Fitness trainer to the stars Anthony Brown has taken on his biggest challenge yet - slimming down Pop Idol star 'fat' Rik Waller.

Anthony, 27, has been called on to succeed where Celebrity Fit Club failed as he helps the 31-stone to hit his ideal weight.

The king-size singer, who bowed out of the TV show last month having lost just a stone, turned to the Worthing-based trainer for help after appearing alongside him on the sofa with chat-show queen Trisha.

For despite his sculpted sinews and toned torso, Anthony too battled against the bulge for most of his childhood.

Aged 13, he was 5st overweight and no stranger to bullying.

Now he is using his experiences to help other people as an adviser on TV shows and in national magazines, focusing on the importance of an active lifestyle rather than calorie counting.

Anthony said: "Rik is a real gentleman. There is this wrong image that he is arrogant. He was very easy to talk to and very interested in what I had to say.

"The last time I saw him on Celebrity Fit Club, he particularly enjoyed doing some boxing so, being an amateur boxing coach, I talked about this.

"He is very aware of his appearance but does not like being told what to do so I told him it would be good for him to do something in his own home.

"The people at the Trisha show have asked me to do some further work with him so we're just planning that now.

"We haven't set him a specific weight target. In time, his clothes will fit better, he will look in the mirror and feel better and he will notice the difference himself. From there, everything falls into place."

Anthony, who grew up in Shoreham but now lives in Worthing, first got involved with shows like Trisha after his own story hit the headlines.

He said: "I come from an overweight family and, as a child, I was very overweight and constantly being bullied and picked on.

"Aged 13, I weighed 16.5st. I had got into bad eating habits.

"Then one of my uncles, Scott Welch, who was a keen British and Commonwealth boxer, took me under his wing.

"He used to come to get me and literally drag me out of my house.

"I can remember hiding everywhere, in cupboards, under beds, to avoid it but he just used to throw me over his shoulder and take me to a boxing gym.

"After six to eight months of that, the weight started to come off. I then started to fight competitively so the weight stayed off.

"At 16, I left school and decided I wanted to be a professional trainer.

"I started training with the YMCA and then I got a job at the Lotus Health Suite at Worthing Leisure Centre.

"I mainly do personal training. I also coach youngsters amateur boxing in Hove and am a fitness expert for Good Health magazine " I have been on Sky Sports and BBC radio and worked with Wimbledon Football Club."

Anthony, who now lives in Offington with his wife Samantha, believes changing exercise lifestyles is the way to stay fit rather than diets.

He said: "I do give dietary advice but I won't advise diets and eating plans because I don't agree with them.

"I try to make people aware of healthy lifestyles and come away from weighing, calorie counting etc. I'm a great believer you can eat what you like in moderation."

Anthony's advice to anyone who wants to follow in Rik's flab-busting footsteps is to do 45 minutes of exercise three times a week.