Daisy May Cooper, the BAFTA-winning actress celebrated for co-creating and starring in the TV comedy "This Country," has openly discussed her remarkable weight loss journey. Over approximately three years, the 38-year-old actress from Gloucestershire shed an impressive 10 stone (63.5kg). Her transformation, which occurred between filming series one and two of the BBC One comedy show "Am I Being Unreasonable?" (2021 to October 2024), has garnered both admiration and criticism.
The Catalyst for Change
Cooper has been transparent about her reasons for embarking on this journey. She shared that a desire to improve her well-being was at the heart of her decision, having felt "unhappy" and "miserable." Seeing herself in the first season of "Am I Being Unreasonable?" further solidified her resolve. "I wasn’t healthy. I couldn’t breathe when I was walking up the stairs. I was so unhappy," she confessed.
Dietary and Medication Adjustments
Daisy May Cooper began her transformation with the keto diet, which focuses on low-carb, high-fat meals, after the first 2020 and 2021 Covid lockdowns. Daisy May attributes her health refurbishment to embracing the Keto Diet, swayed by its higher fat, lower carbohydrate approach, post the 2020/21 Coronavirus Lockdown. Beyond waving goodbye to bread and pasta, even wine has reportedly become persona non grata in her dietary regime. But it wasn't just pasta that was off the menu; the actor also gave up alcohol. When The Sunday Times asked her to share the 'best advice given', Daisy shared that she'd received advice 'from Denise Welch, who said stopping drinking is life-changing.'
In addition to dietary changes, Cooper also addressed the impact of medication on her weight. In an appearance on the BBC podcast "How to Be in the Spotlight" in June, the mother of three noted that treatment for her mental health had contributed to her increase in size. 'I was put on some medication for depression, Quetiapine. It slows your metabolism right down to a crawl and it makes you have the munchies 24/7. I was put on it just before I started This Country. What people weren't aware of is I'd always been a size 8 to 10. It was that medication that made me balloon.' There was a marked difference when she stopped her prescription. 'It wasn't until I made the decision to come off that that people were like, "Oh my God, she's so different and she's losing all this weight". This was always who I was, so shedding all of that was great.'
Cosmetic Procedures and Continuity Challenges
Daisy May has also been candid regarding her foray into cosmetic procedures. She conceded that past uses of fillers and Botox led to an unwelcome outcome, sharing her own term for the effect, "pillow face." She recounted a pivotal conversation: "My agent said to me, 'You've got to stop, because you're not going to be able to f**king act,' because I literally could not move my eyebrows." Despite grappling with ageing signs, she ultimately opted out of cosmetic surgery, stating, "It killed me, because I loved not having any creases in my forehead. But I haven't had any surgery.
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Daisy May Cooper has lifted the lid on how her incredible 10-stone weight loss and lip filler treatment delayed the filming of season two of Am I Being Unreasonable?. The actress, 38, said the brand new series of the hit BBC comedy show is supposed to continue seamlessly on from the previous run, despite it airing three years ago. But things didn't quite go to plan after Daisy underwent a dramatic body transformation and various cosmetic 'tweakments' in the intervening period.
Reflecting on how they dealt with the continuity challenges on this Saturday's instalment of The Jonathan Ross Show, the comedian said: 'Series one is meant to be 30 seconds before series two and in that 30 seconds I've lost about 10 stone and had my lips done. 'I saw the rushes and I said to the BBC, "God, we're going to have a disclaimer at the beginning saying - Daisy has had her lips done, go with it and please don't judge".'
Chatting with The Sun TV Magazine, Daisy May described the bizarre experience of watching herself in earlier episodes compared to now. "It was a bit mad, as since we filmed the last series and this series, I've had my lips done and lost about ten stone, so in those flashbacks, we were just killing ourselves laughing as we don't even look like the same people. But it was fun." She also recounted an unexpected twist during the filming of the second series: "And I was pregnant when we started filming series two and my a**ehole of a son decided to be born seven weeks early, so we had to stop filming right in the middle. I have a brilliant son, but that was stressful.", reports the Mirror.
Set to grace our screens tonight on the Jonathan Ross Show, Daisy May reflected on the continuity challenge posed by her weight loss. She humorously noted: "Series one is meant to be 30 seconds before series two and in that 30 seconds I've lost about 10 stone and had my lips done."
Public Reception and Body Image
However, she's received backlash from fans since the change in her appearance. 'I’ve had some messages like, “Well, now you’ve lost the weight you’re not funny any more.” What the fk? Why do women have to be fking fat to be funny?' That makes me so angry. I champion anybody. I think everybody should be happy with their body. But I wasn't.'
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Daisy May has been forthright about the tribulations of her weight loss odyssey and the barbs that have come her way. Recollecting the cold shoulder she met upon unveiling her transformed figure in 2019, she said, "I've had some messages like, 'Well, now you've lost the weight, you're not funny anymore.' What the [explicit]? Why do women have to be [explicit] fat to be funny? That makes me so angry. I think everybody should be happy with their body," in her chat with Grazia.
She's not shied from touching on her body image battles, and while championing body positivity, she recognised a shift was essential for her wellbeing. "I'm so for body positivity, but when I was at my biggest, I was at my most miserable and I had a massive food addiction. I wasn't healthy. I couldn't breathe when I was walking up the stairs. I was so unhappy."
Other Facts
Jonathan also quizzed Daisy on whether she gets approached in the Cotswolds by fans. The actress said: 'Not really. People stop me because they remember me for p***ing on the P.E. mat in year five. That's about it. It's just people that remember me from school.' On whether her children watch her on television, Daisy joked: 'I force them to sit down and watch my stuff. They're not interested at all.' Referencing the fact she took part in The Masked Singer, she added: 'My daughter Pip is a huge fan of The Masked Singer but when she found out I was doing it, she was mortified, she was so embarrassed!'
Daisy also revealed that she doesn't have a mobile phone, saying: 'I haven't had a phone for two years. I can't do it. They're pinging off every second. It drives me nuts.' Later, Daisy joked about regretting casting her father in This Country.'Putting him in This Country playing Martin Mucklowe was the worst thing I ever did, me and [her brother and the show's co-creator] Charlie agree. 'He just wants to be in everything now. He actually did a self-tape for Am I Being Unreasonable? He was terrible!
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