Lorraine Stanley: 'I used weight loss jabs to lose 6.5st but one shock changed my mind'
When OK! catches up with former EastEnders actress Lorraine Stanley at a glitzy London ball, she couldn't look more different to Karen Taylor, the lovable yet perpetually dishevelled mum she played on the BBC soap from 2017 to 2024. Not only is the 49-year-old looking über-glamorous as we chat at the Paul Strank Charitable Trust Summer Party – she's wearing a white sparkly dress which she proudly declares was purchased on Vinted – she's barely recognisable, having lost 6½st over two years.
Lorraine, who has nine-year-old daughter Nancy with her fiancé Mark Perez, shares her excitement about tying the knot this month after a two-year engagement, the secrets behind her incredible weight loss and why she's happy, for now, to be her daughter's personal taxi service…
Hi, Lorraine! We hear you're getting married later this month…
I am indeed. I'm getting married to my partner in a ceremony local to where we live in Hertfordshire. It's going to be low-key. From my EastEnders gang, Danny Walters is coming. I wanted them all to come, but we're just having a small, intimate wedding at a church, then a pub with a tepee and barbecue.
Will Nancy have a special part to play?
She's the one wearing the big white wedding dress – well, the flower girl dress. Mine's modest, really. But I'm so excited. Mark and I have been together for 12 years.
So why tie the knot now?
We're just in a really good place. You know, every couple goes through their ups and downs, but it feels right, we're happy. Nancy wanted us to get married, I wanted his surname – I know some women don't want that but I do. I want to be Mrs Perez. I've been abroad a few times with Nancy and was asked if she's my daughter as we have different surnames on our passports. But it's not just practicalities, it's love.
Why do you and Mark work so well together?
We've got an understanding, we respect each other. We give each other space, we've got our own lives. He's the best father. He's in marketing, so nothing to do with my world, though I think he could be an actor – he can be quite dramatic at times!
You're 50 next year. How do you feel?
I'm feeling great. I looked 20 years older when I was bigger. I certainly felt it anyway. I won't have a big showbiz bash. We might go to Disney World Florida. We'll see.
You look incredible. Tell us about the transformation…
I've lost 6½st. I weigh 8st now. If you look at my little wrists and ankles, this is the weight I should have been. I should be a thin person. And I always was, until I hit my late twenties.
How did you lose the weight?
I'm not going to lie, nor am I promoting it, but I had weight-loss surgery two years ago. I had a gastric sleeve. I went to Harley Street. I didn't go to a clinic in Turkey or anything. In saying that, I've had friends who've gone to Turkey and had great experiences, but I didn't trust that process. So, yeah, I went to a London clinic, paid an awful lot of money and had it done. It's hands-down the best thing I've ever done – both for me and for my family.
I can play with my daughter. I used to be so big I couldn't chase her up the road. I was missing out on so much – even playing a bit of football with her outside. It's changed everything.
It's pretty drastic surgery. What was the big lightbulb moment?
I was at home watching an episode of EastEnders I was in and I could barely look at myself. The person on screen was unrecognisable to me. I know TV puts a stone on you, but… so yes, there was an element of vanity, but it was also me wanting to change things for my daughter and our future.
Did you try any weight-loss jabs before opting for surgery?
Yeah, I'd tried Wegovy. I have friends on different weight-loss jabs and they work for them. I'm not against them, but for whatever reason I feel like I got immune to them. It got to the point where I was injecting myself and eating at the same time. I was thinking, 'What the hell are you doing?' So I decided that was it, time to get this surgery booked.
Do you feel like a new woman?
Where do I start? I'm healthier, I'm fitter and it's changed my mindset for the better. I still enjoy a square or two of chocolate, but everything's in small portions. I can eat what I want, just smaller amounts of it.
It has been hard, though. You've got to work at your portions. You don't want to overeat as you can stretch the gastric band. And you don't want to do that as you've paid good money for it. But for me – and this is totally personal – it's the best thing I could have done.
Would you go back on EastEnders?
Maybe – they didn't kill me off. But right now, I wouldn't. I'm enjoying Nancy. On EastEnders, I missed a lot of milestones. Now I'm like her personal taxi driver for skateboarding, piano lessons – and I love it. I've gone for a few auditions. I haven't got anything yet, but I will. And if I don't, I don't mind that either. I'm so happy being a mum.
Would you go on any of the big reality TV shows?
If the money was amazing, maybe. But it's not my thing. I love acting, theatre especially, so I want to try and keep on that path. I'd love a role at the National Theatre. That's where I started my career, so it would be a nice full-circle moment.
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