JACQUELINE Jossa has revealed that cruel trolls branded her “the new fat Lauren Branning” as she reflected on the 10 year anniversary of her EastEnders casting.
The 27-year-old star replaced original actress Madeline Duggan in the role back in 2010 – and Jacqueline has now revealed the promotional image BBC bosses used of her sparked backlash.
Sharing that photo alongside a more recent selfie, Jacqueline reflected on the impact the comments had on her at the age of 17.
She wrote: “10 years ago I landed the BEST job in the world! Loved ever second of it, this picture changed my life.
“I used to hate this picture so much, I got trolled so, so badly: ‘The new fat Lauren Branning’, ‘Why recast and then get someone so much uglier, and what is the hair cut?’
“I admit I really hate the hair cut now, but jeez ppl can be mean, and to a 17 year old girl, words hurt a lot!”
The actress went on to add that she is still affected by the comments, explaining: “It affected me for a LONG time! Probably still does actually if Im being honest. Still, 10 years on, I did seven years on the show of my dreams and had two beautiful children.
“To end this year, I just became QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE! WOW!! My life has changed so much and had so many ups and downs in these 10 years.
“I can honestly say heading into 2020 Im excited, happy and content! Thank you for supporting me.
“Also, big shout out to the people who will remember this first girl, 17 year old me that just landed a role that would change her life, feeling overwhelmed and so lucky, thanks a million.”
Jacqueline left EastEnders in February 2018, with the star recently turning down the opportunity to return to the BBC One soap.
The reflective post comes one day after the I’m A Celeb champ won praise for showing off her “thick legs” in another candid Instagram photo.
The brunette beauty shared a photo of herself snuggling up to youngest daughter Mia while she proudly boasted: “She gets her chunky legs from her mumma #captainthunderthighs”.
Jacqueline went on to open up about how her body image has changed over the years – and that she normally wouldn’t have wanted to post the picture of her legs.
