It’s dodgy.. if I got a role & had to drop 20lbs I’d be terrified that I’d slip back
TV star on anorexia battle
Lily in the Netflix movie Lily and co-star Keanu Reeves Joanne told the Irish Mirror: “That is dodgy, if I suddenly had a role I had to drop 20 pounds for I’d be terrified I’d slip back.
“You have all these tricks when you’re sick, I mean even now if I lose weight for a holiday the girls will take me aside and say, ‘Are you OK?’
“You never fake it but people always assume you’re going to relapse.
“I’ve a friend who got donuts delivered to the office and she was looking at me really freaked out thinking a box of donuts was going to make me slip back into the illness.
“It’s not a fine line like that, I mean but having to lose weight for a role could easily set you back.”
Joanne realised she had anorexia and bulimia when her extreme dieting resulted in a trip to the psychiatric ward. The Dublin comedian, who will perform Joanne Mcnally Bite at the Edinburgh Fringe festival next month, said writing the show was cathartic.
She said: “I wanted to write a comedy about eating disorders because when I was sick I couldn’t find anything on the illness I could relate to.
“It’s all sad and serious but there were funny parts to it as well, there’s always a bit of craic in losing your mind.
“You just have to look after your mind, I did all the therapy, the treatments and the programmes five years ago.
“In a way I wouldn’t change it because I’ve no idea what kind of a person I’d be if I didn’t change it. Lily Collins in movie To the Bone The illness got me into comedy because I was sick, I was admitted to hospital and had to quit my job in Thinkhouse PR.”
Performing the show is bittersweet for the actress who came to fame as the female sidekick on Republic of Telly.
Joanne added: “Sometimes I do get a bit emotional in the show because there’s a dip in it where I realise I had an eating disorder rather than I was just in a really intense diet.
“My show is not like therapy because I think that’s unfair on the audience, just pay to go to a therapist if you need therapy.”
Kevin Mcgahern & Joanne in Republic of Telly
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