WE ARE ALL familiar with the binge-detox cycle of Christmas and the New Year period. So too, it seems, is Marks and Spencer. The high-street retailer has been hitting the new year resolutions market running with a new TV ad for its Simply Fuller Longer range.

In the ad, actress Caroline Quentin, who was signed up to be the face of M&S food last year, sings the praises of the “range of delicious meals that can help you lose weight”. She continues: “Trust M&S to come up with something like that.”

Trust M&S indeed – just a fortnight ago, Quentin was tempting us with smoked haddock gruyere fondue, sausages and roast joints glistening with glaze and “with all the trimmings” for their Christmas dinner ads. Throwing a lascivious eye over a chocolate-covered ice-cream bombe and pudding, urging: “If you’re going to have seconds, who says it has to be from the same pudding?”

In the run-up to the festive season, from mid-November onwards as confirmed by Marks and Spencer’s own publicity material, she was promoting pork belly squares, wrapped tiger prawns and mini dessert sandwiches”. No wonder she – and we – now need a range of weight-loss meals.

In the best tradition of New Year makeover magazine features, it’s a case of clicking on the BEFORE… and AFTER.