Dawn French Loses Massive Amount Of Weight

She was often referred to as a 'roly-poly' comedienne at the height of her fame. But nowadays 'slimmed down' is a far more appropriate tag for Dawn French. The 53-year-old showed off her svelte new figure at the Galaxy National Book Awards in London this weekend. 

Miss French won the 2011 Specsavers Popular Fiction Book of the Year with her fiction book 'A Tiny Bit Marvellous'. The novel is about the comedic struggles of mother-of-two Mo Battle and her chaotic family. Her new look was a far cry from the Dawn French of old, who once famously said: 'There are two types of women: the ones who like chocolate and complete bitches’. However, that attitude has completely changed and she is now 16 stone, down from 20. 

In her first interview since shedding the pounds, she explained how she achieved her new look. ‘I’m eating healthily, taking care of myself and feeling very happy indeed,’ she said. ‘Life is good. I want to go to Pilates classes, actually.’ Now Miss French, whose Vicar Of Dibley character Geraldine Granger shared her  penchant for chocolate, is restricting herself to an occasional Fruit & Nut bar. She has also given up chips, opting instead for salads.

Miss French announced she had separated from husband Lenny Henry, 52, in April last year after 25 years of marriage. The couple – who have an adopted daughter Billie, 19 – saw their divorce finalised six months later.

Speaking in the latest issue of Woman magazine, she revealed that she is still single – though admitted she had been enjoying the company of new men and ‘gentlemen callers’. ‘The only thing that’s new is meeting new chaps,’ she said. ‘But what is that other than extremely exciting and very good fun? I don’t even want to call it dating, like some teenager. I’m just trying to have a bit of fun every now and again. I’m taking some people up on offers and I’m not taking up other people.’

Miss French admitted she would consider marrying again but insisted she enjoys being single. ‘I’m open to marrying again but I’m certainly not thinking about it right now,’ she added. ‘I’m absolutely not finding it hard to be single. It’s all great.'