TORY MP Michael Portillo has revealed how an eight-year-old girl presented a much tougher challenge than his political opponents.

The staunch right-winger, who once challenged for his party leadership, swapped his luxurious lifestyle for that of a single mother from Wirral for one week for a forthcoming TV show.

Despite his reputation for having a thick hide and a ruthless ambitious streak, the MP for Kensington and Chelsea admitted meeting his match in the family's young daughter, Ellie.

Alison Cahn, producer of the BBC's My Week in the Real World, said: "His biggest battle was with Ellie. She is this wonderful, very fiery and determined little girl. They are fairly evenly matched.

"There are moments of confrontation when you wonder what he is going to do. He never lost his temper but at times there was a stony silence and you could see on his face how difficult he found it.

"Getting the kids to bed was the thing he found the hardest. In one scene, Ellie is tired but doesn't want to go to bed and he makes her go.

"I asked him how it compared to having a war of words in the House of Commons and he said, 'It's tougher'."

Leaving his upmarket Belgravia home to move into the terraced house in Evelyn Road, Wallasey, turned up a few obstacles.

The MP, who has no children of his own, had to feed and look after the four children - Tasha, 12, Anton, 11, Jacob, 10, and Ellie - on a budget of just £80 a week.

After juggling the pennies to buy in the family shop, he also had to cook the food. Clearly a stranger to the kitchen, he is seen in the programme breaking an egg on the floor - then scooping it off the lino and adding it to their meal.

"He doesn't really cook at home, he goes out most of the time. So cooking was a bit of a problem," said Ms Cahn.

"He couldn't pay anyone else to do the cooking or the washing or look after the kids.

"He had to learn to count the pennies and value money in a totally different way."

With an estimated income of around £1m a year, including his £55,000 Parliamentary salary, his shelf-stacking stint at the local Asda store, which earned him just £5.06 an hour, also proved to be a bit of an eye-opener.

Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo MP became "Mike" on his name tag and the expensive suits were replaced with green polo shirt and baseball cap.

The friendliness of customers and neighbours has left a lasting impression on the Tory grandee, though, and so have the children, whom he still keeps in contact with by letter.

Ms Cahn said: "He was really struck by how warm and welcoming the community was. People popped in for a cup of tea.

"He said he just wasn't used to that in Belgravia, people don't knock on your door there and come in for a cuppa."

The series will be screened in autumn and Liverpool Walton MP Peter Kilfoyle has been lined up for the next series. The former Defence Minister has agreed to take part, but does not yet know what it will entail.