'I'm finally learning to love my sexy size 12-14 curves,' says Tricia Penrose as she poses nude

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She has gone from a size 8 to a size 16 and back again several times over the past few years as she struggled with her weight.

But Tricia Penrose said her obsession with calorie-counting went out the window as soon as her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer.

The actress, 42, has revealed that after years of battling with her weight, getting the devastating news about her mum Sue Gordon was the wake-up call she needed.

Comfortable in her own skin: Yo-yo dieter Tricia Penrose posed nude as she talked about finally being happy with her curves

And to prove that she is now happy with her curves, the former Heartbeat star looked fabulous as she posed in nothing but high heels and a smile on her face.

Speaking to Closer magazine in an interview to accompany the shoot, she said: 'I no longer care if I’m a bit bigger. I’m learning to love my curves. They’re sexy!'

She added: 'I get more compliments now than I did when I was skinny.'

But she said that her mum's diagnosis finally made her happy with what she has and said: 'When you find out your mum has advanced lung cancer, it puts everything into perspective.

That was quick! In 2007, Tricia went from 11st to 8st within the space of a few months

'Me and Mum are so close, we’re more like sisters. She’s always told me I look gorgeous at any size and hated me dieting. When she was diagnosed in July 2010, I vowed never to diet again. It made me realise that life’s too short to be constantly calorie counting.'

Tricia, who has taken time out from acting to spend more time with her TV presenter husband Mark Simpkin, 39, and their two boys, Jake, eight, and Freddy, three., said she happy being a size 12-14.

She was at her thinnest in 2007 when she lost three stone for her fitness DVD, Before And After Body Blitz., and she went from 11st to 8st and a size 8.

Unfazed: Tricia was criticised when she arrived at an event in the same daring dress as Amy Childs last month - but she said it didn't upset her one bit

But she said she would hate to be that small again and added: 'I thought I looked fabulous at the time, but my friends all told me I didn’t look well. And, looking back at photos, I can see my head looks too big for my body and my face is drawn.'

But she confessed that dieting took over her life and said: 'If I’d put on a couple of pounds I’d cancel nights out and sometimes drastically restrict my diet.

'Once I counted out five cashew nuts for lunch – that’s how bad it got.

As we know and love her: Tricia in her most well-known role as Gina Ward in Heartbeat and with husband Mark Simpkin


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2127631/Tricia-Penrose-said-mothers-cancer-diagnosis-calorie-counting-wake-call.html#ixzz1riLC94N3