"Walking into the shabby church hall in London's Shepherd's Bush, I felt dozens of eyes on me.
My face was burning with embarrassment as I shuffled towards a chair, praying that nobody would recognise me or talk to me.
As an actress - I spent four years in the BBC drama Casualty before joining talk show Loose Women - I've spent my whole working life in front of an audience.
Being the centre of attention had never fazed me. But this was different.
It was my first 'appearance' at a slimming class and I felt humiliated. I couldn't look anyone in the eye.
I knew I was fat. That's why I was there. At 5ft 11in and 24st 61/2lbs, I was the largest woman in the room. A dress size 32.
But I'd spent so long kidding myself I loved being large, that admitting the truth to myself - let alone to total strangers - was terribly painful.
The thought of putting myself through the humiliation of a diet club had always been anathema to me.
So walking through that door in May 2005 was one of the hardest things I'd done. It was born out of sheer desperation.
Acting as a voluptuously sexy woman was second nature to me. But I was sick of living a lie.
Casualty's larger-than-life receptionist Amy Howard may have been happy in herself. But Rebecca Wheatley wasn't.
I've battled with my weight for as long as I can remember. It runs in the family.
My mum Anne, a housewife, attended endless slimming classes when I was growing up. And they definitely rubbed off on me.
One day she came home with a papier maché pig which she'd 'won' at her slimming club. It was a booby prize, as she'd gained the most weight that week.
She just laughed, but I was furious. How could these women be so spiteful to my lovely cuddly mum?
Aged ten, I vowed I'd never put myself through the humiliation of being judged by my weight.
I loved eating and as Mum adored cooking, making fantastic casseroles, treacle tarts and cakes, I made the most of her meals.
And no one was going to force me to be slim." Source DailyMail Co UK
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