‘I’m no Marjorie . . .’

The scene: Marjorie takes the weekly weigh-in at Fatfighters.

Marjorie: “You see your problem is, Tania, you’re fat AND old. It gets harder, and there’s no man is there, you’re on your own?”

Tania: “Yes, my husband left me.”

Marjorie: “Yeah, well, he would have done. Yeah, younger woman weren’t it?”

Tania: “Yeah.”

Marjorie: “Forty-nine, yeah, so you’re on your own now, every night crying and eating. Well, at least you’ve got all of us here at FatFighters to make you feel better. Off you pop. Oh, she stinks an’ all…”

It’s meant to be funny but for some people Little Britain’s Marjorie Dawes is anything but funny.

The frumpily-clad slimming club leader has certainly had an impact on an industry aimed at helping women to shed those excess pounds by supporting them through the often difficult journey.

The cruel parody was inspired by WeightWatchers meetings and in many ways should have proved flattering in that it suggested that this was a national institution, its very nature known to everyone.

But the vicious Marjorie, who took her pleasure from humiliating her clients and encouraging them to eat nothing but dust, did nothing to promote its image.

In fact it chipped away at years worth of reputation-building in which the organisation had helped so many to tackle their weight problems. At the end of 2006 the number of members was down by 15 per cent.

But WeightWatchers is now making its own comeback - recently announced profits were up and a new online diet has been launched.

Most of all, though, its leaders are fighting back against the Marjorie Factor proving that they are in a league of their own.

One such leader who is adamant it’s a great job to have is Lisa Bellamy who runs several groups in Telford, Shropshire.

“I am certainly no Marjorie Dawes,” stressed an enthusiastic Lisa as she set up for her Monday night meeting at Hadley Learning Community. And she was not taking any kind of comparison as any form of flattery.

“Of course it is intended to be funny but for many of us it wasn’t. We do try to see the funny side but she is just too cruel sometimes. It did a lot of damage. It did kind of make this job seem like it was worth laughing at and it’s not.

“It has changed my life and I don’t say that lightly. It really has.”

Lisa, 49, has Frybromyalgia, a disabling musculoskeletal disease, which forced her to give up a career in nursing and she also took medication which meant she gained weight.

She needed to change to something much less stressful and where the people around her would be very supportive. She also needed to change her own lifestyle and attempt to lose some weight.

This she did with the help of WeightWatchers and found she liked it so much she signed on as a leader.

“Of course the Marjorie character is fictional but for people who have never been to our meetings they may wonder how close to the truth she is,” said Lisa who certainly was attracting a large and friendly gathering for her weekly meeting.

It was far from a case of people all sat down and being lectured to. They arrived throughout the evening at their leisure, signed in and chatted informally and socially as they took seats around the room.

Those that had done well were congratulated and stands were set up where they could look at items for sale and get advice on healthy diets. Lisa even held a cookery demonstration, with everyone given the chance to sample the results. Something they obviously enjoyed.

Lisa happily chatted with them and asked about holidays, work and children (some of whom had come with their mothers and fathers).

She explained that sometimes the meetings are more formal - on those occasions when they have a guest speaker - but she said it was always open and friendly.

“People come here for support and not judgement and that is what we give them,” she added.

“It is certainly what I got from WeightWatchers and why I absolutely love it. I look forward to work now with a supportive team and members and I still get to help people.”

Lisa is in charge of Hadley, Stirchley and Donnington Weight Watchers’ sessions and available on (01952) 223577.