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Jenni Falconer doing promotion for Battle of The Brides.
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Not rushing down the aisle
Helen Tither8/ 7/2008
RACING through the forest in hard hat and a wedding dress, Jenni Falconer has a look of grim determination on her face that implies she would stop at nothing to get her man down the aisle.
Hitching her meringue-style gown around her waist she abseils down from the trees in a TV trailer that's a cross between Muriel's Wedding and GI Jane.
But actually, the chatty star is quick to explain, that bridezilla act is all in a day's work - just an advert to promote her latest presenting role as the host of GMTV's new Battle of the Brides competition.
Away from the small screen, she says, there are absolutely no wedding plans afoot for her personally.
Although, she laughs, that hasn't stopped people asking her nearly every day for the past few years if she has plans to tie the knot with long-term boyfriend James Midgley.
"If I did start getting the wedding bug my boyfriend would freak," she says with that trademark infectious giggle. "He's already told me not to get any ideas!"
Jenni, 32, has been dating Manchester actor James - of Cutting It fame - for around four years now, with the pair first spotted together on the city's party scene. And while things sound to be going well between the couple, there is no sound of wedding bells in the air just yet.
"One day"
"I would love to get married one day, that would be great," she says. "I have been going out with my boyfriend for a few years now. One day I'm sure it will happen.
"People are still asking us when we will get married, even though they realise the answer is not coming back.
"We have just got a dog, actually, and that's commitment enough for us. He's a puggle - a cross between a pug and a beagle - he's really cute, but a real handful."
Looking at her hectic filming schedule, it would be hard to squeeze in a trip down the aisle anyway. A regular on GMTV, where she presents the Entertainment Today Friday show, she also fronts the National Lottery draws and various other TV shows. She's come a long way from the girl who was first spotted as a contestant on Blind Date.
And this summer she's heading a national hunt for one lucky couple to tie the knot in an all expenses paid celebrity style wedding for GMTV's Battle of the Brides.
Billed as the "ultimate nuptial knockout" the summer-long special will see wannabe brides going head to head to win their dream wedding by completing a series of challenges.
The prize at stake is a £6,000 wedding gown, a castle venue, a celebrity hairdresser and a honeymoon to Jamaica. Judges for the contest include Cheshire-based footballer's wife Sheree Murphy and wedding planner Peregrine Armstrong-Jones. Travelling around the country to find the most determined couple, with a stint in Manchester on the cards, Jenni reckons the competition is going to be tough.
"That chance"
"The average wedding now costs £20,000 - so we are really looking for people who want to win because they are really desperate to get married, to give them that chance," she explains.
"I don't think it's going to be anything as hard as the assault course we did for the trailer - that was just a bit of a laugh."
Ultimately, the winner will be treated to a real A-list wedding, she says. Although, sadly, not quite on the scale of Wayne and Coleen's recent multi-million pound extravaganza.
"I was meant to be going out to do the Wayne and Coleen wedding, but I had other work on in the end," she says. "I've never really covered a big celebrity wedding because you can't get in, you have to stand outside because they usually have magazine deals.
"Some of them go to town though don't they? But money can't buy you happiness. The one that made me laugh the most was Liza Minelli and David Gest - with 30 bridesmaids all wearing black. Did they even know all the bridesmaids? They just looked like OK!'s favourite celebrities.
"I'm sure Wayne and Coleen's wedding was perfect for them but sometimes you can spend a little too much. Maybe my tip would be don't go overboard - although, you never know, I might just spend £5m if I was getting married!"
For more information on GMTV's search for the ultimate wedding couple, visit gm.tv
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