Take it Easy replaces previous weekend offering The People Magazine following research to discover exactly what People readers want from their weekend magazine.
It enters a market already served by paid-for weeklies such as Bauer's Take a Break and That's Life, IPC Media's Chat and Emap's Closer, which combines celebrity news with real-life human interest stories.
The first issue of Take it Easy featured former 'EastEnders' and 'Red Caps' star Tamzin Outhwaite talking about how she had found love, along with coverlines such as "I had to choose between being raped or murdered" and "How I shed an amazing eight stone".
The magazine is being edited by Kerry Parnell and also features TV listings, fashion, health issues, cookery, beauty and the chance to win instant cash prizes with puzzles and a £1,000 crossword.
Mark Thomas, editor of The People, said: "Take it Easy is all about our readers and in that respect is quite unique in our market. It's a fantastic read, it offers a real point of difference to our rivals and we've already seen that readers love it."
He added: "They identify strongly with the magazine and in particular the people featured in our real-life stories. The signs are it's going to be a great success."
The research was backed by market analysis showing that in addition to The People readers were buying magazines based on real-life stories.
Phil Hall, Trinity Mirror's editorial development director for national
Newspapers, said: "The aim was to produce a magazine that really connects with our readers.
"The launch came after painstaking research -- instead of telling readers
what they want from their magazine, we let them tell us.
"Readers described rival magazines as 'flick reads' but their reaction to Take it Easy was completely different. They said it was far more engaging, spent much more time with the product and found it a genuinely gripping read."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
