Sexy lingerie model Danielle Bux has claimed she’s piled on the pounds just weeks before her wedding to Gary Lineker. And she’s blaming her weight gain on the number of cakes she scoffed during her travels in Northern Ireland.

While most brides-to-be shed pounds before their big day, lads’ mag favourite Danielle says she’s tipping the scales at half a stone over her normal weight.

Danielle and her ex-footballer fiance, who are reported to be tying the knot in a private ceremony in Italy, have just finished a road trip adventure through Northern Ireland for a BBC show.

The celebrity couple travelled to each county for this year’s action-packed series of Northern Exposure, visiting places suggested by members of the public and the production team.

But between activities such as yoga, horse riding, hovercraft racing and water skiing, Danielle couldn’t resist tucking into the plates of homemade cakes and buns set in front of her.

“I think I have put on half a stone over here,” she revealed.

“Everywhere we’ve been people have made us cakes!”

All Danielle’s wedding plans are in place but when she stopped off at Sheelin Lace Museum in Bellanaleck, Co Fermanagh, recently she fell in love with some of the bridal accessories for sale.

“I was trying some veils on in there and I thought it’s a shame I’m already sorted because I definitely would have chosen something from there, it was just beautiful,” she said.

“It was all Irish antique lace. It was the old vintagey feel it had — it was gorgeous.”

La Senza model Danielle — who is proud mum of six-year-old daughter Ella and who will soon become stepmum to Gary’s four children from his first marriage — famously impressed viewers with her culinary skills when she appeared on Hell’s Kitchen earlier this spring.

She said being in Hell’s Kitchen was difficult at the time but that she now regards it as one of the best experiences of her life.

“When I was in it I was thinking, ‘what have I done?’,” she admitted.

“I wouldn’t say I was talented, but when you’ve got kids you’ve got to learn how to cook, otherwise they will just live on warm-up meals and that’s not really the way to go.

“I was self-taught and the opportunity came along to do it and I thought I would love to.”

But she was happy to swap the drama of Hell’s Kitchen for My Little Kitchen, a cookery school located in Greysteel, Co Londonderry.

“The guy there is absolutely brilliant. It was one of my highlights,” she said.

“We did some Thai cooking and that would be a thing I would love to go back and do again.”

She added that Gary, who she revealed once set their stove on fire, loved it as well.

“Gary took some of the menus away and he says he’s going to try them at home — but we shall see!”

Another highlight was American-style horseriding in Co Down that Danielle and Gary enjoyed so much they’ve already made plans to do it again.

But while she tried to be as natural as possible, Danielle admitted she felt under pressure stepping in front of the cameras with Gary for the first time.

“Gary and I love travelling — you always see us in all these random places so we jumped at the chance to work together,” she said.

“I didn’t want to do something with Gary and for it to be a total disaster. I did feel quite pressured with him being so advanced as a broadcaster — this is what he’s done for such a long time.”

And she admitted that while Gary is an expert in front of the cameras, his instructions weren’t always easy to take.

“He gave me a lots of advice as we were going along which, coming from your partner, can be a bit ‘urgh’.

“There are ways of telling people and guiding them!” she laughed.

She’s not ruling out another show with her husband-to-be,

but is ruling out a fly-on-the-wall reality show.

“Gary usually says that if you ever see him on something like that you know things have got really desperate!” she said.

“We would love to do something together but I think it would be something like this rather than something regular. We’ve really enjoyed this.”

There were some activities she refused to take part in however — like zorbing.

“It’s a huge plastic ball and you sit in it and roll down a hill. Kids and teenagers would love that but it wasn’t for me,” she said.

“I let Gary do it but I think he felt sick for about two hours afterwards! You can’t like everything can you?”

She also passed on surfing and water skiing because she’s not a strong swimmer.

“I drove the boat for the water skiing,” she said.

“I’m glad I can’t swim actually, because the water was absolutely freezing!”

Danielle said she can’t wait to see the show and added she thinks it’s better than last year’s series, which featured Laurence and Jackie Llewelyn-Bowen.

“We’ve seen bits of last year’s but we think this one’s better!

“I think we’ve had more action and adventure — it feels like we have. I’m so excited, I can’t wait to see it and regardless of the fact it’s me and Gary doing it, I think it is a really good show.”

She added that she is planing to come back to visit Northern Ireland in a few weeks’ time.

“I definitely think I will be a regular over here now. I’d never been before, even though some of my best friends are from Co Tyrone.

“I think it’s just a shame that the rest of Britain can’t see this show because it’s such a great place.

“It would be lovely for people in England and Wales to see what an amazing country you’ve got.”

nGary and Danielle’s Northern Exposure starts on Friday, July 24, on BBC One Northern Ireland.