By Holly Thomas


Transformation: Birds Of A Feather star Pauline Quirke has lost eight stone this year


Many of us embrace the new year with a vow to get in shape.

But for most such a resolution is usually abandoned before January is out.

Pauline Quirke defied the dieting stereotype to lose an astonishing eight stone in a year- and she's celebrating in true festive style.


The former Birds Of A feather star opened up to Woman magazine about how she achieved her incredible weight loss.

The actress admitted that previously she 'never had anything nice to wear' and had 'no interest in fashion'.

'I’ve developed an interest in clothes at the age of 52,' Pauline revealed.

'When you’re a size 28, you wear what fits. When I was in Birds Of A Feather, I’d turn up for work and there’d be huge racks of clothes for Linda and Lesley to choose from and there, in the corner, would be a tiny rack for me.'

New look: The actress has discovered a stylish side since shedding the weight


Pauline has certainly discovered a new love of fashion, as she confessed: 'Once I’d reached my goal, I bought a pair of black Gerry Weber trousers and a turquoise coat from Betty Jackson.

'I’m learning to walk in high heels. I’ve never worn them but you need to get the old pins out when you’re wearing a dress.

'I wore a little pair of kitten heels recently but they didn’t last longer than an hour – I like dancing too much.'

She continued: 'After 30 years, I’ve finally said goodbye to my elasticated waist- bands. I didn’t buy many clothes during the diet because I was still losing weight so there wasn’t much point,' she explained.

'I don’t like things that are low on the waist, as far as I’m convinced my waist stops where my chest starts!'

Drastic action: Pauline, pictured at the Granada TV Summer Ball in September last year, weighed 19 stone when she resolved to turn her life around


It's clear that Pauline's motivation to lose weight was not related to her career, as she emphasised: 'I’ve never been an oil painting but I’m living proof you don’t have to be a size 8, young and gorgeous to be an actress,'

'I’ve worked solidly for 43 years and I was very overweight for a lot of that time.'

'I weighed 19st. I know the whole world starts their diet in January and most of us stop it by March but I was determined to do it,' she divulged.


Pauline credits the Lighter Life plan for her drastic change, stressing: 'I won’t have surgery though.

'I’m a mother of two and I won’t put myself under a surgeon’s knife unless I desperately have to and they’ll be for medical reasons, not cosmetic.'

Pauline spoke to the Mirror last month about the moment she realised she needed to tackle her weight.

The Emmerdale actress found it embarrassing when she had to ask a flight attendant for a seat belt extension as she set off for a family holiday.

'As I walked up the stairs to the plane I just got the fear. I thought of something I knew was going to go wrong and cursed myself for not thinking of it six months before, and doing something about it,' she said.

'I felt like c**p, to have to do that in front of my husband and kids.'

That incident, together with being told by doctors she would need a hip replacement, made Quirke realise she would have to conquer her weight.



source:dailymail

By Emily Sheridan


Feeling confident: Emmerdale actress Pauline Quirke poses in a black prom dress as she arrives at the TV Choice Awards at the Savoy Hotel in London


She admitted she used to hate award shows and avoided photographers when she weighed her heaviest.

But after losing more than 7st since January, Emmerdale actress Pauline Quirke is finally feeling confident again.

The former Birds Of A Feather star, 52, showed off her new trim figure in a black dress as she happily posed for paparazzi on the red carpet of the TV Choice Awards last night.

Joined by her co-star Danny Miller, 20, Quirke looked comfortable with her new size 14 figure at the Savoy Hotel.

After being warned by her doctor in January that she was 'severely obese', Quirke started following the LighterLife weight-loss programme - which combines a low-calorie diet and counselling sessions.

After tipping the scales at 19st 6lb last Christmas, the actress is now down to a healthy 12st and has dropped from a size 28 to a 14/16.

In an interview with the Mail last month, she admitted she had begun to look at fashion for the first time in years.

She said: 'I look at the fashion pages in magazines, too, which I'd never done before because I had no interest. Why would I? My size was so limiting to the amount of stuff I could buy.'

Even in May, when she was a few stone heavier than she is now, she had already begun to feel her confidence growing.

She recalled: 'A few months ago, I went to the Soap Awards with the Emmerdale cast. They're not my idea of a fun evening, but I was nominated for Best Newcomer.

Who's your date? Quirke arrived on the arm of her young co-star Danny Miller, who plays the boyfriend of her character Hazel's late son Jackson in the soap


'Anyway, I went and bought a dress at Monsoon, the first time I've been able to pick up a dress from a shop that isn't targeted at larger women.

'Usually, I'd have got out of the car and run like the wind just to get into the building and avoid photographers because I hated having my picture taken. But that night I sauntered down the red carpet thinking, "Look at me".'

Quirke attended last night's awards after being nominated as Best Soap Actress for her portrayal of Hazel Rhodes in Emmerdale, but missed out to Jessie Wallace in EastEnders.

Her young co-star Miller, who looked dapper in a River Island suit, also missed out on Best Soap Actor to EastEnders' Shane Richie.




source:dailymail