Hairspray star unrecognisable after 70kg weight loss: 'Inspiring'

The star of hit musical Hairspray Live! looks completely unrecognisable as she reveals she has lost almost 70kgs.

Maddie Baillio, who played main character Tracy Turnblad in the 2016 TV special, told PEOPLE she started focusing on her health and fitness as the Covid pandemic hit in 2020.

Revealing she has lost around 68kg, Maddie told the publication it was "more than half" of what once was her total body weight.

Maddie said she started making changes to her lifestyle after filming a difficult scene in the Cinderella remake, in which she played one of the stepsisters.

"There was a scene that didn't make it in the movie, where me and the other stepsister led a group of like 300 girls — fantastic dancers, slender, they had it going on — down this [45-metre] pathway to the castle singing Single Ladies and dancing," she said.

"I couldn't keep up with the choreography. I kept losing my breath. We'd have to start reshooting the scene over and over for me."

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As the world was ravaged by lockdowns and certain industries were shut down, Maddie headed to Texas in the US from London where she started walking for her mental and physical health.

"I could walk for 30 minutes to an hour, and then the next week, it was a good two hours. So that's how it began for me," she told PEOPLE.

"I stepped on the scale, and that was inspiring to see that I had control over something — that I had control over my body."

The Hairspray Live! star then turned to a vegan diet and changed up her workouts to include hot yoga.

Fans were wowed by photos of Maddie's transformation on Instagram, with many commenting on how amazing the actress looked.

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"You've always been beautiful but you're just glowing in every picture now meaning to me you're really happy and that's all I want for you," one fan wrote.

"You're inspiring!" another shared.

"Prioritising your physical and mental health is always a good thing—no matter what size! Congrats on taking on that challenge!" a third said.

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