SHE is a self-proclaimed Untamed Royal, but what a difference a decade makes. From the toe-sucking humiliation of 10 years ago to a broadcasting and publishing success story, Sarah Ferguson has been hailed as one of the most inspired reinventions of the new century.

At 41 she is barely recognisable as the overweight, rather horsey Duchess of York who covered tabloid front pages in scandal throughout the eighties and nineties. Now, svelte and poised, she is a favourite of the US chat-show circuit and has newly signed a development deal with Universal Television Enterprises to host Fergie, an inspiring daily one-hour talk-variety show earmarked for 2003-4.

UTE president Steve Rosenberg can barely hide his delight at the royal coup, gushing: ''Sarah is an amazing person and a one-of-a-kind talent just made for television. She is the person next door whose inspirational stories of survival make her appealing to viewers and

stations alike. We will work together to develop a show that captures her warmth, humour, honesty, and passion for life.''

And, responding in best US psycho-babble, she responds: ''I enjoy being with people, so I'll feel in my element. I am constantly inspired by those I meet and I would like to be part of an exciting television programme which celebrates life and the human spirit.''

As well as the unlikely tag of the ''person next door'', Fergie has been described as ''variety with heart'', and it's her perceived warmth and down-to-earth nature - wrapped in a royal package, of course - which has endeared her to millions of Americans.

Ironically, it was her common touch that dragged her into so much trouble on home shores. Back when she was married to Prince Andrew, her fondness for fun was perceived as being vulgar, as was her dress sense, her weight, and the fact she wasn't as pretty as Princess Diana. The flame-haired duchess never experienced an easy time in the limelight, suffering every kind of jibe from headlines such as The Duchess of Pork to scathing critiques of her financial affairs. A decade ago her stock could not have

fallen any lower. Pilloried by the media, she was forced to cope with a public banishment from the royal family, on top of debts of around (pounds) 4m. After all, she was a freeloader who liked the high life - and she was hardly a virgin bride, was she?'' was the tone when Diana could do no wrong. There was a time when Fergie-baiting was a national pastime.

The duchess is still mystified as to why she has generated such hatred, but has never held back in criticising the ''institutionalised cruelty'' of the royal family.

''Why can't they just have fun with me,'' she sadly asked in an interview. ''We used to have fun. And what about kindness, forgiveness?''

While the British continue to sneer, the Americans, who love a good against-all-odds success story, adore the way she has turned misfortune around. Even when she has struggled to maintain her weight, they enjoy the fact she is so painfully honest about her emotional state. Spilling her guts is how the British press see it. In the UK she is still seen as a mild embarrassment.

It was in 1997 that the slimming organisation Weight Watchers International named Fergie as US spokes-woman and she toured the country as part of the drive to promote weight loss. Gradually, the rotund figure was whittled down by four stones to Hollywood thin and the unruly hair, previously seen tied back in a hasty ponytail, became sleek and blow-dried. Her makeup was immaculate and the blowsy dress sense replaced by chic lines.

Her Weight Watchers deal is reputed to be around (pounds) 1m a year - more than Andrew is given by the taxpayer to sunbathe on yachts with supermodels, no doubt. Wedgwood, the UK makers of fine bone china, along with various other big businesses, have also paid well to have Fergie endorse their products.

''I had to go out and make money - so I did,'' she says, unrepentant and happily out of debt since she decided to make a business of herself and her royal connections.

Not all of her choices have worked well, however. Just before the death of Diana in the Paris car smash, the duchess starred in an advert for Weight Watchers that said losing pounds was as hard as escaping from the paparazzi. This was quickly withdrawn. And her comments on making ''calorie-counting fun'' for daughters Beatrice and Eugenie drew flak from the medical profession for making the girls aware of dieting at

such a young and vulnerable age.

Despite the odd setback, the successful rise of her television career in the States has been a rapid one. She has been the special correspondent for NBC's today show and has been a substitute host on Larry King Live. It was her ABC special in 1996, Adventures with the Duchess, which won her debut rave reviews. It was a timely piece of good news, for at that time she claimed to be ''overweight, in debt, and terribly unhappy''. She joined CBS News in 1982 where she rose through the ranks to become a producer, covering breaking news stories and sports events including the Olympics.

In the UK she has presented a documentary on India called In Search of the Spirit, as well as hosting the human interest chat programme, Sarah,

Surviving Life, on Sky One.

As well as fronting talk shows she is also a regular on them, appearing on all the major US programmes where she has talked candidly about her life with the royals. Numerous books she has authored range from the children's series Budgie the Helicopter as well as two historical titles on Queen Victoria. She is working on another children's novel called Little Red, based on her own toy rag doll. It will be published by Simon and Schuster in 2003.

Sarah Ferguson's first taste of international fame, on July 23, 1986, came when her televised wedding to Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, was watched by a global audience of around 300 million.

In her autobiography, My Story, she recalls sneaking away from her father's polo matches to ''play tag with other like-minded truants, including Prince Andrew, who was just my age''.

After her marriage, the gentle rebelliousness which initially made her popular with the press quickly became her downfall as she often became a source of ridicule. When she separated from Andrew in 1992 she was deeply in debt and, although the Queen reputedly paid off her debts, she was soon in financial trouble again - thanks to her love of the jet-set lifestyle - and she had to work hard writing books and newspaper columns and making television shows to dig her way out.

Although she remained friends with Andrew, the duchess was that year photographed with a special friend, Steve Wyatt, a US playboy businessman, seen out with Fergie and her daughters.

However, it was exactly 10 years ago, in August of 1992, that the hapless Fergie found herself in real tabloid hot water after she was captured in pictures with yet another male friend, John Bryan, who was her business advisor. This time there was no way she could deny a relationship, as Bryan was busy kissing her feet and sucking on her toes. The embarrassed Ferguson was utterly humiliated - a feeling compounded when Bryan sold a lurid, and false, she claims, story about their affair to the press.

The Yorks' plans to divorce became official in 1996 while Fergie and Andrew shared custody of their girls. The family continued to live together in Sunninghill Park, despite dating other people. She subsequently became a role model on how to stay on excellent terms with an ex-partner for the good of the children, with countless stories of happy family outings after the break-up and shared parenting decisions by a former couple who still seemed close.

Speaking in terms of American lifestyle TV, she admits to having in the past been a ''born people pleaser'' living an ''unauthentic life'' which contrasts with her life today which she calls ''living the truth''.

''I have knowledge of what it's like to be overweight and disliked,'' she said. ''The papers used to call me fat, frumpy, freebie Ferguson.''

She now claims to have found the ''inner peace, confidence, and

clarity'' which had always eluded her, describing her arrival at this point in time as ''a journey to understand myself''.

Her gratitude to the American people, whom she felt have given her a precious second chance, can be seen in the jewelled American flag pin that she wears on her lapel, even when at home in the UK.

But her life journey is not over yet. As well as her charity work, and lucrative television ventures, this year she bought an estate in Tuscany close to one owned by a former boyfriend, Count Gaddo della Gherardesca. She and the count plan to turn the estate into an exclusive health spa which they will run jointly as a business.

In Fergie's own words, she sums up her life thus far by stating in

typical rebel mode: ''I was never

cut out for royalty . . . I have my life back and I will not let go of it.

''And I just might live rather happily ever after.''