How I got Liz in shape

After giving birth to a baby she has described as "possibly the largest child ever - people see me carrying him and think I'm being attacked by a bald man", Liz Hurley followed an austere diet of rice and fish and a rigorous exercise regime which she admitted was "agony", but which enabled her to shed 53lb in 12 weeks.

Her secret weapon, however, is known only among the Lear-Jet-set. Peter Crone, 33, is a fitness guru who for five years zig-zagged the world as the personal trainer to Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, and who counts Ben Affleck and Kevin Spacey among his celebrity clients.

"I can give anybody the best body they could possibly have in six months," says Crone, matter of factly, "because my techniques are second to none." Hurley, who met Crone in the Chiva-Som spa in Thailand a few months after giving birth, agrees. "Peter is rather cruel and strict, and one frequently wants to kick him on the shin as he torments you," she says. "However, his methods work and he's also very goodlooking, which makes the hour go by a little less painfully."

Crone, who is usually tightlipped on the subject of his glitzy clientele, says of Hurley: "I certainly contributed to her figure, but she did a lot of hard work herself. She is amazingly disciplined." Does he think she's been over-zealous and is now a little too thin? "Absolutely not. I think she looks fantastic."

What separates Crone from the numerous other muscle-bound trainers in Malibu - where he was spotted by Cruise - is his spiritual approach. In fact, he baulks at the suggestion that he is a mere fitness trainer, styling himself instead as a "life consultant". "It's not just a question of me standing over a client and saying, 'Lift your leg 30 times,'" he explains, "I'm not just training the body, I am re-educating the mind - which is far more powerful."

So did Hurley undergo a spiritual workout too? "I never take on a client if I can't see from their eyes their motivation for a better life and a better body. People always ask me what the secret is with celebrities, why they look better and are more successful. It's simple: they just want it more."

At £220 a session, they need to pay more, too. So what exactly do his clients get for their money? First, he gives them a full body analysis and what he calls a "kinetic chain assessment" which details any muscle imbalances and joint dysfunction. He then draws up a personalised programme of nine elements based on a hybrid of Pilates which gives an elongated, rather than a bulky, silhouette.

It is also very good for the pelvicfloor muscles and the abdominals - great if you've just given birth. And the psychological element? "People pay me to get to their being," he says. "I had a CEO who paid me £300 for an hour and a quarter. He is now signing deals for millions because he saw something in himself that was holding him back. I am just a catalyst for people to empower themselves."

Life hasn't always been so good. He grew up in the Home Counties, an only child whose mother died of cancer when he was still very young. His father brought him up single-handedly until he was killed in the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry disaster in 1987. Crone was just 17. "To lose my dad was devastating. The incredible loneliness was a feeling I wouldn't wish on anyone. I was definitely driven from that point, as I knew my father would have wanted me to lead an extraordinary life."

After studying for a degree in biology and spending holidays as a ski coach in Europe and a tennis coach in New York, Crone moved to the States full-time. Eventually he settled in Miami, where his career soon took off. It's easy to see why Cruise and Kidman were so taken with him: he has a reassuring presence and an enviable inner stillness.

When the Cruises divorced, Crone moved on and has now settled in Paris, where his girlfriend studies at the Sorbonne. "Making celebrities look good was satisfying, but not fulfilling enough," he says. As well as writing a book, he now sees clients at weekends at Stoke Park Club, near Stoke Poges, which has recently opened a £12 million spa.

"I've been all over the world and have met incredibly famous people, but
ultimately everyone is the same," he concludes. "The guy drinking lager and smoking a Marlboro in the pub is the same as the star in the penthouse drinking Cristal and smoking Cuban cigars. Everyone just wants to be loved."