Former EastEnders star Charlie Brooks, 40, is starring in new Channel 5 thriller Lie With Me, starting on 12 July – and is also set to return to Albert Square in the coming months as villainous Janine Butcher.
Here, the actress – who’s a single mum to daughter Kiki, 16 – reveals the benefits of ditching alcohol, regular exercise and why she’s embraced ageing...
‘Giving up drinking gives you a new lease of life’
Former party girl Charlie says ditching booze has completely transformed her. She says, “I quit drinking a year ago. It’s been life-changing. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. To begin with, I wasn’t sure. I’ve partied a lot and really enjoyed it. A glass of wine is never a glass of wine, it’s a bottle or three. I thought, ‘It’s time to change. I don’t want to do this any more’.” She adds, “I was so fed up with feeling s***, feeling like I was doing the same thing all the time.”
‘Life really can begin at 40, 50 or 60’
Charlie says she sees getting older as a blessing. The actress says, “Sometimes we are more than what people see on the surface. I’m 40. Sometimes I get lonely, but mostly I’m OK. I’m learning to really get along with the woman that I am.
“My girl will steam into her 40s one day, having witnessed that at 40 or 50 or 60, life really can begin. My mum got married in Ibiza as she was steaming towards 60! I learn from her and I hope Kiki will learn from me. I’m exactly where I am meant to be. Love yourself a little more each day.”
‘Being single can help remind us who we are’
Charlie, who split from her most recent ex-boyfriend, architect Ben Hollington, in 2018, says being single has its positives. She reveals, “I’ve been single for pretty much four years and, hand on heart, they have been the most important four years of my life. It’s easy to forget who we truly are. We get so caught up in people’s idea of us, and it’s ingrained that that’s who we are forever – but it’s not true.”
‘Be who you want to be’
Charlie’s portrayal of manipulative Janine in EastEnders from 1999 to 2004 and 2008 until 2014 bagged her a number of awards. She went on to star in BBC drama Bleak House and won I’m A Celeb! in 2012, and advises to push out of your comfort zone.
She says, “I am an actress, I am an entrepreneur, I am a mother, I am a lover, I read and I listen, I love and I cry, I run, I nap, I’m loud and I’m quiet, I’m a mentor, a student – I will be whatever and whoever I want to be, sometimes I’ll do it well, sometimes I won’t, but I will always do it with kindness and joy. Be curious, ladies… Don’t stay in the box!”
‘Don’t wait for the phone to ring – take control’
Last year, Charlie and her brother, Ben Brooks, launched a business together called I Am Pro, a subscription platform which makes arts education accessible for young people. She says, “Two years ago, I felt like I was standing still. I was tired of waiting for the phone to ring, tired of feeling like a puppet. I wasn’t reaching my full potential. I needed to believe in myself.
“So I decided to take control. I got a coach. I started to do the work. I learned to trust myself. I started listening and paying attention, to everything that was going on around me but, more importantly, to myself.”
Charlie adds, “I had to let go of some stuff and a lifestyle that wasn’t serving me. I took action. I opened myself up to a bigger world.”
‘You’ll never regret exercise – just do it!’
In 2005, Charlie released a best-selling fitness DVD after shedding her post-baby weight. Now, she enjoys meditating and running to stay fit. The star says, “Every morning, I do a five to 20-minute meditation, guided or not. Depends how loud my mind is.
“Sometimes I literally have to drag myself kicking and screaming on a run. Sometimes I talk myself out of it. Then I feel s**t. When I go, I never regret it. Ever! It can shift my whole mindset. It always surprises me how much impact running or not running can have on my little head. Don’t question it, just frickin’ do it!”
Check out: EastEnders spoilers - Chelsea Fox is issued a warning
EastEnders spoilers: Chelsea Fox is issued a warning slider
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Chelsea and Gray head to his work drinks but when Gray ends up too drunk, Chelsea starts chatting to his boss Laura who warns her away from him.
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Sheree secretly struggles as Isaac continues to stop taking his medication. However when he tells Lily and Arthur to go on a picnic, Ruby Allen is left worrying about the kids' whereabouts.
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After spotting Isaac attempting to break into their house, Ruby and Martin call the police… Later Jean Slater manages to track down the kids in the allotments.
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Ash is confused why Peter has been AWOL while she's been grieving. Kathy shares some home truths with Peter and it results in him trying to find Ash, but he's devastated when he spots her with another man.
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When Kim Fox boasts about Pearl's football abilities, Kat let's Phil take Tommy to the football trials – she wants to show that her son is gifted too.
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When Honey Mitchell notices that the Minute Mart isn't open and Suki is grieving at home, she decides to take some dinner round to her neighbour and run the show.
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Jay gets Billy to sign Janet's modelling contract and tries to take him out for a drink but Billy refuses.
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Kheerat is left concerned for his mum but she bats him away. Later when Suki heads to the Minute Mart, she's angry to find Honey there running things.
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‘Be kind to others – and yourself’
Charlie has raised her Kiki to always be kind to herself. She reveals, “I try to encourage my very own little female human to be strong, independent, true, unafraid but, most importantly, kind to herself! It can be tough when people always want to bring you down. When we constantly question and don’t know who we should be. We live in a world of comparison. As women, we have to lift each other up. Sing loudly. Share joy. Be brave. Trust ourselves. Be bold. Be sexy. Be loud. Be quiet. Be whatever we want. But above all else. Be kind. To others. And to ourselves.”
Charlie plays an unsettled mother in Lie With Me, a chilling new drama set in Australia. It goes out over four consecutive nights on Channel 5 from 12 July at 9pm.