EastEnders star Lorraine Stanley has shown off her weight loss transformation after undergoing a health kick.
The actor, who played Karen Taylor in the BBC soap, was all smiles as she shared a photo of her new look on social media, revealing she has lost almost half her body weight.
Stanley’s former EastEnders co-stars sent her supportive messages in response to her reported five stone weight loss, with Denise Fox actor Diane Parish calling her “incredible”.
Martin Fowler actor James Bye, who recently left the series, commented: “Look at you skinny minny”, while Carly Wicks star Kellie Shirlie added: “Gorgeous inside and out!”
When Nick Nevern, who played the ex-boyfriend of Kim Medcalf’s Sam Mitchell, told her she was “looking amazing”, Stanley replied: “Took me years but I got there!!”
Radio presenter Angie Greaves concurred with Nevern, to which Stanley responded: “Thank you! I feel like me again!”
After launching her acting career in 2000, Stanley had small roles in several BBC shows, including Casualty, Holby City and Call the Midwife, before landing EastEnders in 2017.
The following year, she won Best Newcomer at the British Soap Awards.
Her other credits include the films London to Brighton (2006) and Made in Dagenham (2010). Shortly before starring in EastEnders, Stanley appeared as a barmaid opposite Tom Hardy in Legend, a film about the Kray twins.
Stanley appeared in eight episodes of EastEnders in 2016, one year before she joined the soap on a permanent basis, playing the small role of Thelma Bragg.
Twelve years earlier, she played a young version of Laila Morse’s Mo Harris in spinoff Pat and Mo, which revealed the backstory to a feud between Mo and Pat Butcher.
But it’s the character of Karen Taylor that Stanley is best known for, having played the role until 2024.
In 2019, the actor, who has a nine-year-old daughter, said it was “nice” to have a permanent role in EastEnders after years of securing bit parts.
“I’ve kind of done everything, but only one episode, so I named myself One-Ep Lou, and it’s nice to have a bit of stability as an actor,” she told Channel 4 series Sunday Brunch.
“You appreciate it so much more. Now I appreciate what I’ve got, as opposed to it just being on a plate. I’ve struggled all the way through it – it’s a difficult career.”
