Actress Pauline Quirke to join Emmerdale

[Chloe O'brien]

Oh no she'll go to jail for helping Jackson die.

[Perdita]

Pauline Quirke has revealed a dramatic weight loss by losing nearly seven stone since Christmas.

The Emmerdale actress, who plays Hazel Rhodes in the soap, told Woman that she made the decision to lose weight after discovering she weighed 19st 6lb at Christmas.

"It was a bacon or sausage roll of a morning, a meal at lunchtime in the canteen and then cooking myself a dinner back at the flat of a night. I was just getting bigger," she said.

"I knew exactly what I wanted to get to - 11st. As of last week I was 13st."

She added that she used traditional diet regimes of eating less calories rather than undergoing surgery.

"I won't put myself through any surgical procedure if there's an alternative. It's all manageable. I've never been hungry."

Quirke will be leaving Emmerdale when her current contract comes to an end later this year.

Picture: © PA Images / Ian West/PA Wire

[Chloe O'brien]

Does anyone know, which diet she used. They were talking about it on Lorraine this morning before I left for work, but i don't think they said only that she had 500 calories a day.

[Perdita]

Does anyone know, which diet she used. They were talking about it on Lorraine this morning before I left for work, but i don't think they said only that she had 500 calories a day.

Emmerdale star Pauline Quirke has revealed that she is on a diet to lose over 8 stone in weight.

The actress - Hazel Walsh in the ITV soap - told The Sun that she has so far lost 2 stone in the first five weeks on the LighterLife weight-loss programme.

Quirke admitted that she had previously lost weight two years ago but put it back on after quitting her diet.

"I lost 3st and remember looking at myself in the mirror after slipping into a jacket that I hadn't fit into for a decade," she said. "I could look at my reflection for the first time in years and think, 'This is the real me'.

"But then I made the foolish mistake of going off the diet and slowly the weight crept back."

However, the determined 51-year-old continued: "This time it is for good, I'm never going back. Although I haven't told anyone apart from my family about my diet until now, a few people have commented I look slimmer. A compliment like that tastes better than any meal. I want to be able to wear nice clothes and feel completely happy about the way I look."

Admitting that she has reached the "heaviest I've been", she told the paper that the biggest wake-up call came when she was told that she needed a hip replacement operation in 2009.

"I was filming the BBC drama series Missing and had to do several takes where I got out of a car and walked up stairs. My joints were in agony and at first I thought it was my knee," she said. "But X-rays showed my left hip had almost completely worn away. Having a hip replacement in my late forties was a shock and, of course, I tried to make excuses about the reason why it had happened. But it came down to my weight."

Nevertheless, Quirke insisted that she has never let her weight put her off taking any acting roles.

"I've always chosen a part for the character and their story - never once has the character been the token 'fat one'," she added. "The women I've played have ranged from the head of a missing persons unit in Missing to a mother wrongly convicted of murdering a child in The Bill.

"The characters were real women and I hope I portrayed them that way. I've never felt my appearance or dress size has got in the way of my performance."


DS on 24 February 2011

[Perdita]

Pauline Quirke has revealed that she and husband Steve will renew their wedding vows next month.

The Emmerdale actress told Woman magazine that the decision had come about after Steve saw pictures showing her dramatic weight loss at the British Soap Awards. Quirke recently confirmed that she had lost almost seven stone since the start of the year.

"The picture made it to one of the magazines," she recalled. "Someone showed it to my Steve and I got a text from him saying, 'Wow. I've just seen the picture of you at the Awards. You look fantastic. I wish I could marry you all over again'.

"From that little seed, we are going to renew our wedding vows in August at home in Buckinghamshire with all our friends there."

The 51-year-old admitted that she wanted to lose eight stone in total, after weighing in at more than 19 stone at Christmas. "I was just getting bigger," she said.

Quirke will bow out of her role as Emmerdale's Hazel Rhodes at the end of her current contract.

[Perdita]

Pauline Quirke: 'Emmerdale door left open for Hazel'

Pauline Quirke has revealed that she would be interested in returning to Emmerdale at some point in the future.

Earlier in the summer, the actress announced that she will be leaving the soap at the end of the year before starting work on a stage version of classic sitcom Birds of a Feather in 2012.

The star's character Hazel Rhodes is currently at the centre of Emmerdale's highest-profile plot after helping her son Jackson Walsh to die in an assisted suicide storyline. Jackson's boyfriend Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller), who played the crucial role in his death, will face a murder trial in next week's episodes.

Speaking about her Emmerdale future in an interview with TV Times, Quirke explained: "Aaron and Hazel will always have this incredible bond, and hopefully that's something the writers will explore after I've left - I'm going at Christmas.

"I've been away from my own children while I've been in Leeds and Danny has been my lovely surrogate son. He's been a joy to be around. We'll be friends for life."

"I've had such a fantastic time at Emmerdale," she continued. "I couldn't have done this when my children were younger because I liked to be at home with them. Now they're grown-up, I was able to be in Leeds during the week and although I was a bit homesick, people like Danny made me feel like part of the team from day one."

She added: "They've very kindly left the door open for me. I'd love to come back. I love it at Emmerdale and I will be sad to go. There will be a lot of tears."

Aaron's Emmerdale trial plays out on screen all next week.

Would be great to see her back one day, to see how Aaron is getting on maybe

[Perdita]

Emmerdale star Pauline Quirke has said that she is still unsure of how her character Hazel Rhodes will leave the show.

The actress will film her final scenes for the ITV1 soap later this year, before embarking on a stage version of classic sitcom Birds of a Feather in early 2012.

Quirke has now told The Mirror: "I'll miss Emmerdale. It's the most beautiful location and I've made some fantastic friends.

"It's also the first time I've got to work on a soap and I've loved it. I've had a real mix of drama and comedy, so it was perfect for me."

She continued: "I don't know how I'm leaving the Dales. I don't even know if it'll be with a bang or a whimper. But they've said they're not going to kill me off, which is nice."

Quirke was recently nominated for the 'Serial Drama Performance' prize at the National Television Awards, which take place in the New Year.

[Glen1]

Good sign she's not been killed off, would be great to see her return if only for a short spell. Her & Bob could be a good team.

[Perdita]

Emmerdale star Pauline Quirke has confirmed that she would be interested in returning to the soap in the future.

The actress recently filmed her final scenes as Hazel Rhodes, who bows out from the village for a fresh start next week.

Quirke decided to leave the ITV1 show as she is working on a stage version of Birds of a Feather this year and also wishes to spend more time with her family.

However, speaking to Inside Soap, the 52-year-old explained: "Oh, I'd love to come back to the show. Stuart Blackburn, Emmerdale's series producer, told me that they're all sorry to see me go, so when I want to come back, please do! You can't say fairer than that.

"Bob will be there, and Jackson is buried in the village, so there's a link for Hazel to be written back in. I kept dropping hints that I'd like to work in the café and managed to wangle myself in there - but I never got a chance to work in the factory!"

She added: "In a couple of years, my son Charlie will have finished his A-Levels, so we'll have to see."

Emmerdale airs Hazel's final episode on Wednesday at 7pm on ITV1.

[Perdita]

Emmerdale star Pauline Quirke has admitted that she shed real tears while filming her emotional exit scenes.

Fans of the soap will see Quirke's character Hazel Rhodes depart the village tonight, deciding that the time is right for a fresh start. In real life, the 52-year-old chose to bow out from the ITV1 show as she is working on a stage version of Birds of a Feather in the coming months.

Hazel bids a final farewell to troubled Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller) before she leaves, marking the end of a turbulent journey for the pair.

Quirke told Daybreak this morning: "Tonight, there's a scene where Aaron and Hazel say goodbye to each other, and I've got to be honest, I don't know how much of that was acting and how much of that was me and Danny actually quite upset. So it was an emotional scene. I'm very friendly with Danny - and all of them."

The actress added that she is hoping to see Miller and Chelsea Halfpenny (Amy Wyatt) recognised at tonight's National Television Awards, where they are nominated in the 'Serial Drama Performance' and 'Newcomer' categories respectively.

"[Danny's] terrific. He's absolutely one of the most talented actors that I've ever come across - and bear in mind he is 21," she explained. "And so is Chelsea, who plays Amy - the stuff that she's done this year. So I really hope that they both get recognised for it."

Quirke also reaffirmed her desire to return to Emmerdale in the future.

"They very, very nicely asked me if I'd come back," she confirmed. "We're coming up to the 40th anniversary, so hopefully I'll come back. Hazel's gone off to Barcelona, but hopefully she will appear in the not-too-distant future."

Emmerdale airs Hazel's final episode tonight at 7pm on ITV1.