AN ACTRESS has stepped back on to the stage after battles with her weight and a hip injury.
Clare Cunliffe-Saunders, 34, of Watnall, feared her showbiz days were over as she struggled to walk even short distances.
The mum-of-two was forced to stop her work in children's shows after she injured her hip when dancing.
But she has now launched her own kids' entertainment company, dressing as Disney and storybook characters for parties.
Mrs Cunliffe-Saunders, of Deeley Close, said: "I worked in children's theatre for years and played fairytale parts like Snow White, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and Rapunzel.
"But just after getting pregnant at the age of 29 I damaged my hip when I kicked too high in a dance.
"It was too painful to walk and I went from being in good shape to doing nothing and just eating in front of the telly."
Her then weight yo-yoed between nine and 14 stone as she gave birth to her two children – Rose, now five, and George, three.
To shed the pounds, she started using Weightwatchers and then went on the Dukan diet – a high protein, low fat, low carb diet which allows you to eat as much as you like of 100 set foods. She also kept fit with zumba classes, swimming and walking.
Within a year she had lost five stone and her weight was down to a healthy nine stone – and she could fit back into her costumes.
She said: "My weight shot up by five stone in just three months and I was more of a fairy blobmother than a beautiful princess.
"It went down again between my two children but by the time George was born I was back up to more than 14 stone.
"I was far too big to go back to what I'd been doing before – none of the costumes would fit me and none of the characters I had played are fat.
"Everything came to a head one night when I was catching the train back from a hen do and a group of football fans saw me on a station and started singing about me.
"They were drunk and just being stupid, but it was very hurtful and as soon as I met my husband I burst into tears.
"I said to myself 'enough's enough, I'm going to lose all this weight'. Within a year I was back to around nine stone and I'm very happy this way.
"People don't shout nasty things at me any more – and I look the part again for the children."