A FITNESS trainer will go head-to-head with an alternative therapist to try to prove he knows best when it comes to beating obesity.

No-nonsense Paul Connolly, who has trained Hollywood stars like Demi Moore and Elle Macpherson, will star in the new Channel 4 television show Who Knows Best: Fighting the Fat.

Paul and alternative therapist Janet Thomson were each given a seriously overweight woman to work with for six weeks.

The challenge was to see which one could lose the most weight.

Mr Connolly, 47, said: “I was the bad guy, who used the stick rather than the carrot to get results, meaning I had to be tough on my girl.

“I put her through everything from boxing training, to climbing over an assault course at a boot camp, where she had to do intensive exercise.

“Janet tried to get her girl to lose weight through more gentle means, by changing her mental attitude. I can’t say who won before the show goes out, but I was really pleased with my results.”

Paul, who lives in Billericay, worked with a married mum-of-one Emma Johal, 28, who started off weighing over 21 stone, before losing 22 pounds.

The obese woman previously didn’t exercise and had a poor diet.

She had struggled with her weight since childhood, but a recent health scare gave her the wake-up call she needed.

Mr Connolly added: “I’m pleased to say it worked out well for Emma. I’m fine with obese people so long as they take responsibility for the condition they’re in.

“If they blame everyone else then you can’t help them, but if they really want to change things, that’s when you get results.”

The show will be screened at 9pm on Tuesday.