hayes is super-confident in her own skin. But while she’s happy to flaunt her curves, the Big Brother star longs to be more toned.
“I’m definitely fatter than Madge!” groans Chanelle, scrutinising the pictures, despite being a petite size 8. “I hate my big bum and thighs. I’d like to be more toned – but not as muscly as Madonna.”
In spite of her tantrums on BB, Chanelle’s enthusiastic and not at all diva-like on our shoot – although there’s more than a hint of the celeb lifestyle about her now. She’s brought her Pomeranian puppy along – named Crumpet – in a designer dog bag, and has a film crew following her for VH1 reality show Wannabe Popstar.
“I’ve absolutely loved posing as Madonna,” Chanelle enthuses in her broad Wakefield accent, tucking into a bowl of tomato soup and a packet of Hula Hoops.
“She looks incredible for her age, especially after having two kids, but I prefer a more feminine look. I go to the gym three times a week, but I don’t have the stamina for more – and I’m too busy!”
Chanelle, who famously had a fling with fellow BB housemate Ziggy Lichman, put on over half a stone in the house
last summer. She’s 5ft 3 and went from a super-slim 7st 7lbs to a still svelte 8st 2lbs, but now, thanks to regular exercise, she’s back to her pre-BB weight.
“I don’t want to look like I’m on Gladiators, but I work out regularly,” she explains. “I use the exercise bike, the treadmill, the crosstrainer and the rowing machine. The arm bike, which is literally like cycling with your arms, is the hardest – I do it for 15 minutes then collapse. My friend does spinning classes too, but when I tried one I thought I was going to die.”
But unlike Madonna – who works out for up to three hours a day, six days a week – she doesn’t take her regime too seriously.
“The other day, I got on the arm bike and someone hadn’t screwed the seat in properly. I went flying off into the weights area in front of everyone!” she laughs.
As for her diet, Chanelle admits it’s inconsistent. “It’s worse when I’m working,” she says. “Today I had crisps and a bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast. But I usually have cornflakes – I wet them with skimmed milk then pour it away because I hate dairy products,” she explains.
“I also have a glass of orange juice or make a fruit smoothie with strawberries and melon, and I snack on grapes. For lunch, I’ll have tuna salad or soup. If I’ve eaten a lot in the day, I make a tomato dish for dinner with peppers, cashews, onion and chilli. Or I’ll have a chicken stir-fry. I love spicy food.”
To keep at her ideal weight of 7st 7lbs, Chanelle also eats plenty of fruit and veg and tries to keep her vices – crisps and Sunday roasts – as occasional treats.
Chanelle sees a nutritionist who, she confides, gives her colonics (a treatment to remove waste and toxins from the body), and she’s recently cut down on pasta, bread and potatoes to avoid bloating. She may be down to earth, but Chanelle hasn’t ruled out the celebrity obsession for surgery to enhance her figure.
“I’m considering a boob job, but I’m so scared of the pain,” she reveals. “The idea of being cut open makes me feel sick, but I’m a 34B now and want to be a size C. It would make me more in proportion.”
Although she longs for a bigger bust now, that wasn’t always the case. Chanelle was the first girl in her class at school to develop breasts, at the age of 11. “I had the biggest boobs in year six,” she giggles. “They were the same size as they are now – but they never grew after that and everyone else’s did!”
Chanelle has come a long way since BB, when she was known as a Posh Spice lookalike. She’s turned her hand to singing, and will soon be starring in a fly-on-the-wall documentary on VH1 about her attempt to break into the music industry.
Chanelle also says she’s “dead excited” about her new Britney-esque single, I Want It. But even so, she’s keeping
her feet on the ground.
“Will I be the British Madonna? No way!” she giggles. “I’m aiming high, but not that high!”
By Lisa Pollen and Juliet Blank