BBC EastEnders star Charlie Brooks, 44, flaunts major weight loss as fans gobsmacked by appearance change
EastEnders alumna Charlie Brooks, 44, sent temperatures soaring on Tuesday after she shared her incredible weight loss journey on social media.
The soap star, who reprised her role as Janine Butcher in 2022 before leaving the soap again, showcased her slim figure in a snap shared to her Instagram page, flaunting a dress she bought over two decades ago.
Posing for a mirror selfie, the actress donned a black mini dress with a colourful abstract decal of a woman, along with a pair of chunky black boots.
She tied the vintage ensemble together with a messy bun, layered necklaces, and a posed facial expression.
Fans soon took to the comments to praise Brooks for her slender figure and beautiful dress.
“Love the dress and you look amazing,” one user commented, with another saying, “Gorgeous dress! I love it x”.
The mum of one revealed she had bought the dress before her daughter, Kiki, was even born, adding: “Funny how a piece of clothing can do that.
“My face doesn’t look happy. But I am actually very happy”.
The soap royalty, who shares daughter Kiki, 20, with her ex-fiance Tony Truman, previously revealed she had a very “complicated” relationship with her body.
In an interview with Fabulous Magazine in 2021, she admitted to losing two stone in a month for her 2005 fitness DVD “Charlie Brooks: Before and After”.
“I don’t regret it, because it gave me an awareness of my body,” the star admitted, adding: “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.”
The TV villain has always been conscious of her health; she also went sober in 2021 after admitting alcohol consumption “always came at a price”.
Brookes regularly shares positive and fun updates with her fans online, posting happy times with family and friends and celebrations of her sobriety.
The actress shot to fame in 1999 when she joined EastEnders as TV villain Janine Butcher, who has been long branded one of the show’s most iconic characters.
Her character was so popular that she was reprised twice after her 2004 departure; once in 2008 and again in 2022.
Since leaving the show for good, she has yet to take up any acting gigs, instead opting for reality shows including Dancing on Ice and Richard Osman’s House of Games.
Outside of on-screen romances, Brooks has had a slew of partners. Her ex-fiance, Truman, who owns several high-end Ibiza nightclubs, split with the star when their daughter was only two years old.
She previously praised Truman, stating: “It was fantastic – there wasn’t a bad day – and I wanted to spend my life with him because he was gorgeous and still is
“But I realised I needed to be on my own a little bit to find myself.”
Brooks had since had a few flames, including movie producer James Fuller.
The romance was fleeting, as the pair split only weeks after announcing their relationship in the Summer of 2024.
The actress however still only boasts about Truman, who even lived in the apartment above her for years to help raise their daughter.
Brooks has no plans to return to EastEnders and hasn’t announced any future TV projects.