Well, it may not be true that Hollywood's A-list have the monopoly on willpower. When you are rich and famous, there are more ways of achieving the red-carpet figure than dieting.

It seems stars will go to any lengths to avoid being seen carrying more than an extra milligram of fat. The pressure is on to be thin at all times, and though they wouldn't want you to know it, some celebrities have some very weird and positively dangerous ways to lose weight.

A potentially dangerous drug called Clenbuterol . . . a medicine given to horses with respiratory conditions . . . is rumoured to be popular in Hollywood. It encourages rapid weightloss for those willing to risk the side effects, which include rapid heart beat and twitching, especially of the eyes.

Equally scary is Cytomel, a synthetically manufactured thyroid hormone, which overstimulates the thyroid and makes for superfast calorie-burning. Side effects are: excessive perspiration, diarrhoea, shortness of breath and mental disorders, to name a few.

Human Growth Hormone is a "very fashionable" means of weight-loss. Injected to give patients a leaner fat-to-muscle ratio and raise metabolism, all the users of HGH are risking diabetes and cancer.

Metabolic Bypass is a method prescribed by Dr Dennis Gage, a Manhattan diet specialist who calls it "a motivator". Consisting of two pills that prevent the body from absorbing some of the food it takes in, it can lead to diarrhoea and leakage.

When it comes to quick and easy ways to lose weight, money is no barrier when you are rich and famous. The search is always on for the latest tablet or treatment that will melt away the pounds. "Performers want it, " says LA endocrinologist Dr Stanley Korenmen, "and they can throw a lot of cash around."

Laxatives, enemas, diuretics, prescription pills and illegal drugs found on the internet all seem to be the rage in Hollywood. For those who don't fancy their chances with these, there is always another bizarre diet to try. Here are some of the strangest ones on offer:

The Tapeworm diet. Maria Callas, the late, legendary opera singer is said to have been driven to try this delightful eating plan. Eating a tiny tapeworm in the hope it may grow into a big tapeworm inside you is unfortunately not just a myth, it is known to have been a method tried by some women suffering from serious eating disorders. It was apparently inspired by the way the very poor suffered extreme weight-loss when infected with a tapeworm after eating uncooked meat. Callas famously lost 65 pounds, but whether she deliberately ate the tapeworm is still in debate . . . she had a fondness for raw steak and liver, which may well have had a lot do with it!

Another bizarre and dangerous diet is the Breatharian Diet . . . a diet of air and water.

Amazingly, one advocator of this madness, Ellen Greve, has 5,000 disciples and manages to charge $1,000 a head for her seminars.

Greve claims not to have eaten since 1993. She offers advice such as: "When humans reach the purest sense of harmony with the surrounding world as well as a complete understanding of each individual's role as a function of God to create the universe, they will have reached a vibrational frequency on this material plane, where they no longer require food, water or sleep." Greve has even written a book: Living on Light: A Source of Nutrition for the New Millennium . . . a 21-day programme that encourages followers to live on light only.

Cacti, Fish and Horse Meat Diet is an eating plan devised for fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, by his dietician, Dr Jean-Claude Houdret. Lagerfeld lost five stone by consuming a cactus derivative and replacing all meat (except horse) with fish and boiled potatoes.

Elvis tried the Sleeping Beauty Diet . . . he was sedated for several days, hoping to wake up thinner!

Kate Winslet is allegedly a fan of the Brussel Sprouts Diet. When ordered to lose 10 pounds for a part, she apparently achieved this by eating very little but Brussel sprouts!

The Jesus Diet is the brainchild of Dr Don Colbert, a nutritionist who spends his days spreading the words of the Old Testament:

Jesus wouldn't eat pigs, shellfish, horses.

camels, birds of prey, any carnivores or creepy crawlies. If you want to lose weight, says Colbert, you only have to ask, "What would Jesus eat?" Good question.

The Master Cleanser Diet is raved about by illusionist David Blaine, and adopted by those willing to spend 21 days without food, only drinking a concoction of lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water. One celebrity who fasted this way on three occasions, claims she lost 70lbs, stating: "I've never felt this good about my body before."

When all else fails, the rich and famous turn to the one diet they trust above all else.

One that guarantees instant results: The Digital Diet. This is the one where their hips are immediately narrower, their cleavage is bigger, their teeth whiter and their stomachs are flatter . . . airbrushing is every celebrity's best friend, and all done at the click of a computer mouse.