Holly Willoughby has revealed she was cruelly fat-shamed by a modelling agent when she was just 17.
The presenter, 40, admitted that despite viewing her figure as ‘tiny,’ she was in ‘complete and utter shock’ when an Australian booker blamed her size on ‘healthy eating while travelling.’
Writing in her new book Reflections, Holly said that she decided to ‘listen to her gut’ and walk away from the ‘alluring’ modelling industry Down Under, and eventually landed a job as a presenter for an ITV show.
Candid: Holly Willoughby has revealed she was cruelly fat-shamed by a modelling agent when she was just 17 (pictured in 1998)
In her book, Holly explained that as a teenager she did work experience at the agency Model 1 in London where she made ‘lots of tea,’ before spotted by an agent at the Clothes Show.
The star wrote that she landed some commercial work thanks to her ‘cheeky smile,’ and would head to casting calls across London, and described her experience as a ‘learning curve’ as it forced her to boost her confidence.
After realising her developing shape ‘didn’t fit the modelling bill anymore,’ she decided to go travelling around Australia, where she met with an agent.
Comments: The presenter, 40, admitted she was in ‘complete and utter shock’ when an Australian booker blamed her size on ‘healthy eating while travelling (pictured last month)
She said: ‘I hoped I’d do some modelling there and maybe live in Sydney for a bit. The booker was really nice.
‘Afterwards, I spoke to my London agency to see what she’d said, and the comment I got back was: ”We’ll put her weight down to healthy eating while travelling.”’
‘I just thought, wow. I could look in the mirror and see what I was seventeen and tiny… so to hear a comment like that was a complete and utter shock.’
Holly added that it was then she decided to walk away from modelling, writing: ‘I saw for myself the brutal and, in my opinion, ugly side of what I’d always thought was the most beautiful place, and I realised then that it was no for me.’
She said she realised she would have to ‘drastically’ change her diet if she wanted to pursue a modelling career, and she knew ‘forcing her body to be a certain shape wasn’t a good way to live.’
Done: Writing in her book Reflections, Holly said that she decided to ‘listen to her gut’ and walk away from the ‘alluring’ industry, and landed a job as a TV presenter (pictured in 2004)
Read all about it: Holly opens up in her new book, Reflections: Life Lessons on Finding Beauty, out on October 28th
Despite her ordeal, Holly said that upon returning to London she headed to a TV show casting with one of her pals, for a show called S Club TV, and despite being an ‘utterly rubbish presenter,’ she got the job.
Later in the book, Holly urged her fans to ‘nourish their bodies’ by ‘celebrating’ food, and writes she likes to ‘bring awareness to her body’ through movement, which she finds ‘incredibly grounding and freeing.’
Holly had previously admitted she gets ‘very frustrated’ talking about diets, after remaining tight-lipped about her own diet and exercise regime.
Talking to Vanessa Feltz, who appeared via videolink, Holly said: ‘I get very frustrated when we’re talking about diets.
‘I know you’ve been on here talking about your own battle with weight loss and you tried every diet in the book and none of those worked for you and you went for more drastic measures which, for you, worked out brilliantly.’
‘You feel great, people start to treat you in a different way, which is awful because you’re the same inside as out.
Transformation: Holly has repeatedly refused to discuss her own weight loss and diet secrets over the years (pictured left in 2015 and right on Thursday’s This Morning)
She added: ‘However you feel great, you celebrate but then you go back to normal life which, for most people with a weight problem, involves having a bit of chocolate.
Holly, who made changes to her lifestyle after the birth of her son Chester in 2014, has repeatedly refused to discuss her own weight loss and diet secrets, saying in a 2017 interview with Prima magazine she feared influencing those with eating disorders.
She said: ‘I actually avoid talking about my diet and exercise regime because I have interviewed so many people affected by eating disorders and I know that some people in chat rooms can really fixate on other people’s diets.
‘I just can’t contribute to that.’
‘As long as I’m healthy, that’s good enough for me. I’m quite active and I try not to let the way I look be the main focus because it’s not the most important thing.’
Words of wisdom: In the book, Holly urges her fans to ‘nourish their bodies’ by ‘celebrating’ food, and writes she likes to ‘bring awareness to her body’ through movement (above in 1998)