The colourful, outspoken and often controversial MP Ann Widdecombe is to be guest speaker at Worcestershire Women's Institute annual meeting.

The 58 year-old member of parliament for Maidstone and the Weald, who is also an author and television celebrity, will be giving a non-political talk to 900 members of the county federation on Tuesday, March 21.

Chairman of Worcestershire WI Chris Marriott said they were excited and delighted that Ms Widde-combe had accepted their invitation to top the bill at the annual council meeting in the Forum Theatre, Malvern. "She is the icing on the cake. Our members like to have something a bit more light-hearted after going through the business of annual reports and accounts in the morning," she said. Mrs Marriott added that they had to book the popular personality - who was seen last year on BBC2 with her own programme, Ann Widdecombe To The Rescue - a year in advance.

"We don't know what she will speak on but we always tell our speakers it must be non-political," said Mrs Marriott.

Apart from being a roving agony aunt giving down-to-earth advice to families in the grip of various "domestics", Ms Widdecombe also became a favoured figure when she appeared in ITV's Celebrity Fit Club, in which she lost two stone.

She has written four novels and is currently working on a fifth one.

She has been an MP for 19 years and was a Home Office minister in the mid-1990s.

She has also been Shadow Health Secretary and Shadow Home Secretary. She stepped down from the front benches in 2001.

Other speakers at the county WI's annual meeting have been BBC presenters Nick Owen and Kay Alexander and celebrated war correspondent Kate Adie, as well as cook and TV personality Clarissa Dixon Wright.

Other speakers at this year's meeting will be Liz Easton from the National Federation Of Women's Institutes and storyteller Chloe Lees.