Emily Atack admits she feels pressure to ‘look a certain way’

Emily Atack has revealed she thinks about her weight most of the day and feels pressure to ‘look a certain way’ after years of people trolling her.

The Celebrity Juice star, 31, admitted that before stardom she never thought about her weight in a negative way, but it now consumes her ’95 per cent of the day’.

Emily said that she has ‘never’ been able to get down to the size people ‘expect’ of her, and even if she loses a few pounds she says trolls still brand her ‘fat’.

Speaking to UniLad, Emily said: ‘I feel a pressure to look a certain way every single day. I think about my weight 95 per cent of the day.

‘When I was sort of 15/16, I’d never really worried about my weight because, in my head, I was a slim teenager, and I never had any problem getting a boyfriend and that was all fine.’

Emily recalled that the abuse began during her rise to stardom, and said: ‘It was when I started doing The Inbetweeners that people online started calling me fat, and that really surprised me because I’d never thought about my weight in a negative way before.’

The actress also heartbreakingly admitted that she feels she has ‘never’ been at the weight that people ‘expect of her’.  

She said: ‘Because most actresses, a lot of actresses are much smaller size six or eight, and I was a sort of size 10/12 girl, and I’ve just never been able to get down to the size that… people are expecting me to be.’

‘I don’t know what people want from me. Even when it’s, say, if you’ve lost like three pounds and you’re feeling yourself, and you’re like, “Yeah, I’ve lost a bit of weight”, and then somebody shuts you down and goes, “You’re still a fat pig.” 

‘And it absolutely destroys me. It’s awful, it’s absolutely horrific.’

Elsewhere during the interview, Emily spoke about her experiences with sexual harassment, both online and in person.

The TV personality shockingly admitted she receives ‘hundreds’ of unwanted messages a day from men with a sexual content. 

Emily recently credited her ‘inadvertent’ one stone weight-loss to intermittent fasting, skipping breakfast and ‘eating out less’.

She explained after previously battling body positivity issues, her ‘confidence doesn’t hinge on a number on the scales’ as she discussed her healthier lifestyle in a new interview with Women’s Health UK.

Emily said she skips breakfast and enjoys two healthy meals a day, but won’t deny herself chocolate or her favourite takeaway if she feels like it.

She said: ‘I do intermittent fasting. I don’t have breakfast – I’m not a morning person – and I’ll eat my first meal, usually a chicken salad, around midday. 

‘Mid-afternoon, I’ll have a snack, and then another meal early evening, which is normally a pasta-based dish or a HelloFresh delivery if I’m busy. 

‘And if I want dark chocolate, popcorn or my favourite pad thai takeaway, I won’t deny myself.’

The star credited ‘eating out less’ for her body transformation as she spoke about her body insecurities when she appeared on I’m a Celebrity in 2018. 

She said: ‘My weight has long been criticised [on social media], so wearing a bikini in the jungle was a daunting prospect. 

‘But the experience forced me to rebuild my relationship with my body; because there was nowhere to hide, I had to embrace those insecurities and I returned from Australia feeling free. 

‘Eating out less over the past year, I’ve inadvertently lost a stone – but my confidence doesn’t hinge on a number on the scales.

‘My relationship with social media is still tricky. The online world is a double-edged sword.

‘My DMs should be a safe space, but everyone’s allowed to say what they like. Social media is a huge part of my job and I love reaching out to fans and get so much support back – I have every right to that relationship.’

Emily said the support she had received in the jungle over going ‘barefaced’ had warmed her heart, 

She said: ‘I was nervous about going barefaced. But it turned out to be a great opportunity for me not to care about what I looked like. 

‘People watching were able to see beneath the fake tan armour and it was so heart-warming when I realised that they accepted that version of me – freckles, messy hair and all.’ 

In April 2020, Emily revealed she lost a stone in three months after a troll warned she would ‘put on weight’ in quarantine. 

Sharing the secrets behind her slimmed-down figure, the thespian told MailOnline: ‘I think because I haven’t been able to the pubs I’m healthier. I’ve been working out a lot in my garden, which I’m very lucky to have.’

The TV star also detailed the positive effects of exercise on her mental health: ‘I’ve lost a lot of weight by accident really.

‘It wasn’t my goal to lose weight but I think it’s down to not going to pubs and restaurants. I work out more so for my mental health, the goal is never to lose weight but to remain as happy and healthy as I can be.’