Emily Atack has shown off her slimmed down physique on social media, prompting fans to congratulate the star on her new look as the speculate over how she lost weight
Emily Atack has drawn attention from fans after posing for a string of slimmed down snaps shared to her social media platforms. The TV star initially built up a following by championing body confidence but her new physique hasn’t escaped her fans.
On Instagram this weekend, mum-of one, Emily, 36, posed in a black shirt and jeans to take a mirror selfie showing off a new hairstyle. With her trademark humour and charm, she captioned the image with a simple statement, writing: “Bobviously” while holding a hand behind her quaffed hairstyle.
The image and caption drew a range of responses from fans who were quick to compliment her on her bob – while many others made comments about her changing figure.
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One wrote online: “See a lot of these ‘body positive’ celebs have changed their tune since weight loss jabs came out.” Another added: “These celebs have fooled you, now they are all taking injections and are proud to show us how well they have done.” While one commented: “And the innovation is called Ozempic, I presume?”
But most were all praise of the star’s looks. One wrote: “She looks lovely either way. She’s very lucky.” Another backed this thought up and write: “She’s a beautiful woman regardless of weight. Her newly revealed cheekbones are fabulous! Good for you Emily.”
While further recent photos taken over Christmas and earlier in December showed Emily with a trim waistline, and posing in an outdoor bathtub with her toned back on display. While fans complimented Emily on her glowing complexion, others questioned if the star – who welcomed a son named Barney with fiancé Alistair Garner 19 months ago – had changed her outlook on body image.
Having championed a natural figure, some fans have questioned if the star may have turned to weight loss injections such as Wegovy or Mounjaro to slim down. But those close to the star have suggested she will remain silent over the speculation, with the Daily Mail quoting a friend telling them: “She is acutely aware of what is her business and what is not.” The Mirror has contacted a representative of Emily for comment.
Since bursting into the spotlight in 2008 as Charlotte Hinchcliffe on the Channel 4 comedy The Inbetweeners, Emily has frequently discussed her unease over having her figure analysed. Having taken on the role as a teen, Emily played Charlotte simply as a teenage school girl, and has expressed discomfort over the way she was sexualised as ‘Big Jugs’ on the show and by its fans.
She has also taken aim at social media trolls who have critised her appearance online, while defending herself as a size 10 – 14. The star won respect in 2018 when she appeared as a contestant on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! where she was able to give viewers an insight into the real her, and prove herself as more than a sex symbol.
She previously told the Daily Mail of her time in the jungle: “My whole life, people have been telling me what they think I should do. Maybe I should lose a stone, dye my hair brown, do a play. But that’s boring. I wanted some fun in my life again; I was noticing how the industry was changing and that people were coming out of I’m A Celebrity and doing really well, so after turning it down three times, I finally said yes.”
Discussing her desire to appear on the show, she continued: “I really wanted to break that stereotype. I thought I needed to almost reinvent myself and show that there is more to me than a pouty face and a pair of boobs.
“The irony of it was that, my whole life, I’d been striving to be sexy when in fact being what I really am – a wobbly-arsed, freckly-faced, fun girl – is what makes me feel happiest and most comfortable. I was so amazed and thrilled that this is what gave me all the success I’ve always striven to have. [I’m A Celebrity] taught me a way to love myself without all those things. If I’m having a bit of a down day or I’m struggling, I do try to get back to that person in the jungle, to who I really am deep down.”
She also hit out at those who discussed her figure, stating: “My weight has always been a ‘thing’. I’ve been a size 10 or 12, a 14 every now and then. I love food and I love wine. Other actresses are tiny, I was always the bigger girl at castings and it never troubled me.”
She added: “But if I go out and I feel nice then a photo gets put online and everyone starts saying that I’m fat, it’s really difficult. There are worse things in life but, as a woman, having your weight criticised is rough. It shocked me when I was younger because I’d never ever had a weight issue. I never thought I was fat, I thought I was fine.”
Emily has been a champion of fighting for more realistic figures in the mainstream in the past – opening up to Stylist in 2018 that she felt shops and adverts sold an unrealistic image of beauty. She told the publication: “I always used to notice how thin the mannequins were in shops, and when trying clothes on and it didn’t look like that on me. It makes you feel like you’ve failed in some way. I thought I didn’t look as I should, which is just so sad.”
Emily has also won praise for her campaign work to improve the treatment of women, having been targeted by sick individuals online. She has opened up about the sexually explicit images she has been sent, unprovoked, by strangers and has campaigned for laws to be strengthened to outlaw such behaviour.
And she braced herself for more toxic encounters after appearing in the BBC drama Rivals in 2024 – not least because she was involved in a scene where she played tennis while naked. She told The Times: “I should be able to do a scene like this and not receive negative attention. The two should not go hand in hand. A woman said to me on Instagram the other day, ‘Pick a lane. You can’t play a racy role like that and get your clothes off and expect not to get messages. Why would you take that role?’ And I wanted to say to her, ‘Are you telling me essentially to quit my job?’ Why should I? Women have to change their clothes; we have to change our routes home. I’m a professional. I’m never going to please everybody.”
