It is probably not the sort of VIP endorsement TV hypnotist Paul McKenna was looking for.

Singer Courtney Love, whose shockingly skinny new look has alarmed celebrity-watchers, has credited the British weight-loss guru with keeping her so thin.

She consulted him after using conventional dieting methods to shed more than three stone, which she had piled on after quitting drugs.

Buxom to bony: Courtney Love, left, with a fuller figure back in 2001 and looking skeletal in Los Angeles recently

But even her close friends are concerned that her latest weight loss is far too dramatic.

One said: ‘She is skeletal now. Her weight would always yo-yo depending on whether she was doing drugs or not but then she cleaned up her act in rehab and replaced drugs with food. But Courtney is an addict and now she is addicted to losing weight. 

Thinner: Courtney Love is looking skinnier than ever

‘She looks terrible. She needs to put on a stone at least.

‘Ever since she’s been seeing McKenna for hypnosis sessions, she’s lost more weight. It doesn’t look good but she thinks he’s a genius.’

Courtney, 44, widow of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, who shot himself in 1994, underwent a series of Think Yourself Thin hypnosis sessions with McKenna, who moved from London to Los Angeles this year.

She told friends: ‘I’ve known Paul for years. I lost weight last year the old-fashioned way by dieting and living off protein shakes. But it was hard to stay disciplined. I was worried the weight might come back so I booked myself in for weekly sessions with Paul.

'I can make you thin': Hypnotist Paul McKenna

‘He’s brilliant and is totally responsible for me staying so skinny. Whenever I start to feel my resolve weaken, I go to Paul for another hypnosis session.’

Courtney, the former frontwoman of the rock band Hole, says she piled on 45lb two years ago after quitting drugs. She lost it on a meagre diet and through exercise and colonic irrigation.

But she has recently lost a further 10lb, leading to worries about her health.

McKenna, 44, hosts a TV show on The Learning Channel (TLC) in the US called I Can Make You Thin. A book of the same name has sold millions of copies on both sides of the Atlantic.

In January this year, he signed a three-year deal with America’s Discovery Network, which includes TLC, for £15million.

With endorsement and book deals, he could earn up to £25million. He boasts a host of celebrity clients, including Britney Spears, Daryl Hannah and David Beckham.

A spokesman for McKenna failed to return calls requesting comment last night.