Duchess of York shrugs off 'fat frumpy Fergie' jibes in QVC appearance

Sarah, Duchess of York has appeared on the US shopping channel QVC, promoting a food blender and "pick me up" smoothies.

As she discussed the emulsifier, the Duke of York's ex-wife praised the American people for giving her daughters their mother back, thanking them for believing in second chances.

She joined a live demonstration on how to make a breakfast smoothie containing lemon peel, cayenne pepper, ginger and pineapple, and an iced coffee with whipped cream as she talked about the juicer from her Duchess Discoveries range.

The Duchess spoke of how she turned to the Fusion Xcelerator blender, which is being sold by QVC for 59.97 dollars (£38.32) and billed as Today's Special Value Item, after she "ballooned up" in weight, but that she did not use a chef and made her smoothies herself to get back in shape.

She added: "Americans have been so good to me. They helped me build my confidence. They gave my children their mother back because they believed in second chance(s).

"I've made a few mistakes, put on weight and done this, that and the other and now because of the American people, I wanted to be really honest with them."

Speaking of how she was affected after she was targeted for her weight, she said: "No longer am I the Duchess of Pork ... or fat frumpy Fergie ... It broke my heart."

She had tweeted that she was looking forward to talking about Duchess Discoveries on QVC. She is appearing on the channel several times and a video clip of one of the segments was posted on the channel's website.