Coronation Street's Dee-Dee Bailey star 'disheartened' by reaction to 100lb weight loss

Coronation Street star Channique Sterling-Brown has shared an emotional post about her impressive weight loss journey.

The actress, best known for playing Dee-Dee Bailey, has played a central role in the ITV soap for months, following Lauren Bolton's (played by Cait Fitton's) disappearance.

Dee-Dee fought for Roy Cropper (David Neilson) after he was wrongly imprisoned for Lauren's murder, with the real culprit revealed to be her boyfriend Joel Deering (Calum Lill) last week.

Off-screen, the star has been focusing on her fitness, recently completing the Manchester 10k marathon alongside her co-stars.

In a heartfelt Instagram post, the 27-year-old revealed she had lost 100lbs after years of struggling with her weight and trying various diets, shakes and tablets. Channique took to social media to share her inspiring weight loss journey with her 16,000 followers.

She candidly expressed: "Couple of years ago it got really bad, I was losing control. Hating yourself is a s**t way to live. I came off socials for over a month and when I came back, I unfollowed all the pages full of beautiful, unrealistic bodies."

"Consuming those images daily used to send me spiralling. Comparison's a killer. Instead, I follow women who represented me more, in terms of shape, skills and skin colour."

It was this pivotal moment that saw the TV star overhaul her approach to weight loss, focusing on a balanced diet and enhanced fitness regime.

Channique elaborated: "I stopped seeing the gym as punishment for being fat and started focusing on fitness. For the first time ever I started enjoying working out, my high school PE teacher would be shook.

"I didn't notice my weight loss until my clothes were a bit big. So then there's this excitement of feeling fitter, new wardrobe (cos a b***h loves to shop)."

As she began to lose weight, the actress found herself feeling increasingly uneasy with the praise she received regarding her slimmer figure. She added: "But then came the compliments, which weirdly made me so uncomfortable. Awkwardly smiling, when people gushed over me being thinner, not my 1st class degree.

"Then bare anxiety, 'If I put on weight is everyone gonna notice?' It was like confirmation that all my toxic thoughts had been in the back of everyone else's head all along."

Channique continued: "When people compliment weight loss I know they mean no harm, but when it becomes the main focus of your achievements, it's disheartening. Now I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud of myself, but that's linked to being two years veggie, being healthier and my head being a happier place to be.

"Not always of course, I still have my moments, things I'd change. But I've learnt to keep it moving, don't let those negative thoughts fester or they will take control."

The TV star shared her newfound belief about modern beauty standards and explained how she has grown from this experience, explaining: "Changing how I see myself and unlearning the toxic beauty standards society feeds us, is the real glow up. I now realise the gal on the left is just as much of a bad b***h as the gal on the right."

She signed off the post: "Let's build each other up for more than just our dress size/ I always want to be known for my love, laughter and loudness, not the body they live in."