Hollyoaks Steph Waring reveals eating disorder battle and distressing pic from ‘living nightmare' age 15

The Irish Sun

2 days ago

HOLLYOAKS actress Steph Waring has been praised as "incredibly brave" for opening up on her teenage battle with anorexia.
The Channel 4 screen star addressed the "living nightmare" of her eating disorder in a hugely candid Instagram grid post, complete with an image showing her struggles at their worst.
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Steph Waring has bravely opened up on the 'living nightmare' of her anorexia battle as a teen
Credit: Instagram
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The Hollyoaks screen star, seen here in a recent video, issued a warning before uploading the historic snap
Credit: Instagram
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Steph, now 47, shared the distressing image taken at the height of her eating disorder struggles as part of a rallying cry to raise more awareness
Credit: stephwaring / instagram
who played Hollyoaks' Cindy Cunningham - was let go in 2024 as part of a vast number of redundancies on the show
.
She has now turned her focus to writing her new book - using her raw personal experience to address what she deems the "toxic culture" of unrealistic image expectation for today's youngsters.
She thoughtfully issued a trigger warning on a grey screen ahead of her image, which saw her posing in a polka-dot bikini.
In her frank caption she told fans: "This is me, age 15.
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"In the grip of anorexia. A young girl who thought a simple diet would make her feel better about herself and who ended up trapped in a living nightmare that would follow her for decades.
"I want to share this today not to shock or scare anyone but to speak the truth about how dangerous the diet industry and toxic body messaging can be, especially for young people.
"When I started dieting, I didn't think there was anything wrong with me. I had a happy childhood.
"I was just a young girl who wanted to be thin because that's what the world told me was good, was beautiful, was lovable.
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"What I didn't know was that one innocent diet could spiral into something that would take over my mind and my life.
"That is the risk we don't talk about enough. It is a throw of the dice and some of us are more vulnerable than we know."
Hollyoaks star Stephanie Waring reveals secret health battle and shares treatment plan
Steph, who recently released book Breaking the Script, continued: "Today, the pressures are even worse. Our kids are bombarded daily by social media telling them they should look perfect to be loved, to be valued. They are praised for shrinking.
"They are surrounded by 'wellness' messages that are really just diets in disguise.
"If you are a parent please, be mindful. If your child is skipping meals, obsessing over their body, or chasing an unrealistic image, take it seriously.
"If you are struggling yourself, know this: it is not your fault. And you can get better. You are worthy of a life far bigger than the pursuit of thinness.
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HOLLYOAKS beauty Chelsee Healey has dropped the biggest hint yet she's been axed from the soap - yet what's happening at the Channel 4 show?
Earlier this year, the Channel 4 soap was forced to
It came after The Sun was first to report Hollyoaks bosses plan to
Now Chelsee, who recently took time away from her role as Goldie McQueen to give birth to her second daughter, has now made a cryptic move on X.
The Manchester lass, 36, re-posted a picture of her character crying to her page.
It came after Stephanie Waring, famed for her 28-year-long role as Cindy Cunningham, confirmed that soap bosses had axed her as part of the 20-person strong cast cull.
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"I tell more of my story in my book not to sell it, but in the hope that it might help anyone who is walking this path, or loving someone who is.
"Please let's have these conversations. Let's protect our kids. Let's speak truth to the toxic culture that profits from their pain."
She rounded off her emotional message with the words: "With love and hope Steph x"
is a serious mental health condition which causes the person to restrict the amount they eat.
The sufferer of the eating disorder aims to keep their body weight as low as possible by avoiding food, vomiting or exercising excessively.
Her fans were quick to praise her words, and one wrote: "Come so far amazing."
A second put: "Brave post Steph! Unfortunately very relevant for our teenage girls thanks for sharing xx"
A third then mused: "Incredibly brave Steph, thank you for sharing, looking forward to reading the book x"
One then added: "Well done for sharing and making a difference xxx"
The screen star previously told how
Speaking to
Speaking about the start of her battle with the eating disorder, she said: "I was basically a fat kid and I wanted to look good in hotpants.
"I went on a diet but the diet never ended."
Anorexia signs and how to get help
HOLLYOAKS actress Steph Waring has bravely opened up on her anorexia battle as a teen. Here are details of the condition and how to get help.
Anorexia signs:
if you're under 18, your weight and height being lower than expected for your age
if you're an adult, having an unusually low body mass index
missing meals, eating very little or avoiding eating any foods you see as fattening
believing you are fat when you are a healthy weight or underweight
taking medication to reduce your hunger (appetite suppressants)
your periods stopping (in women who have not reached menopause) or not starting (in younger women and girls)
To get help:
Contact Beat, an eating disorder support organisation,
FRANK ADMISSIONS
In her tome, Steph also
Steph joined
The actress was on the show for 28 years and was on the very first series of the soap as an original character.
She was part of
Earlier this month,
But at the same time she confessed her new work will never "come close to her passion of being an actor."
She also
perimenopause.
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Steph called out the 'toxic culture' around body image in her emotional message
Credit: Instagram
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The star, who has penned a new book, called out the 'wellness' culture around youngsters
Credit: Instagram
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Steph was known for playing Cindy Cunningham in Hollyoaks
Credit: Channel 4