Coronation Street star Michelle Collins has opened up about her battle with eating disorders - which she said at one point left her looking as emaciated as a drug addict.
Speaking to the Mirror the actress - who plays the Rovers Return landlady Stella Price - admitted she spent years trapped in a cycle of starving herself and bingeing - until her agent intervened.
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," she revealed.
“Later that day my agent called to see if I was OK 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.”
Michelle added that she had been "dangerously ill" when she first embarked on an acting career - and she began to equate the idea of being thin with being successful.
"My life felt out of control and I felt if I could control my body I could control my life. In my head skinny equalled successful and I thought the only way I could be a successful actress was to be a skinny woman.”
Although Michelle is now recovered, she reveals that she now no longer keeps scales in her house - and that she still has days of doubt.
"If you’ve been anorexic, it’s always in your head and I have days when I still feel fat. But I’ve learnt how to deal with it and look after myself," she said.
The actress is set to appear in some dramatic scenes in Corrie this week when the Rovers Return goes up in flames, claiming the lives of two characters - including Sunita Alahan, played by Shobna Gulati.
