MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT

Skinny Prosecco’s Amanda Thomson

foRmeR BBC reporter amanda Thomson, 44, launched Thomson & Scott in 2013, producing low and no-sugar sparkling wines. She and her husband ian, a publicist, have a daughter, 14, and a son, nine, and live in hampshire. I GOT to know about champagne while interviewing actors on the red carpet for the BBC. It was a dream lifestyle, but I’d always fantasised about living in Paris and learning to make wine that wasn’t packed with added chemicals.

I kept putting it off because the idea of moving my life — and that of my husband and young children — to France seemed impossible.

My turning point came at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. I loved the arts world, but it had become increasingly about celebrity. I realised I wanted a change.

People were starting to care about the provenance of what they drank. If I could come up with a beautiful sparkling wine that was clean and pure, surely it would become the ‘it drink’ all over the world?

I found a Parisian wine course, handed in my notice and we upped sticks to the French capital.

Three years later, I had a diploma in wine.

One evening, at a tasting, I met a master champagnemaker, Alexandre Penet, whose fizz was delicious and had less sugar than most champagnes — which rely on it for their sweetness.

It was my light bulb moment. I managed to persuade Alexandre to make me a ‘zero dosage’ champagne (where no sugar is added during the manufacturing process).

My range of sparkling wines, Thomson & Scott Skinny Champagne and Skinny Prosecco, was born.

It was never about the calories — it’s more of a mindset; an awareness of what’s in your bottle.

It was tough launching on my own — I had to grow the business in a male-dominated arena.

Here’s my advice to any would-be entrepreneurs: if you’re 100 per cent sure it’s a brilliant idea, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Often the only thing holding you back is fear.