Emily Atack has made an emotional plea for understanding after enduring what she described as an 'awful' health battle. The 36-year-old actress, known for her roles in Rivals and Nobody's Fool, has refused to discuss her weight, a topic that has followed her throughout much of her career.
Refusal to Discuss Weight
First rising to fame as schoolgirl Charlotte Hinchcliffe in The Inbetweeners, Atack has remained a familiar face on television. However, she has now declared she is 'so done with defending' herself over her body. Speaking to Grazia Magazine, she addressed the online trolling she has faced, particularly after sharing photos on Instagram in late 2025 that showed her looking slimmer.
'I was trolled for being enormous even when I was pregnant and I’m now trolled for having lost weight,' she said. 'My body holds all my trauma as well as my happiness and joy.'
Health Complications After Childbirth
The actress, who gave birth to son Barney in 2024, also opened up about her 'very difficult' pregnancy and subsequent health issues. 'I was very ill after the birth,' she revealed. 'I had sepsis, I couldn’t leave the house for weeks. It was awful.'
Issuing a plea to those who comment on women’s bodies, she added: 'So I’m just asking people for a little bit of patience and understanding at such a complex thing. Women’s bodies change all the time. I am so done with defending it.'
Criticism of 'Baby Weight' Comments
Speaking on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast after giving birth, Atack also criticised comments about her 'baby weight'. She said: 'There's something quite liberating about having a baby. Your body goes through so much and you genuinely look at your body as a completely different vessel.'
'Being pregnant and being desexualised, looking at your body, you create a human inside you, then you give birth to your child - which by the way is mental - you get home and the first thing people say to you is, when are you going to get back in the gym?'
'The last thing I want to do is go to the gym but the first thing you're expected to do is get back into shape,' she ranted. 'Where's the congratulations for being a mother? Instead it's when are you going to get the baby weight off... I'm not back at the gym at the minute, I've actually put on more weight since giving birth. I'm just enjoying this bit.'
Attitude Towards Dieting
By her own admission, Atack said she 'hates dieting' and enjoys 'pasta and wine'. However, she admitted that while preparing to film Rivals, she exercised to get her 'body ready' for the role.
She added to The Times: 'I don't go on diets. There have been times in my life where I've thought I've got to lay off the wine for a bit and get in shape for this new role or for my mental health I've gone to the gym a bit more but I've never become thinner because of being called fat. I've had to train my brain.'
