Michelle Collins is best known for her roles in popular soap operas EastEnders and Coronation Street.
However, the 59-year-old actress is swapping scripts for canapés on Celebrity MasterChef tonight (August 10).
She’s set to appear alongside a series of famous faces in the BBC One show’s second heat.
But viewers may not know that Michelle battled bulimia and anorexia in the past.
Michelle Collins’ eating disorder battle
The former soap star struggled in the early stages of her TV career.
During that time, she would replace food with booze causing her weight to plummet to just over five stone.
Speaking to The Mirror in 2013, Michelle explained: “I went for weeks without really eating any food.
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“I’d starve all day then come home late and binge on anything I could get my hands on. I raided the fridge and cupboards then stuck my fingers down my throat to feel empty again.”
Michelle admitted the vicious cycle became “addictive”, and she began obsessively weighting herself.
Sadly, things only worsened for the actress after she started taking laxatives.
How did Michelle recover?
She added: “I went to audition for a fashion commercial and they said they didn’t think I was quite right for it because I wasn’t ‘upmarket’ enough.
“Later that day my agent called to see if I was okay and told me that actually I had looked so awful the casters had thought I was a heroin addict and wanted to know if I was on drugs. That was the wake-up call I needed.”
After years of battling her inner demons, the star began seeing a doctor for help.
Speaking to Closer in a separate interview, Michelle said: “I’d never want to be like that again.
“I recovered, but it was a bad time.”
Michelle landed her role as Cindy Beale in EastEnders soon afterwards.
When is the actress on Celebrity MasterChef?
Michelle will appear on the popular BBC One series tonight (August 10).
She’ll also be joined by Gavin Esler, Johannes Radebe, Kadeena Cox and Kem Cetinay.
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The group will battle it out to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.
But has Michelle got what it takes?
Celebrity MasterChef 2021 airs on BBC One at 9pm.
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