EastEnders star Charlie Brooks shares candid bikini post and says she’s ‘learning to love herself’
EastEnders star Charlie Brooks has shared a candid bikini post while sharing her honest thoughts about her body.
Charlie, 41, who plays Janine Butcher in the BBC soap, posted an empowering video of herself poolside while sporting a red bandeau bikini top and matching bottoms.
In the instagram boomerang, Charlie can be seen looking down at her stomach and then throwing her hands up in the air in a shrugging gesture.
She captioned the post: "Sometimes my weight goes up.. sometimes it goes down.. but I’m LEARNING to love myself unconditionally because I AM A QUEEN. Me and my belly in all it’s beautiful glory. Let’s not go backwards and undo the good work. Heroine chic can kiss my perfectly formed ASS."
The post referenced a recent article which has done the rounds online which declared that the painfully thin look that dominated the catwalks back in the 90s is in fashion once again.
Charlie got support from her fellow EastEnders pals, who championed the statement.
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Kellie Bright, who plays Linda Carter, replied in the comments: "Yes. You. Are. ❤️"
Emma Barton, aka Honey Mitchell, added: ❤️🙌❤️
Maddy Hill, who starred as Nancy Carter, chipped in: "PREACH BROOKS! 😍 👏 ❤️"
And Lorraine Stanley, who portrays Karen Taylor, summed up the general response with a series of love heart emojis.
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And it wasn't just Charlie's castmates who cheered on the sentiment,
One fan commented: "You are perfect, just the way you are. People worry way too much about what others think, everyone is beautiful as everyone is different. You have always been, and always will be, a beautiful lady."
Charlie has spoken in the past about how she was "obsessed" with weight loss after she released a best-selling fitness DVD in 2005.
Reflecting on her drastic 2 stone weight loss, the mum - who shares 16-year-old daughter Kiki with Ibiza nightclub owner Tony Truman - says it's had a lasting effect on her confidence.
The star told Fabulous magazine in May 2021: "I don’t regret it, because it gave me an awareness of my body, but on the other hand, I crossed over into that kind of slightly obsessive weight loss thing. You know, always wanting to get back to ‘that’.
"I’ve definitely had quite a complicated relationship with my body, never feeling pretty enough or healthy enough, and with the DVD it was extreme.
"I went all in. I felt absolutely fantastic afterwards, but it does sort of open up a part of your brain… and I don’t think I’ve quite let go of that since.”
That said, Charlie says she feels like she's "70 per cent" of the way to body acceptance - and that it's something that gets easier with age.
She continued: "“I have days where I feel great, I don’t care about my weight and it’s fine. And then I have days where I feel disgusting and I really beat myself up.
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"I don’t think I’m alone in that – most women have complicated relationships with their bodies. As I get older I’m learning to love myself more."
