Shrinking feeling for Sophie

It was her fabulous curves that first got Sophie Dahl noticed. But the girl who carved out a place for bigger figures on the catwalk seems to be a little less larger than life these days.

The 24-year-old model's lavish proportions have been replaced with a much lankier look.

Sophie, the granddaughter of children's author Roald Dahl, was a curvaceous size 16 when she first caught the public eye.

But the pressure of socialising with stick-thin models at the shows apparently got too much for Sophie and she embarked on a radical diet and exercise plan. Over several months, she lost more than three stones and dropped to a sleek size 10. Lately, she seems to have gone even further, dropping another stone and dress size.

The size-eight Sophie is a very different girl. At a strapping 6ft tall, her legs seem to go on for ever and her cheekbones are honed. 'Sophie was almost unrecognisable,' said an onlooker who spotted her shopping in Notting Hill, West London. 'Whatever diet she has been following has certainly worked because she looks much thinner.'

Miss Dahl's curves made her a star in the controversial advertising campaign for Opium perfume.

She appeared naked on billboards across the country in a campaign later condemned as too sexually explicit.

Part of Sophie's appeal then was that she boasted such a generous figure. Now, it seems she looks more like any other model.

She isn't the only wellrounded figure to opt for a slimmer look. Czech model Eva Herzigova was recently pictured looking much thinner. The generous cleavage that launched her as the Wonderbra model had all but gone.

There was alarm over Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen. Known for her perfect hour-glass figure, she was photographed with a gaunt face and skinny arms.