There's no big secret to my lost weight.. 10 YEARS AS TROUBLED FIZ ON CORONATION ST.

Byline: SUE CRAWFORD IT'S 10 years since Jennie McAlpine Jennie McAlpine (born 1984 in Rawtenstall, Lancashire) is an English actress who is best known for her ample curves and roles in the two veteran ITV Soap Operas Coronation Street and Emmerdale. burst on to the screen as Coronation Street's feisty redhead Fiz. Now a married mum of one, she's firmly part of the Weatherfield furniture. But her life has had a lot of ups and downs ups and downs pl.n. Alternating periods of good and bad fortune or spirits. ups and downs Noun, pl alternating periods of good and bad luck or high and low spirits . And one of those has been her weight. At 27, looking sleek and trim, she's a shadow of the roly-poly teenager who first took to the cobbles cobble 1 n. 1. A cobblestone. 2. Geology A rock fragment between 64 and 256 millimeters in diameter, especially one that has been naturally rounded. 3. cobbles See cob coal. tr. in 2001. "I do look different, but it wasn't planned," she says. "I think people just change as they get older. People say I've gone from a size 20 to a size 10, but I don't think I've ever been a size 20 and I've never been a size 10 either. "They think there's some secret way I lost weight. I'd love to tell you there was something magic, but I think it was simply a case of growing up and being sensible. "I try not to eat massive amounts. I eat some fruit and veg every day and I exercise by walking to work and that's it." She says diets don't work and she has never been on one. She also says she's never worried about her weight or weighed herself. "I don't notice if I go up or down a few pounds. "If you go to slimming clubs there's a good chance you'll end up weighing more than when you started. And that's what they rely on.

"Ice cream is bad, salad is good - it's not rocket science. If you eat more of the good stuff and take more exercise you'll lose weight. But it's not worth beating yourself up about. "I know there's pressure in this business, but I can honestly say I've never felt it myself." She doesn't even like compliments about how much weight she has lost. "People say to me, 'Oh you look good - you look really slim'. And then they wait for a response, which I think they expect should be, 'Thank you'. But I don't find that a compliment. So I smile and go, 'Mmm' as I don't know what to say. Thank you? For what?" Jennie grew up in Bury, Lancashire with her older brother Thomas, 39, who works in retail, and her dad Tom, 60, who runs the mental health charity Moodswings. She stayed with her dad following her parents' divorce when she was 10. Her career began at the age of 13 when she spotted an advert on the back of a Fanta can for a Young Comedian of the Year competition. She made it through to the finals, held at The Comedy Store in London, and on her return home set about organising guest comedy spots at local charity nights and galas. She also enrolled at a local theatre workshop, and in 2001, when she was 17, was among dozens of teenagers invited to Coronation Street Coronation Street is an award-winning British soap opera. It is the longest-running television soap opera in the United Kingdom, first broadcast on Friday, 9 December, 1960 in the Granada region of ITV. to try out for the role of foster child Fiona Brown. "I'd been to loads of auditions like it before and they never phone you back, " Jennie recalls. "The only difference with this one was that they did. "And it was quite big because it was Corrie. but I didn't think much about it at first as it was only four episodes." At first Fiz was a far from popular addition to the Street. In fact she was frequently accosted accost tr.v. accosted, accosting, accosts 1. To approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with a demand or request. 2. To solicit for sex. by angry fans. "They'd say, 'You're horrible,' or, 'Leave Roy and Hayley alone'," says Jennie. But she had made an impression during those four episodes and four months after was brought back as a permanent cast member. "Fiz was loud and boisterous and people thought she was rude," says Jennie. "But I think after a while they could see that she was a bit of a troubled soul and had had a terrible upbringing. When her mother Cilla came into the show people felt dreadfully sorry for her." Part of Fiz's appeal is that she is not the Street's most glamorous woman - but Jennie says she doesn't worry about comparisons with stunning colleagues like Samia Smith Samia Maxine Smith (ne Ghadie) (born 13 July 1982 in Eccles, Greater Manchester) is an English actress of French and Lebanese descent.

She made her acting debut when she was 11, appearing in a single episode of Cracker ("The Big Crunch"). (Maria Connor) and Helen Flanagan (Rosie Webster Rosie Webster is a fictional character in the United Kingdom ITV1 TV soap Coronation Street. She was originally played by Emma Collinge from her birth and, since January 2000 by Helen Flanagan. ). "The show is set in an ordinary street in Manchester and I like being an ordinary-looking person," she says. "I'm not perfect and I like that. I probably look like most of the young girls who watch Corrie and I think that's important." Yet life has been far from ordinary for Fiz since she married John Stape John Stape is a fictional character on the long-running UK soap opeara, 'Coronation Street' played by Graeme Hawley. He first appeared in 2007 as a former boyfriend of Fiz Brown's, her first in fact. in prison two years ago. She gave birth prematurely to baby Hope after a tram crashed into the street last year and she still does not know her husband is a multiple murderer. Now desperate Fiz has been driven to defrauding the estate of Colin Fishwick's mum Joy - spending the legacy left by the woman who was murdered by John. It is a web of deception that's set to get even more tangled as John is about to mentally unravel once again. So there's plenty for her to get her teeth in to working on the show, although Jennie has no plans to quit the Street. "I could definitely see myself here in 10 years," she says. "It's not for everyone, but I never get bored or restless. "It's like a second home, to be honest, and I spend more time with my on-screen family than I do my own family. It's weird, but it means you do become close to people. "I've spent my entire adult life here and I love it. Coronation Street was part of my life before I joined and it probably would be still if I wasn't in it. "I also live in Manchester, so I can see my dad and all my friends and family. It's the perfect job really." In real life Jennie lives with her boyfriend of five years, Chris, who runs a restaurant in the city. But filming scenes with baby Hope has not made her feel broody broody see avian broodiness. . "Working with a dog for seven years hasn't made me want to go and get a big slobbering slobbering see drooling. pooch either," she jokes, referring to her on-screen brother Chesney's Great Dane Great Dane, breed of very large, powerful working dog developed in Europe more than 400 years ago. It may stand as high as 36 in. (91.4 cm) at the shoulder and weigh up to 150 lb (68.1 kg). Schmeichel. And she says that Fiz's chaotic home life would not suit her.

"Living like Fiz does would be my worst nightmare and I wouldn't swap places with her in a million years," she says firmly. "Some people find all that drama exciting, but I don't - I just find it stressful and upsetting. I'm definitely one for a calm, quiet life." Meanwhile Jennie is thrilled to have reached such a landmark anniversary on Britain's most famous fictional street. "I think people at school thought I'd probably end up as prime minister, rather than an actress, because I was quite gobby - but there's still time," she says. TO vote for Coronation Street at the British Soap Awards 2011, go to www.britishsoapawards.tv Fiz's naked protest 2002 FIZ did her naked protest on the roof of the Underworld factory because Mike Baldwin hadn't paid for her designs. "It was February and absolutely freezing," says Jennie. "It was funny but quite provocative really because they needed a shot without a bra." Fiz kissing Tyrone in 2003 JENNIE says kissing Tyrone was far more embarrassing than taking her top off. "It was quite full-on and passionate," she says. "It's weird - you're kissing someone, but not really kissing them, if you know what I mean. Meanwhile everyone is watching you and filming it!" Fiz and Chesney in 2004 WHEN Sam Aston auditioned for the part of Chesney at the age of nine, Jennie was on the panel. "I always tell him I picked someone else," she says. "The truth is that they were never going to choose anyone else - he was the cutest thing and so adorable." Fiz marries John Stape 2009 CORONATION Street weddings can take a whole week to film, reveals Jennie. "For the cast who are guests it's mind-numbing," she says. "Fiz's wedding to John in prison was considered one of the best because it was low maintenance and there were no guests!" Fiz gives birth to Hope 2010 A PROSTHETIC prosthetic adj. 1. Serving as or relating to a prosthesis. 2. Of or relating to prosthetics. prosthetic serving as a substitute; pertaining to prostheses or to prosthetics. baby was used for Hope's birth, but when it arrived four days before the live episode it was a boy. "The props department had ordered the wrong sex," reveals Jennie. She says the birth was embarrassing to film, adding: "It wasn't very dignified." CAPTION(S): Fizzing fizz

intr.v. fizzed, fizzing, fizzes To make a hissing or bubbling sound; effervesce. n. 1. A hissing or bubbling sound. 2. Effervescence. 3. An effervescent beverage. with life... Jennie puts her glam new look down to being sensible Below: Arriving on the set of Corrie COPYRIGHT 2011 MGN LTD No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder. Copyright 2011 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.