The Feel Good Factor

Saturday, 28 March 2009, 9:20PM on ITV1

ITV has launched a new nationwide initiative, inviting the public via www.itv.com/feelgoodfactor to join some of ITV’s biggest stars to shape up and make 2009 an altogether healthier year.

And now two months from the initial kick off show in January, The Feelgood Factor is ready to reveal the results. The Feelgood Factor launched on ITV1 on 31st January with a focus on helping viewers make some positive changes for a healthier lifestyle for themselves and their families via three ITV shows as well as a dedicated www.itv.com website. Tonight we reveal exactly how much the nation has lost in weight and how much they’ve raised for their chosen charities via The Feelgood Factor’s Pound for Pound Plan.

The Feelgood Factor is intended to link up with the Government’s Change4Life campaign, described by the Department of Health as “a lifestyle revolution involving thousands of local organisations and charities which will help the nation eat well, move more and live longer.”

Hosted by Eamonn Holmes and Myleene Klass, The Feelgood Factor aims to inspire viewers to make simple changes to their lifestyle.

As well as the nation’s favourite celebrities taking part in healthy challenges, The Feelgood Factor also launched the “Pound for Pound Plan”, where viewers over the age of 18 could sign up to lose weight and at the same time raise money for charity. It’s simple – for every pound in weight a viewer loses, their friends and family can each pledge a pound in cash or more for their chosen charity. The more the viewers lose, the more is raised for good causes.

Leading the “Pound for Pound” initiative is Eamonn Holmes, who pledged to lose weight in a bid to lead a healthier lifestyle. Spurred on by his friends and family, Eamonn signed up to the “Pound for Pound” plan and viewers have been charting his progress on www.itv.com/feelgoodfactor . There have been set-backs, not least a knee injury, but Eamonn has persevered and tonight we will reveal just how Eamonn has got on and whether he has managed to continue with his weight loss and get fit.

He says, “This whole experience did what it said on the tin, I have lost weight and more importantly I feel really good about the changes in my lifestyle, to the degree that the end of the programme won’t mean the end of the changes for me or hopefully the weight loss.”

Eamonn’s Feelgood Factor co-host Myleene Klass also been doing her bit to get fit and has been rehearsing for weeks with the Blue and White Double Dutch Skipping Team. But has she done enough to deliver a skip-perfect performance with the team on tonight;s show? And it’s not just the complex skipping steps – will her stamina hold up when she joins in the routine?

She says: “Who would have thought skipping could be so exhausting. It’s taking all my concentration to remember the steps and so much stamina to keep going. I really don’t want to let the skipping team down so am practicing really hard. Skipping is a great way to keep fit and healthy and something I can do most days.”

Also coming up in the show: Loose Women star Denise Welch committed herself to the daunting task of dancing the part of Roxy in Chigago – her final aim to perform in front of the nation, joined by the cast of the West End hit. She has gallantly undertaken the task and has been rehearsing tirelessly to perfect the routine but she’s not yet mastered the cartwheel at the song’s finale – can she nail it for the show?

And it’s Woolpack V Woolpack. Emmerdale’s Tony Audenshaw (plays Bob Hope) and Matthew Wolfenden (plays David Metcalfe) have also lent their support. The two are keen runners and have been mentoring a ladies darts team from a real life Woolpack pub in Bury, Greater Manchester. After gruelling training and lots of commitment from the ladies, they are now newly fit and ready to test their training in a mammoth 5km fun run and all are desperate to beat the stars, and their mentors, from their favourite soap.

The Boca Boys, our five-a-side football team from Essex have been getting fit and losing weight and swapped their pints and curries for orange juice and salads. A special match has been lined up by their mentor and football pundit, Robbie Earle. They don’t yet know who they are playing, but rest assured they will be surprised when they have to tackle some of their footballing idols.

The Glaswegian Bingo players have also been putting their bodies through their paces, working hard to shift the pounds, this time they really don’t want to hear their number come up.

Our dancing schoolboys have trained with Tom, the star of musical Billy Elliot and their time has come to step up and show off their moves for the final show. The question is, have they learnt their moves, increased their stamina and got the routine perfect?

Premiership football team Manchester United have helped out our bobbies beat off the pounds, and raise plenty of money for their chosen charity. The boys in blue have trained at the boy’s in red’s Old Trafford ground and even the head chef for the team has cooked up a treat for them.

Monday, 23 February 2009, 8:00PM on ITV1

Last month ITV launched a new nationwide initiative, inviting the public via www.itv.com/feelgoodfactor to join some of ITV’s biggest stars to shape up and make 2009 an altogether healthier year.
The Feelgood Factor is onto its second episode of three. The ITV1 show has a dedicated www.itv.com site, with a focus on helping viewers to make some positive changes for a healthier lifestyle for themselves and their families.

The Feelgood Factor is intended to link in with the Government’s Change4Life campaign, described by the Department of Health as “a lifestyle revolution involving thousands of local organisations and charities which will help the nation eat well, move more and live longer”.

Hosted by Eamonn Holmes and Myleene Klass, The Feelgood Factor aims to inspire viewers to make simple changes to their lifestyle, while helping charity with a “Pound for Pound” plan.

When we left the 5-a-side football team (Boca Boys) in the capable hands of Robbie Earl (ITV football pundit) they were trying to kick the weekly curries, pints and big macs, but after three weeks Eamonn is investigating whether they have stuck to this tough challenge.

Emmerdale’s Tony Audenshaw (plays Bob Hope) and Matthew Wolfenden (plays David Metcalfe) are doubting the application of the real-life Woolpack darts team from Bury. The girls have thrown themselves into their training and dieting and are determined to prove their doubters wrong by booking themselves in for a fun run.

We also catch up with Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell and her Manchester bobbies who have pledged to lose at 2 lbs a week. Each have attacked the task head on. Although with the shifts they have and the time they spend on patrol, this is making the task a lot harder to achieve.

The bingo-loving Glaswegians have also set themselves the task of 2 lbs a week. They continue to try their best, but none more so than Nana Marina who is on a quest to shed the pounds and see if she can handle James De Gale’s boxercise.

The Billy Elliot boys have now been chosen and are learning to get fit before they can start dancing and learning the routines. Tom and his team of Billy’s are trying to give the boys the impetus to be able to dance live in our final instalment.

Despite the daunting task facing Denise Welch, she is practicing hard and learning the choreography to take the part of Roxy from Chicago the musical. Throughout her exertions she has stuck to the “Pound for Pound” plan, but are we asking too much for a cartwheel as well?

Eamonn is continuing on his pound for pound plan but is finding it hard to break old eating habits, although he offers advice and gives tips to all those taking part. Myleene has her skipping challenge to train for after she has built up her stamina and improved her technique.

As well as the nation’s favourite celebrities taking part in healthy challenges, The Feelgood Factor launched the “Pound for Pound” plan, where viewers over the age of 18 can sign up to lose weight and at the same time raise money for charity. It’s simple – for every pound in weight a viewer loses, their friends and family can each pledge a pound in cash or more for their chosen charity. The more the viewers lose, the more is raised for good causes. All details of how to sign up for “Pound for Pound” is now available on www.itv.com/feelgoodfactor

Leading this “Pound for Pound” initiative is Eamonn Holmes, who, during last month’s show pledging to lose weight in a bid to lead a healthier lifestyle. Spurred on by his friends and family, Eamonn signing up to the “Pound for Pound” plan and viewers can chart his progress and sponsor Eamonn if they wish via www.itv.com/feelgoodfactor .

He says: “I’m convincing myself that I can do it, the big help for me in all of this is that so many people are willing me on. Not only that, but so many people will be doing it with me.

I’ll admit, it’s going to be easier for some than others – but hopefully as a result we will emerge looking and feeling different. Like many folk, it’s going to be a question of willpower, and I’m about to find out if by making a lot of small differences to my life, whether everyone else will see a big difference.

The secret will be not seeing it as a penance but as part of a new Feel Good Factor. I’m going to give this my very best shot, wish me luck and do it with me.”

Myleene Klass says: “The Feelgood Factor is going to be a great incentive for the public to have a look at their lifestyles. I’m learning all the time there’s a healthier way of doing things. Being a mum makes the issue even more important for me and I’m always looking for ways to keep us fitter and healthier.

“I’m hoping some of my friends will be inspired to sign up for the Pound for Pound plan so I can sponsor them.”

With the final show and reveal planned March, viewers will be able to see how the famous faces have got on with their new regimes as well as having a time frame to work within themselves.