Model Petra Nemcova has revealed that she knocked back laxatives to stay thin and keep her job.

The Czech-born beauty - who has been dating English crooner James Blunt - says she was under huge pressure to remain skinny.

The 27-year-old catwalk star says she worried about being dumped by the fashion industry if she gained weight, and went on brutal diets to keep her figure.

"I went through so many diets in my life. I've been very, very skinny. I've been a size zero but I'm naturally more curvy", she said.

"I ate just vegetables, carrots, tomatoes. I went from a just-protein diet to just eating apples to eating no carbs. I took laxatives."

The 5ft 10ins stunner told People magazine: "I went through all of it just to be able to model."

Her revelations came after officials at Madrid Fashion Week announced that models taking part in shows there had to meet a weight standard. Runway participants were told they had to have a body-mass index of at least 18 - or 122 lbs for someone who is 5ft 9ins tall.

However, London Fashion Week refused to follow suit and continued showcasing designers with size 0 models.