Transwomen are banned from female changing rooms by Virgin Active

Transwomen have been banned from using female changing rooms at Virgin Active following the threat of legal action made by a popular TV star.

The gym chain, who have 230 clubs based across eight countries worldwide, sent an email to its customers on Friday morning informing them of the 'important update' to their 'club rules'.

It comes after GB News presenter Michelle Dewberry revealed that she had cancelled her Virgin Active membership after 'seeing a man in the female changing rooms'.

Solicitors representing the 45-year-old, who won the second season of The Apprentice, sent a letter threatening legal action against the business in February.

The claim, supported by the charity Sex Matters, insisted that it would be brought under the Equality Act and concerned the chain's 'trans inclusion' policy, which permitted both transwomen and non-binary individuals from entering female changing rooms.