Pauline Quirke delights fans at Merry Hill

TV star Pauline Quirke opened her heart about her weight loss battle during a book signing session with fans.

The actress, best known for her roles in Birds of a Feather and Emmerdale, has penned a new book called Where Have I Gone?

It details her efforts to live a healthily life after ballooning to 20 stones before joining the soap in July 2010. But she has slimmed down, losing eight stone.

Her inspirational story proved a hit with fans who queued up to meet the actress at WH Smith at Merry Hill Shopping Centre, in Brierley Hill yesterday.

"It is great to meet people, they have been absolutely lovely and I'm really pleased so many came down," she said.

Kathleen Bird, aged 66, of Stourbridge, and her daughter Michelle, 37, and four-month-old grand-daughter Francesca were first in the queue to meet the actress.

Michelle said: "We are big fans and we have front row tickets to see Birds of a Feather, can't wait."