TOWIE’s Gemma Collins lost weight last year but has received criticism for putting it back on, but says the negative comments do not worry her.

She Heat magazine: "I try not to get caught up in that.

"I follow the Buddhist thing that if people write bad things about you, forgive them, because they have to live with themselves saying that.

"If you want to say I'm fat, ugly and look like a whale, what sort of person are you?

“I went down to a 14. But was I happy at the end of it? No. It zapped the personality out of me.

"I'd be worrying about whether to have a drink or not when I went on a night out with friends. I'm, like, a 16 now."

She added: "I'll always be on some sort of diet, because I've got no willpower. If you rang me up tonight and said, 'Gem, let's go out for dinner', I'm not going to sit there and eat a chicken salad.

"I do like the odd Maccy D's and Chinese and Indian, and if I could eat a ham sandwich with Anchor butter every day then I would - but I train four times a week now."

Gemma continued: "Why do I want to become a diet bore? For me, it's not about getting stick-thin, it's about feeling happy in myself. I wasn't happy when I lost weight. Likewise, I'd never want to balloon to the point where it's unhealthy. I love my body and I'm trying to look after it the best I can."