Friel denies weight loss desperation

Anna Friel has denied claims that she was desperate to lose weight following the birth of her baby girl Gracie in 2005.

Reports suggested that the actress followed a punishing exercise regime so she could get in shape for an upcoming film project, but she has insisted that the claims made about her were untrue.

"My whole family is quite petite so I have good genes on my side," Anna told Celebs on Sunday. "But I find it quite tiresome that we have to keep talking about sizes and how much weight we can lose. I was just disciplined. I knew I had to get back into shape after six weeks for the film Goal II, but I cheated in the end - I wore a corset."

"I've been labelled an irresponsible role model for young mothers, but none of it is true," she continued. "I couldn't even walk for two weeks after the birth, let alone exercise. I ate very healthily all the way through my pregnancy and afterwards. I didn't do anything extreme. There were reports of me using fat-sucking machines and all sorts of silliness. All I did was walk a lot and breast-feed."

Friel's new US show Pushing Daisies is currently airing on Saturday nights on ITV1.