The creator of the Ultimo bra has appointed one Michelle Mone

The creator of the Ultimo bra has appointed one Michelle Mone, company director and mother of three, as the new "face and body" of her latest clothing line.

According to the press release from MJM International, it was the company's board of directors who, after seeing Mrs Mone pose for an exclusive shoot with Hello! magazine, ditched the idea of hiring an expensive celebrity and persuaded her to front the new advertising campaign.

According to the company's most recent accounts, the board of directors consists of just four people Ms Mone, her husband, Michael Mone, the company's finance director, Catherine MacRae and Scott Kilday. Asked if, in fact, this was actually her own idea, a spokeswoman said: "No, no... not at all. Michelle has been very reticent."

Since the beginning of the year, Ms Mone, who has lost six stone and is marketing a new herbal supplement, TrimSecrets, as the cause of her weight loss, has been claiming that she planned to strip off and model her own underwear.

The Ultimo Couture, however, is a range of evening dresses which will be sold exclusively at Debenhams.

Ms Mone, 38, said: "I love getting glammed up for special occasions, but I was tired of spending a small fortune on dresses and wanted to bring affordable eveningwear to the high street.

"Being best known for lingerie, I also wanted to offer dresses that incorporate our bra expertise – so each of these designs feature unique inner support, which I know women will really appreciate.