SHE'S the woman who launched the soccer scandal of the decade.

Now Rebecca Loos is swapping Golden Balls for golden chains when she jets into Southampton to promote a city jewellers' new range, which has been snapped up by department store Debenhams.

The former PA to England captain David Beckham, famously dubbed Golden Balls by his wife Victoria, rocked the football world when she claimed to have had an affair with the squeaky-clean family man.

Her sleazy story, of smouldering text messages, bitter rivalries and a lonely husband, sold for about £300,000 to the News of the World - rumoured to be the highest payment by a newspaper for a single story.

Now the 26-year-old "Madrid Temptress" is lending her notoriety to Southampton jeweller Kim Rose, who has landed a deal to sell his new range of diamond rings and gold chains at Debenhams.

Kim, who runs Eclipse Jewellers in Hanover Buildings, said: "I met Rebecca Loos at a party through a friend of mine and she was very interested in the range.

"She said that 95 per cent of the jewellery would be items she would buy herself, she liked them so much. We had some lovely publicity pictures taken last week when I met her."

Asked about the saucy history of the daughter of a Dutch diplomat, Kim said: "There's always two sides to every story. She's a lovely girl. She's very intelligent and she's a star in her own right.

"I think we should all give everyone a chance to come out and show their own personality."

Ms Loos will be at Southampton's Debenhams store, in Queensway, on Wednesday, September 22 to launch the range of what Kim describes as "upmarket diamond jewellery".

Initially, it is just going into the Southampton store, but there are plans to extend the range to Oxford Street, in London and possibly further afield.

Kim, a former general election candidate for Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party, said: "This is my first national company deal and, being born and bred in Southampton, I wanted one of the first stores to stock the range to be here."

He added: "They are beautiful pieces of jewellery at realistic prices. It will take the nation by storm."

He says his diamond engagement rings, which will sell for between £300 and £1,000, are a bargain when compared to similar jewels being sold in the high street.

The Southampton jeweller admitted it would be a lucrative deal - but was staying tight-lipped about the figures.

City Debenhams store manager, John Given, said: "It's good to have a partnership with a local businessman and it's exclusive to Debenhams. In that respect it's fantastic for the business.

"It's also always good to get a star attraction down to help launch these things, so we're thrilled on both counts."