Outlook better after weather girl's dry spell

A BBC weather presenter who stopped drinking alcohol throughout last month for a TV show told today how it transformed her health.

Wendy Hurrell - who had an alcoholic drink every day in the lead-up to the experiment - lost 2kg and saw a huge improvement in her sleep.

She abstained for a programme by the BBC's Inside Out, timed to coincide with a report by MPs today which advises people to have at least two alcohol-free days a week.

Ms Hurrell, 29, of Clapham, kept a "booze diary" that showed she drank 40 units in the week before December. The recommended limit for women is 14. The BBC London presenter said: "I had no idea I was doing that. I am not the sort of girl scraped off the kerb after a big night out, but I was drinking every night after work. I'd crack open a beer after work and have a glass of wine with dinner.

"I slept better off the booze and so generally felt sharper during the day. I certainly didn't feel as tired. I think my skin looked brighter."

She added: "I live in an urban environment with a pub on pretty much every street you walk down. You have to be a lot more organised to drink in the countryside. If you think about the number of people who work in the City, drinking is a huge part of their professional life. I spoke to a woman from the City - she nearly ruined herself [by drinking]."

Today the Commons science and technology committee called for government guidelines on drinking to be reviewed. Committee chairman Andrew Miller said: "Public understanding of how to use the guidelines and what an alcohol unit looks like is poor, although improving."

Figures compiled by the BBC show the number of over-65s in London needing hospital treatment because of alcohol soared from 197,800 in 2002/03 to 520,959 in 2010/11.

Inside Out, BBC 1, 7.30pm tonight.