This is a text-only version of an article first published on Friday, 22 March 2019. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
WHEN the Revd Jenny Ellis spotted an advert in the Bucks Free Press asking for people who loved good food and wanted to lose weight for a documentary she couldn't resist applying. Having narrowly missed out on a part in Come Dine With Me a few years earlier, Jenny was delighted to be selected to take part in Tom Kerridge's Lose Weight for Good.
She will make her small screen debut early in 2018. Jenny is the co-ordinator of the Multi-Faith Chaplaincy at Bucks New University, and a member of the West Wycombe Team, mainly ministering at St Botolph's, Bradenham.
Sandra, Tom Kerridge and the Revd Jenny Ellis, taking a spoonful of coffee and chocolate custard pots.
Richard Hill
The dieters before the filming started.
Tom Kerridge is in the centre and Jenny is in the front row, third from the left .
John Rogers/Bone Soup Productions.
"The film crew accompanied me to work, I was filmed cooking in my kitchen, at St Botolph's, reading in my study, enjoying a family meal and at my weekly riding lesson.
The latter caused much hilarity as the film company insisted I rode in my dog collar for ease of identification.
We all had to have a 'signature' outfit that we wore every time we were filmed to facilitate cutting and help viewers recognise us," says Jenny, who has two grown-up daughters and is married to the Revd Hugh Ellis, the vicar of All Saints, High Wycombe. Tom is famous for losing 12 stone himself and is now on a mission to help others sensibly lose weight by making small but significant lifestyle changes.
Jenny is one of 13 people, including a photographer, an engineer, a nurse and a police officer selected to be part of the show, which was filmed by Bone Soup productions. The regime consisted of weekly weigh-ins, a food diary and a fortnightly sheaf of recipes to try out - all strictly calorie counted.
Jenny said: "One aspect of Tom's 'message' was that people gave up on diets because the food was boring, so he set out to create food that we would enjoy eating. "I can honestly say there were times when I sat down to my 'diet' supper and was totally incredulous that I would actually lose weight eating the quantity of food on the plate.
I counted and recounted the calories, and sure enough, there were nowhere near as many as you might expect from a plate groaning with colourful, tasty food.
A particular favourite became griddled halloumi cheese with griddled Mediterranean veg and beetroot houmous. "Some of the options were so simple it was ludicrous that I hadn't tried them before. " Examples include swapping mayonnaise with a low fat crème fraîche in a potato salad, and using sliced courgette instead of pasta in lasagne. "All of the recipes I tried actually tasted better than their higher calorie counterparts.
I found I had more energy and hardly ever suffered from indigestion," Jenny added. Tom Kerridge's Lose Weight for Good documentary will be aired on BBC Two, starting at 8pm on 3 January.