Jennifer Ellison, 40, flaunts her toned figure in a strapless white bikini as she enjoys some winter sun in Turkey after revealing she’s ditched dieting and is finally happy with her weight

Jennifer Ellison showed off her toned figure in a strapless white bikini as she enjoyed the winter sun in Turkey on Sunday.

The former Brookside star, 40, who was an 18 at her largest size, has not shy away from showing off her weight loss.

And after years of yo-yo dieting she has decided to ditch the fad diets as she finally feels happy with her 10 stone body weight.

Jennifer showed off her sun-kissed glow as she sat on the side of a poolside lounge chair and dipped her toes in the pool.

The blonde beauty showcased her toned bum in the high-waisted bikini with a tiny torso as she gracefully climbed out of the water.

Incredible: The former Brookside star, who was an 18 at her largest size, isn’t one to shy away from showing off her weight loss

After taking a dip in the water, Jennifer donned a stylish white robe and a white and black hat.

In September, Jennifer, who found fame as Emily Shadwick in Brookside, began her journey with fad diets.

She told new! Magazine: ‘I’m not the smallest I’ve ever been, but I’m at a happy weight where I feel great in a bikini or costume in the pool.’

She added: ‘I’m in a happy and confident place. I’m currently about 10¾th. I no longer feel like I’m in that rat race where I have to look great. I stopped trying to diet.

‘When you do fad diets they don’t work, so I gave up. My weight has gone up and down so much over the years, so I just try to eat healthy now.”

Jennifer told the publication that she lost her self-confidence after gradually gaining weight and going down to a size 18.

She recalled, “My agent called me, and the thought of auditioning…I would turn it down. I would say, ‘I can’t do it.’ I had lost my confidence. I had literally given up on myself’.

Last year, Jennifer – who shares three sons Bobby, Harrison and Charlie with husband Rob – revealed that before taking part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins: ‘I had given up on myself. I never looked in the mirror.

Looking back: And after years of yo-yo dieting she has decided to ditch the fad diets as she finally feels happy with her 10 stone body weight

Wow: the beauty – who was size 18, now 10, showcased her toned figure in the chic white two-piece suit

Relaxing: Jennifer showed off her sun-kissed glow as she sat on the side of a poolside lounger and dipped her toes in the pool

Side profile: Jennifer showed off her peachy bum and washboard abs before taking a seat on the pool lounger for a day of sunbathing

Beautiful: After taking a dip in the water, Jennifer donned a stylish white robe and a white and black hat

Transformation: Jennifer recently revealed she was a size 18 at her largest (pictured in 2015)

‘I didn’t think I would ever be able to get on stage again because no one would want me. From a girl known for acting and men’s magazines, I had grown into a mother and teacher.’

Jennifer previously admitted during an appearance on Loose Women: ‘I started to worry about seeing people from my past because I thought they were looking at me and thinking, what the hell happened to you?

‘People in the shops would say, “God girl, you’ve put on weight, haven’t you!” I was a size 18 in self-destruct mode. I wouldn’t look in the mirror, I didn’t care. Everything was about my (sons).”

She decided to take drastic measures and went to a detox center where she was given almost 400 calories a day.

Jennifer added: ‘I would take a slice of apple and walk six miles and then come back starving. I was told the perfect analogy about wanting to help your son – like when you need to put on a flight oxygen mask, you put yours on first.

“To be a good mother to them, you have to take care of yourself.” For me it was self-neglect, everything revolved around the boys.’

Jennifer rose to fame with Brookside in 1998, in which she played Emily Shadwick until 2003. During this period she became a favorite of the boys’ magazines.

She shares her three children Bobby, Harrison and Charlie with husband Rob Tickle, whom she married in October 2009.