Coro’s Catherine says goodbye for Eva – and shows off her hot new look
“It’s the real me!”
She’s the Coronation Street actress synonymous with long, blonde extensions and caked-on warpaint, so it’s quite the surprise when a fresh-faced, brunette Catherine Tyldesley arrives for our photo shoot.
She looks softer, er, more radiant and so different fferent that it’s little wonder even her husband, personal al trainer Tom Pitfield, is doing double takes.
“Tom felt like he was having an affair,” jokes Catherine, 34. “He e was like, ‘This is so weird.’ Even I kept forgetting I’d done e it. I was walking past windows ndows and getting surprised by my own reflection. There was a lady on the train the other day who kept staring and eventually said, ‘I I feel like you’re supposed to be blonde.’ People are re taking a minute to work k it out.”
After seven years ars of playing brassy, lovable knicker nicker stitcher Eva Price on Coro, o, the star’s first priority when n she finished up on the soap early arly this year was to “de-Eva” Eva” herself. “It feels really nice ce to come back to me and lay ay Eva to rest,” she says.
The hair is only part of the transformation. Catherine is also leaner and fitter after recently completing a gruelling 12-week gym challenge. She was already in great shape, having overhauled her lifestyle some years ago to lose 38kg, dropping from a size 22 to a 10, but she decided to push it further with an intense weight-training programme and diet.
“I’m never going to be completely shredded because I love my food, but I’ve got so much more energy,” she tells. “I’m lifting weights I never thought possible and while my body shape has changed, I’ve still got my curvy bits. My trainer says I’m a cross between Eva Mendes and Jennifer Lopez.”
A mother to three-year-old son Alfie, Catherine confesses that looking as she does takes a lot of hard work.
“Some people are very genetically blessed, but I’m not one of those people,” she tells. “It has to be the complete lifestyle because I gain weight easily.”
Yet Catherine tends not to weigh herself and believes women invest too much in what the scales say. She explains, “There is the impact of hormones. Once a month, I can retain up to 8lb [3.6kg] of water, so I just go off how I feel, how my clothes are fitting and the measurements. If you feel strong and have energy, that’s what matters.”
Three gym sessions a week and a tailored diet, which Catherine says actually has her “eating more than ever”, has seen her body fat go down from 15% to 12%, the equivalent of an athlete.
Catherine smiles, “I feel more confident. The other day, I put on a swimming costume I hadn’t worn for ages and felt really good. For a long time after I had Alfie, I felt a bit wobbly. I have a few stretch
marks and my confidence went, but this has really helped. It’s about being the best you can be. Now I’ve got Alfie, I just want to be on this planet for as long as possible.”
The actress avoids processed food and grows her own veges, although she does allow herself to fall off the wagon agon occasionally – the last time being eing at her messy Coro leaving do. o.
Catherine confesses, onfesses, “I drink very rarely y these days, so I said to Tom m beforehand, ‘I’m unavailable e the next day as a mother till at least 2pm.’ I was celebrating ng my seven years on the show, ow, so I knew I was going to have a drink!”
Over the past t year, her character faced much heartache, with the suicide of her partner Aidan an and the difficult decision cision to give away her newborn daughter. Catherine erine says, “Those storylines es have had such an impact. mpact. We’re saving lives ves by raising awareness. ess. I’ve had people come me up to me in the street reet and tell me their ir personal stories.” s.”
She’s now back ack auditioning, but t also spending more time with Tom, 31, and nd Alfie. “He’s hilarious,” ” says the proud mum. m. “There are times when n I’m stressed and he’ll e’ll just come out with a one-liner or a cheeky smile. ile. I just feel so lucky to have e him.”
Catherine had ad sworn off meeting men when she met Tom, but she was pregnant with Alfie within months of their first date – a happy surprise – and they married two years ago.
“He’s a phenomenal dad,” tells Catherine, her eyes welling with tears. “And he cooks too. Winner! He supports me in every way. With every decision I make, he’s got my back.”