Post-pregnancy is a difficult time for people who have suffered eating disorders, even if they’ve recovered, as their size and shape has changed very quickly and it’s out of their control.
And her appearance even caused onlookers to wonder whether the 5ft 5 actress – who has admitted to battling an eating disorder in the past – has slimmed too dramatically.
One bystander who saw the star at the TV Quick Awards last week told Closer:
“Billie looked really slender, it was especially noticeable in her face – she looked quite gaunt. It didn’t help that her skinny jeans made her legs look really thin. Smoking might be keeping her weight down too, as she was constantly going out for a cigarette.”
The actress, who gave birth to son Winston last October, gained 2st 5lbs during her pregnancy.
But by January, Billie, who’s married to actor Laurence Fox, 31, was back to her pre-pregnancy weight of 9st, in preparation for filming her ITV show Secret Diary Of A Call Girl. Celebrity fitness expert Nicki Waterman estimates that Billie has now lost another 11lbs and currently weighs around 8st 3lbs.
Nicki told Closer: “The weight loss is very noticeable in her face.”
Billie, 26, suffered from anorexia for two years until the age of 18 – when she wed first husband, DJ Chris Evans, 43. In an interview three years ago, she confessed the anorexia returned briefly after her split from Chris in 2004.
Dietician Juliette Kellow told Closer: “While I don’t think she has lost the weight too quickly, Billie shouldn’t lose any more. Post-pregnancy is a difficult time for people who have suffered eating disorders, even if they’ve recovered, as their size and shape has changed very quickly and it’s out of their control.
Nicki agreed, saying: “She needs to stay at this weight now. Because of her history, there’s a fear she’s an all-or-nothing kind of person. I imagine she’s cut out carbs and perhaps alcohol, and is sticking to veg and protein.” Billie has previously spoken about her eating disorder.
She said: “Anorexia, like any addiction, never goes away – it’s always lurking in the shadows. One weak moment and you’ll be straight back.”
Billie, who topped the charts aged 15 with Because We Want To, revealed in her autobiography that it was overhearing someone call her fat at an awards ceremony that prompted her to starve herself.
She said: “I’d cut everything out and see how long I could go before I had to eat.”
She also admitted using laxatives and surviving on Diet Coke and cigarettes for up to five days at a time, and once even tried eating tissue to fill her stomach. But she embraced her shape when she fell pregnant.
She said: “Sitting on the sofa watching the TV and not feeling guilty about it is quite nice.”
Billie previously admitted: I’d cut everything out and see how long I could go before I had to eat.”
