She once claimed to have spent almost £3,000-a-year on beauty treatments.

But Gillian Taylforth's extensive regime appears to have paid off.

The 54-year-old former EastEnders star has posed in a risqué lingerie shoot wearing nothing more than racy underwear and high heels.

Back in shape: Gillian Taylforth showed off her newly slim body in a sexy magazine lingerie shoot

The actress claimed she dropped to eight and a half stone ahead of the shoot, exercising three times a week and following a rigorous diet.

The 5ft 6in actress – who’s gone from 9½st to just under 8½st – says she was motivated to lose weight after splitting from her partner of 23 years, Geoff Knight, 55, eight months ago.

Speaking to this week’s Closer magazine, she said: 'My body’s not been in such good shape since I was in my 20s.'

Gillian, who has two children with Geoff, 18-year-old Jess and Harrison, 11, added: 'Since Christmas I’ve cut down on portion sizes and I try not to eat after 7pm.

'I’ve also stopped drinking alcohol during the week, which is quite tough, but I’m getting used to it.'

Image upgrade: Gillian has given up alcohol, cut down her portion sizes and doesn't eat after 7pm

She claims she has never had surgery or Botox but admits indulging in a string of unusual therapies, including Reiki treatment, where healing energy is passed through the hands of practitioner.

During her weight loss: Gillian Taylforth last year

She has regular facials, as well as non surgical facelifts once a month, known as Caci treatments. She has also used a laser treatment called N-Light to help her skin look plumper and firmer and micro-peels, where tiny crystals are used to buff the skin.

She said she was initially scared to take part in the photoshoot, before changing her mind.

'The old Gillian would have turned it down, but the new me is determined to try something new, even if it frightens me,' she said.

'These might be the best years of my life, so I want to seize every opportunity I can. I’m lucky enough to have the body I had in my 20s! I’m finally ready to start again.'

Taylforth played Kathy Beale on the popular BBC soap for 15 years, before quitting in 1998.

She landed roles in other high-profile dramas, including Footballers' Wives and The Bill, before appearing in the last series of Strictly Come Dancing.

However, she has hit the headlines on many occasions as a result of her turbulent love-life with Knights.

In 1992 she tried to sue a newspaper who revealed she had performed a sex act on Knight in their Range Rover. She claimed she was massaging his stomach but lost the case before collapsing in court.

In 2006 Knights was arrested after attacking Taylforth in a restaurant in front of their young son. He was released with a caution.

Three years ago, in April 2007, he was accused of hitting a hotel receptionist at a luxury hotel in Barbados. He was convicted and fined.

The full feature appears in this week’s Closer magazine, on sale now

Then, in January last year Knights was arrested over an alleged attack on their teenage daughter’s ex-boyfriend.

He was accused of assaulting Darren Welsh after confronting the 18-year-old over claims he beat up Jessica when their relationship ended. He was released without charge.

The actress admits it was a tough decision to split with Knights. 'You don’t just turn off your feelings after 23 years, but I know I made the right decision for me,' she said.

'There was no ‘final straw’. I’d worked solidly for 21 years, I’d left my role on The Bill and finally had some time to myself to think about what I wanted my future to look like, and I wanted things to change.

'The kids are getting older and it’s time to put myself first for once. I felt I wasn’t living life to the full, I wasn’t being myself and, as scary as it was, I knew it was time to move on.