Debbie Allsopp used to happily down a dozen vodka and Red Bulls chased by half a dozen shots of tequila until she discovered body-building.

A female bodybuilding champion has revealed how she only took up pumping iron after becoming a grandmother.

Now with eight competitions and a string of medals to her name, Debbie Allsopp – a mum-of-three and grandmother-of-two, said she is glad to have banished her unhealthy lifestyle.

She said: “Before I started bodybuilding I would have probably just carried on being that mum who went out once a month and got hammered.

“Now, my whole body shape has changed and I’m much more confident than I was. I pretended to be confident before. Now I don’t have to fake it.”

Debbie, 48, admits that, before she discovered the sport, she could happily down a dozen vodka and Red Bulls, chased by half a dozen shots of tequila.