A fashion designer famed for dressing Joanna Lumley in a bin liner is expanding his flourishing floral business.

Jean Yves Aubin started on the road to success when the actress, who played Patsy in television comedy Absolutely Fabulous, accidentally spotted his early creation.

At the time, Jean Yves was a waiter at a restaurant in London's West End and he stapled one of his colleagues into the bin liner dress as a joke.

He said: "Joanna Lumley was one of the last customers in the restaurant that night and when she saw the dress she asked if she could have a similar outfit to wear for Children in Need.

"She was wonderful and I made her a designer dress out of bin liners.

"I stapled her into it and she wore it for the Children in Need show on TV.

"There she was standing on stage next to Terry Wogan in one of my creations."

Following Joanna's television appearance, the Frenchman's fashions took off and he later appeared on the Generation Game, showing the nation how to make the outfits.

During his ten years on the programme he stapled models into the bin liner dresses and contestants had 90 seconds to copy the designs on their partner.

He said: "The outfits were made from different coloured bin liners and were usually quite fitted. They had a corset and I added sleeves, or maybe some flowers or a hat."

He did one season with Bruce Forsyth and for the rest worked with Jim Davidson.

Jean Yves, 40 and originally from Brittany, said: "Jim is a very funny man. I got on really well with him. We became good friends. He is the sort of person who always looks after his friends and helps them if they need work.

"Bruce Forsyth liked to be the one to tell the jokes. He preferred others to keep quiet and not try to outshine him."

As well as his star turns, he also made outfits for private customers and friends.

"People have got married in my dresses. Some of the more ornate ones use up to 500 bags. I staple the bride in before the wedding and on the wedding night they need to be cut out of them."

His wedding dresses cost about £700.

His skills have also been spotted overseas, with Jean Yves appearing on TV in Japan and Spain.

But ten years ago he decided to spend more time on one of his favourite hobbies - flower arranging.

He moved to Brighton and opened the Rhubarb flower shop in Edward Street, where he switched his creative abilities to designing floral decorations.

His television career has not been hampered by his green-fingers, although now he prefers to be behind the scenes.

Jean Yves provided the flower displays when the Home Front team visited a house in Worthing, although he missed meeting Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

He said: "We went in the day before and decked out the place with baccara roses and lilies.

"We met the builders but we were too early to see Laurence or the other stars."

This month Jean Yves opened the doors of a new flower shop in Ditchling, renting a building from Clifford Dann in West Street.

He hopes the second Rhubarb, named after the vegetable leave he sometimes adds to the floral displays, will take off as it has in Brighton.

He said: "I hope the people in the village will like our trendy and unusual designs."

Jean Yves still dabbles in the the bin bag outfits and last year he dressed one of the contestants in the Miss Alternative Brighton competition.

The fishtail dress was made from silver bin bags and decorated with 50 peacock feathers.

He said: "The dresses are real head turners. When you wear them you become the centre of attention."