Slimming twins ready to lose their 'meatballs' nickname

ENJOYING the first bath in her newly renovated bathroom was a moment Gemma Muirhead had been looking forward to since moving into her new home, right next door to her twin sister Amanda Fodden.

- NICOLE GOODWIN

her new bathroom in April

But when that moment finally arrived in January 2025, Gemma was horrified to discover that she couldn't fit in the bathtub.

"I'd had the whole bathroom ripped out and a new one put in and I couldn't wait to get a bath. I was desperate to use my bath and I'd paid so much money", said Gemma, 41.

"I'd been so excited for it and had been telling everyone at work that I was going to have my first bath.

"But when it came to it, I couldn’t even get into it.

"It wasn’t even a length issue because I'm only five foot nothing. It was literally a width issue."

Gemma and Amanda's height and weight is what earned the identical twins, from Stanley, County Durham, the nickname 'The Meatballs'. The name is believed to have originated over a decade ago when the sisters worked at the same location.

Amanda said: "Back in the day there was a series on MTV called Jersey Shore and there were two people on it who were little and used to get called 'The Meatballs' so I think it just stemmed from there and it's just stuck.

"We even have group chats where we're called 'The Meatballs'. It started about 15 years ago and it's just stuck."

Gemma added: "I never used to mind it. It used to be quite a cute little nickname until you dig deeper and you realise that it’s not a nice nickname."

But now the twins have lost almost 4st between them and now call themselves "The Quorn Meatballs" as they've opted for "a no fat meatball name". And after beginning her weight loss journey last January, Gemma was finally able to have the first bath in her new bathroom in April.

However, now the twins have a new challenge as they're on a mission to slim into their dresses for Amanda's wedding on May 3. Amanda, who has slimmed from a size 18 to a size 14-16 since April, said: "I'm getting married in May 2026, and right now, my wedding dress doesn’t fit."