Christine McGuinness has revealed how bad her eating disorder got at one point as a teenager.
The mum-of-three would survive on less than 300 calories a week when she suffered with anorexia - staggeringly below the 2,000 calories a day recommended for women.
Christine, 33, was working as a dancer in Paris when the only food she would consume would be a 90 calorie Cup-A-Soup every other day.
The star - who married comedian Paddy McGuinness in 2011 - says that despite her health battle, her stint in France "was one of the happiest times" of her life.
"The only thing that got slightly out of control was my eating disorder. No one was keeping an eye on me, so I barely ate," the former model recalls.
"I was dancing and burning a lot of calories, and I never took a dinner break.
"It was easy for me to get away with not eating, because no one was watching me.
"I’d have a Cup-a-Soup, which was 90 calories, every other day and that was it. Nothing else, bar loads of water.
She continued: "So, it wasn’t great for my health, but it was one of the happiest times of my life.
"I have no regrets, and at the time it was my own little rendition of my favourite film, Dirty Dancing."
In her latest memoir A Beautiful Nightmare - published by Mirror Books - Christine reflects on her time living in Paris, where made a living dancing on podiums in nightclubs.
"Life in Paris soon became addictive, I was making so much in terms of tips. The dancing did so much for my confidence, too," the Liverpool-born beauty confesses.
"In hindsight, what happened to me when I was 13 [sexual abuse] did affect me and stayed with me, but when I was dancing, I was in control.
"I’d taken ownership of my sexuality. No one was touching me and I was earning my own money – cash that went straight into my bank or back home to my mum."
She continued: "We worked hard. We’d get picked up in a mini-bus at 6pm and dropped back at the hostel at 6am every morning. Then we’d sleep all day.
"The modelling industry is fickle and you’d get picked apart if you’d put a bit of weight on, or your hair wasn’t quite right.
"But dancing in the club was the complete opposite. I was in a place where I loved the music playing every night and I was working with a bunch of girls that I got on with and I was earning amazing money, and again, no one was touching me.”
*You can talk in confidence to an adviser from eating disorders charity Beat by calling their adult helpline on 0808 801 0677 or youth helpline on 0808 801 0711.
