Former EastEnders actress Lorraine Stanley has shared an image showing off her jaw-dropping weight loss months after exiting the long-running BBC soap. The Portsmouth icon, who portrayed Karen Taylor from 2017 to 2024, shared a stunning photograph of herself and her sibling celebrating a milestone moment.

On Sunday (May 4), Lorraine, 48, took to Instagram to wish her sister Karen Stanley a happy birthday. In the picture, shared with her 174,000 followers, the one-time Call the Midwife star wore a floral waistcoat and white scooped neck vest, paired with a long khaki skirt.

“Happy Birthday to my beautiful Sister @karenstanley_74,” the 48-year-old wrote. “Love you millions.”

Lorraine, who last year appeared in the Portsmouth Kings Theatre production of Dick Whittington, also showed off her figure in a sweet tribute post to snooker player, Frankie Jakeway, marking his successful London Marathon. The video saw the mum-of-one capturing landmarks across the capital with her partner, Mark Perez, and their daughter Nancy.

“Smashed it Jakeway. I couldn’t be more proud of you!!! I couldn’t do it so big respect!,” she typed. “And for such an amazing cause Children Cancer UK. We had such a great day. Nancy loved watching you."

Lorraine, who has been working in the arts since 1999, made her film debut in Scottish film director Paul McGuigan’s 2000 flick, Gangster No. 1. As well as appearing in a plethora of television films, she has fronted episodes of The Bill, Casualty and Law & Order UK.

In 2004, Lorraine became attached to EastEnders for the first time, playing a young Mo Harris in the spin-off special, EastEnders: Pat and Mo. In 2016, she made her main programme debut as Thelma Bragg.

Thelma, who was a pub landlady, made eight separate appearances in Walford. A year after her character’s departure, Lorraine returned to the soap opera full-time as Karen Taylor.

For her role, she earned the 2018 British Soap Award for Best Newcomer and the 2019 Inside Soap Award for Funniest Female.

A year later, she bagged the Inside Soap gong for Funniest Performance. In June 2023, it was announced that showrunners had “written out” Lorraine out of her role.

A source told The Sun at the time: "It’s always a tough call for bosses when deciding which characters will leave the soap, but it has to be done to keep storylines fresh and create new arcs for characters.

"Lorraine had a great run on the soap and was a real scene stealer with her comic timing, and she has certainly made her mark with fans.”

Her final scenes aired on December 8, 2023; however, she returned for two separate guest stints in 2024.