MICHELLE Collins has opened up about the events that she believes led to her battle with anorexia and bulimia.
The popular star became so ill that she was mistaken for a heroin addict after starving herself and purging with laxatives.
The Coronation Street star believes that her battle with eating disorders began when she was in her teenage years and rejected by drama schools.
She told : “I had an eating disorder when I was younger and it’s important to be open about it.
“When I was 17, I was turned down by 12 drama schools and that’s a big failure to take on at a young age. I don’t know how I got through it but I carried on.
“Then at 19 I was rejected by another job. It had a big impact on me and I became anorexic.
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“I recovered, but it was a bad time.”
Michelle went on to play EastEnders royalty Cindy Beale and had a hugely successful TV career. But at the beginning of her time as an actress she was extremely ill.
But it was not until her agent picked her up on her extreme weight loss that Michelle realised she had a problem.
She told : “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 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.”
She’s now in a good place with her body image.
The 56-year-old-star told Closer: “I feel like a confident woman. I’m stronger and healthier and I suppose I feel sexier too.”
She has been dating Mike Davison, who is 22 years her junior, for the past five years.
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