Brooke: “I’ve lost a stone and I’m in the best shape of my life!”

Corrie actress Brooke Vincent tells Closer’s Neeru Sharma how she beat her junk food addiction

e’re used to seeing her on screen in Corrie as loveable W Sophie Webster – but as we catch up with Brooke Vincent in a break from training for Dancing On Ice, she admits the cobbles are a walk in the park compared to the ice rink.

Brooke, 25, tells Closer, “I’m so excited to be taking part in the show. There’s been so much buzz around it this year, but I’m trembling at the thought of being on the ice! Honestly, I feel physically sick because it’s live and anything could happen. My friend [and former contestant] Samia [Ghadie] knows how I feel and has been trying to put me at ease.”

HEALTH KICK

But learning how to glide effortlessly across the ice isn’t the first gruelling challenge Brooke has set herself. Late last year, the actress embarked on a 12-week health and fitness regime that has seen her lose a stone and quit smoking in time for her skating debut. Trading in junk food, cigarettes and booze for healthy eating and 50-minute workouts with a personal trainer three times a week has completely transformed her figure, with the star going from a size 10 to a toned size 8.

She explains, “For so long I’d wake up feeling sluggish and my skin was horrendous. I wanted to be in the best shape for Dancing On Ice and feel healthier. I’ve always suffered with body insecurities, especially over my thighs, but now my legs and my arms feel toned and my core is stronger. I’ve never worked so hard for anything and this is the best I’ve felt.”

And Brooke says she’s finally managing to curb her spiralling junk food addiction. Her eating habits were so out of control, she admits to occasionally scoffing up to four takeaways in one day.

She explains, “I was a binge eater. Sometimes, I’d be eating my first meal in the afternoon, or I’d pick between scenes. On a Saturday night, I’d have a Mcdonald’s before heading out, then I’d bring one home, before having another for breakfast the next day. For lunch, I’d have KFC, followed by a chippy for tea – that’s how bad it was! I lived that way for years because it was easy and it was the food I was used to, but now my meals are high in protein with some good carbs and generally very low in sugar.”

Now Brooke – who started smoking when she was 15 – hopes she’ll never light up a cigarette again after ditching her habit as part of the health kick with Manchester’s Ultimate Performance Gym.

STAMPING OUT THE HABIT

She explains, “Everyone would ask when I was going to give up and I just assumed I’d quit if I ever fell pregnant. It got to the point where I was getting short of breath and spluttering, which was embarrassing. Then my nine-year-old god-daughter made me promise I’d quit, so I couldn’t go back on my word. I went cold turkey and used an app to encourage me. Now my coughing fits have stopped and I don’t feel out of breath any more.”

And Brooke says her Corrie cast mates, Catherine Tyldesley [Eva Price] and Katie

Mcglynn [Sinead Tinker] have been spurring on her transformation. She says, “We all train at the same place and motivate each other. They are great and told me I look healthier. Cath knows a lot about fitness, so I ask her for advice or nick her protein bars!”

But Brooke jokes she isn’t as obsessed with fitness as some of her co-stars. She reveals, “We share tips about food, but nine times out of 10 I switch off because I’m so bored. I’ve never been obsessed with eating or exercise.”

Meanwhile, Brooke admits her footballer boyfriend, Kean Bryan, 21, is happy with her new lifestyle, but laughs at the thought of them ever working out together.

She says, “Kean is proud of me for quitting smoking and cutting down on junk food. We’ve never been the type to talk about our body mass index. I’ve got better things to do than talk about the gym with my boyfriend!”

BABY PLANS

Though the pair have been together since June 2016, Brooke admits she’s in no rush to become a mum like her co-star and on-screen sister Helen Flanagan, who is expecting her second child. She reveals, “Kean and I are happy as we are, I’ve got no plans to fall pregnant soon.” And the star admits she’s grown a thick skin after being in the limelight on Corrie for ten years. She says, “I remember once I got papped on holiday and a troll wrote I had arms like a German shotputter! I tried not to let it faze me and remember that worse things happen to people. Whenever I have a bad day I’ve got girls like Helen and Cath who’ve got my back, and everyone else on set – we’re just like a family.”

‘I’ve never worked so hard for anything’