She’s set to turn the big 6-0 in January and Tina Malone reveals she’s started the celebrations early by gifting herself a face lift in time for her milestone birthday.
The TV actress – best known for TV shows such as Dinnerladies and Shameless – is no stranger to nips and tucks, having had eight gruelling surgeries since she lost 12st following a gastric band operation in 2010. But she admits her latest procedure has given her a huge confidence boost.
Tina tells Closer, “I’m over the moon with how I look. My old face appeared sad and miserable, now I look healthier, sexier and prettier than ever! The last few years have been tough and this has given me something to smile about.”
After losing several close family and friends, experiencing marriage and financial difficulties as well as battling Covid and pneumonia, she admits she’s struggled to cope emotionally.
The star, who shares eight-year-old daughter, Flame, with husband, Paul, 39, says, “The last two years were rough in every way. I’ve attended 22 funerals and four of them were suicides. It was very traumatic. My little girl didn’t cope well during lockdown, and I felt flat and low. Paul lost his job in the military and my acting jobs dried up as soon as the pandemic hit. We struggled with money and it put pressure between us. Lockdown seemed to magnify every possible problem.”
Tina also endured three stints in hospital after catching Covid back in 2020. She says, “I suddenly felt unwell, and before I knew it, I passed out and was in hospital. I developed a clot on my lung, had pneumonia, chronic dehydration and kidney failure. It was such a bad time.”
She adds, “I put on over 2st in lockdown after eating like a pig, but when I got ill, my weight dropped to 7st 10lbs. I rapidly went from being too fat, to too thin.”
Tina believes the trauma began to show on her face and admits she was “truly shocked” at how much she’d aged. “I like to dress up in a nice frock, but I’m not a looker,” she laughs. “I’ve never been too bothered about what I look like. But when I looked in the mirror, I said, ‘Jesus, Tina, you look rough as a bird’s a--e!’ My jowls were drooping, I looked permanently sad – there were wrinkles everywhere.”
She underwent a 60-minute non-surgical face lift at Claire Quigley Aesthetics in Manchester. The eight-point procedure used dermal filler to improve her jowls, jawline, cheeks and tear troughs.
“When I looked in the mirror, I nearly cried,” she smiles. “I still look like me, just a better version. It was never about looking younger but it’s knocked a couple of years off. I get offered treatments all the time, but I’m careful and have said no to many things.”
Tina says she was conscious of not going overboard in a bid to maintain her TV career. “My face is my work. I’m not keen on getting Botox and I don’t want to look frozen or have a snatched face like everyone off TOWIE. I’d never allow someone to touch my lips, I don’t want to look like an ’80s porn star!” she laughs.
She adds, “I’m extremely proud I’ll be turning 60. It’s good to have a great body, but it’s nice to have a pretty face. When you feel good about yourself, you just smile more.”
And the compliments have been flooding in. She explains, “I didn’t tell anyone about my procedure but I went to my local quiz night and the regulars said, ‘Oh my god, you’ve gone back 10 years’, and one girl asked, ‘Have you slept for a week?’”
After rough patches in their marriage, Tina says her new looks have also reignited the passion with Paul. “This morning, when I had no make-up on, he said, ‘I can’t get over your face!’ It makes a change; in the past I’ve gone from having black hair to a blonde bob and the first thing he’s said is, ‘What’s for tea?’”
Tina jokes she’s already thinking about her next procedure. “The one thing I’d love is a bum,” she laughs. “I’ve got phenomenal boobs, a great stomach and great arms, but I’ve got a very long bottom. It’s barely there! I wouldn’t want one of those Kardashian- style bums, but I’d love more shape.”
Despite her larger-than-life personality, Tina reveals she’ll be keeping her 60th birthday low-key. “I’ve thought about having a big party but then I think, why should I pay for everyone else to have a good time? I had the greatest wedding in the world – now I’d much rather spend the money on a holiday for me and my family!”
Tina’s procedure cost £1,000. Visit Claire Quigley Aesthetics.