Cassidy wins 'weight loss' claim ruling

Natalie Cassidy's complaint against Woman magazine has been upheld by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

The publication ran a story on April 7, 2008, claiming that the former EastEnders actress had spent five days a week "preparing" for her workout weight loss DVD at a London gym.

Cassidy denied the allegation, which came from a confidential source, saying that she had lost weight solely through exercises shown in her routine.

Woman was also criticised for taking an "unacceptable amount of time" dealing with the complaint.

"The commission has previously made clear that, while it does not expect publications to identify confidential sources of information, they should either supply on-the-record corroboration or offer an opportunity to reply when the accuracy of an anonymous source is questioned," the ruling read.

"The magazine had done neither in this case, resulting in a breach of clause one [the accuracy clause in the editors' code of practice]."