Allen lost weight due to "paranoia"

Lily Allen shed so much weight because she was paranoid over her "chunky" thighs, a report claims.

Allen recently put her new trim figure down to her romance with Chemical Brothers star Ed Simons, but sources have said that unflattering photos in the press prompted her to take action.

According to the Evening Standard, the singer's new management team sent her to fitness guru David Marshall, who has put her on a six-week diet and exercise course to tone her legs.

Marshall is famous for helping model Sophie Dahl drop from a size 18 to a 12 and has also trained Ant and Dec, as well as footballer Rio Ferdinand.

The source said: "He pushes people very, very hard. He'll shout at her, 'Come on Lily, one more', and Lily will scream back 'F**k off you b*****d!'

"She is very conscious about how her figure is portrayed in the media, and is paranoid about her chunky bottom half. She has been working out every other day, with particularly gruelling exercises to get rid of her 'cankles' - where her calves join her ankles."

The insider added: "David makes her do controlled weight training, doing 25 reps with a heavy weight. It's pretty agonising, but Lily keeps coming back for more. She is four weeks into her six-week course, and has already dropped two dress sizes."