If ever Emily Atack lived up to her party girl label, it was at a raucous party after an emotional media awards ceremony. Refusing to allow the night to end, the actress and an entourage of celebrities and journalists piled back to her suite at the Marriott hotel in the well-heeled London enclave of St John’s Wood, where Emily ensured there was enough alcohol to keep everyone going well into the small hours.
Also at the bash, held following the Who Cares Wins awards for NHS workers in September 2023, was Gary Lineker’s oldest son George. And it wasn’t long, I’m told, before curvaceous Emily – looking stunning in a bright pink gown – was cosying up to the entrepreneur.
Others who were there that night have told me that it turned into quite the wild gathering, with Emily – as usual – the life and soul.
Just a year previously, Emily had been linked to England footballer Jack Grealish. Even though Jack was then dating his now-fiancee Sasha Atwood, he and Emily were said to have been exchanging texts – despite never meeting in person.
Her team were the ones briefing newspapers about their chats and Emily, it would appear, was enjoying the notoriety it brought. She also seemed to enjoy becoming Holly Willoughby’s replacement as a panellist on ITV2 show Celebrity Juice, where host Keith Lemon – an alter-ego of comedian Leigh Francis – would openly discuss her curves.
But how times have changed. Today, friends say Emily, 36, has thrown in the towel on her wilder days and has undergone a full reinvention.
Emily Atack leaves the Paul Edmonds hair salon in Battersea Power Station on Friday, dressed in a smart brown jacket, jeans and knee-high brown boots, finished off with a Burberry-style scarf
Emily Atack in the naked tennis scene in the hit TV series Rivals
Indeed, those who know her say she has ‘poshed up’ – drawing comparisons with her upwardly mobile character Sarah Stratton from the Disney+ hit Rivals.
Perhaps motherhood and romance has tamed her – in June 2024, she welcomed a son, Barney, with her scientist fiance Alistair Garner, who she has been dating since 2023.
When she left the upmarket Paul Edmonds hair salon in Battersea Power Station on Friday, onlookers described her as looking ‘effortlessly chic’ with a new bob and missing her generous curves.
There was also not an inch of flesh in sight as she dressed in a smart brown jacket, jeans and knee-high brown boots, finished off with a Burberry-style scarf.
Fans who know her from the Jilly Cooper drama – and especially the scene when she scrambles to cover up her ample assets during a game of naked tennis – would be forgiven for not recognising her.
‘Well, that is a thing of the past,’ says a source who knows her. ‘Emily is in her late 30s, things evolve. The curvy Emily seems to have gone and has been replaced by a much slimmer version of herself. She looks amazing. She loved a party but she’s a mum now and is in a happy relationship.
‘Before, she was a single girl about town – she has most definitely reinvented herself and is thrilled at how she looks. She has gone classy.’
Emily’s changing figure alarmed some of her loyal fans last week after she posted a round-up of photographs taken over Christmas on Instagram. She proudly shows off her weight loss in a satin skirt and white top, and in a more casual outfit of jeans and a T-shirt.
Many gushed over how ‘gorgeous’ she looked. But others expressed concern she had lost too much weight – with some speculating that it had been achieved using weight-loss jabs. ‘The skinny jabs are jabbing?’ wrote one social media user. Another asked: ‘Are you on Mounjaro?’
Emily is yet to comment – and those who know her say she is unlikely to engage. ‘She is acutely aware of what is her business and what is not,’ says a pal.
Still, the comments are perhaps understandable given the curves – and Emily’s whole-hearted embracing of the body positivity movement – are what made her name.
She was catapulted to fame in the late Noughties playing schoolgirl Charlotte ‘Big Jugs’ Hinchcliffe in Channel 4 coming-of-age comedy The Inbetweeners, which involved her wearing a low-cut white blouse and being fawned over by her male peers.
Emily posted a round-up of photographs taken over Christmas on Instagram, proudly showing off her weight loss in a satin skirt and white top. Some fans expressed concern she had lost too much weight – with some speculating that it had been achieved using weight-loss jabs
Emily at the Baftas last year in a figure-hugging white dress and long black gloves
In today’s more politically-correct climate, it all feels rather uncomfortable.
But Emily has previously insisted that ‘Charlotte’ was not supposed to be a sex symbol – and only became one because ‘the world is full of perverts’.
In an interview last year, Emily, who is the daughter of comic Kate Robbins, said: ‘They see the blonde hair, the school uniform and they go “Oh wow, seductive, what a seductive role”, but I was just a schoolgirl playing a schoolgirl.’
A source who knows Emily says: ‘You can’t blame her for wanting to grow up and rid herself of that – Charlotte “Big Jugs” is no more.
‘She was lusted after in a pretty disgusting way, she was a teenager back then, as was her character. But the whole sex symbol thing has stuck with her until now.’
While Emily may have given herself a makeover, there will be those who accuse her of hypocrisy for her new look because she has previously talked of feeling ‘free’ about her curves after years of insecurity.
Last year, discussing her success in the aftermath of The Inbetweeners, she said: ‘Everybody started talking about my weight. There was a whole Facebook page dedicated to me/Charlotte Hinchcliffe. I couldn’t believe how awful it was…
‘People would then try and be positive and say, “At least we’re seeing curvier girls now playing sexier roles on television”. I didn’t even know I was curvy!’
But now she has lost weight, one friend points out: ‘Isn’t part of body positivity owning what you look like?’
As for Emily’s future television career, she is currently filming the second series of Rivals – except television insiders are now wondering how producers will incorporate a more slender version of her notoriously buxom character.
‘Surely a temptress like Sarah Stratton can’t have lost her cleavage,’ says one source. ‘That would just be wrong!’
