A TEENAGER from Radcliffe has played a starring role in an advert celebrating active women of all shapes and sizes – which has gone viral and been watched by millions of people.

Alice Walmsley, aged 16, is part of the 'This Girl Can' campaign, which has received more than eight million Facebook shares and 6.7 million YouTube views.

The initiative was launched after Sport England discovered that, while 75 per cent of women wanted to do more exercise, fear of judgement was their biggest barrier.

High-profile primetime TV adverts and billboards celebrate women of different sporting abilities and promote realistic body image by starring ladies who sweat and jiggle as they exercise.

Alice is featured running near her home in Cranbrook Street, Radcliffe in the advert, after being spotted by a casting agent while she trained at Dynamics Gym in Water Street last summer.

The 16-year-old, who attended Derby High, and now is on a barbering course at Bury College, said: “All my friends have been inspired by the advert and are going wild about it.

“I loved taking part as I have always wanted to be on television since I was a kid.

“I am not one of those girls who has perfect looks and a perfect figure and I think that is what the advert is really saying – it is for women of any shape and any size.”

Alice began jogging in the gym four years ago, after quickly going from being severely underweight to overweight as a teenager, and started running outside as she grew in confidence.

She added: “The one thing I think 'This Girl Can' really teaches people is there is no perfect body. The only perfect body is when you feel comfortable in your own body.”

In March 2013, it was announced Bury had been chosen to host pioneering £2.3 million Sport England pilot ‘I Will If You Will’ to get more women involved in activity.

Insights from 'I Will If You Will', such as how to approach women at different stages of fitness and understanding their barriers and motivations, have also fed into the 'This Girl Can' campaign.

Sport England's chief executive officer Jennie Price, said: “In 'This Girl Can', we want to tell the real story of women who exercise and play sport. They come in all shapes and sizes and all levels of ability.”

Another local woman - single mum Kelly Stevens, aged 31 - also stars in the 'This Girl Can' campaign, in a short film entitled Kelly vs ‘Mummy!’ after losing weight by working out at home with her three children.

Kelly, who lives in Elton, said: “I just want to pass on the message that it does not matter how good you are or what you do – if this girl can, really any girl can.”