LIFE'S A BEACH FOR JACQUELINE

EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa enjoys some time off from Albert Square with her daughters

- Jacqueline Jossa

Soap star Jacqueline Jossa put the grey skies of Walford well and truly behind her last week as she enjoyed a blissful sunshine break with her gorgeous family.

Looking sensational in a hot pink swimsuit, the EastEnders actress, 31, frolicked on the beach in Marbella with her daughters, Ella, nine, and Mia, six.

Soaking up the Spanish sun, the hard-working star, who has played the BBC1 soap’s troubled Lauren Branning on and off for 14 years, enjoyed some much-needed quality time with her children while on a break from filming.

And she couldn’t have looked more body confident as she took a dip in the sea – at one point laughing as a wave caught her by surprise, sweeping her baseball cap and sunglasses off her head and into the water.

Despite looking incredible as she cooled off in the sea, Jac admitted last week that she doesn’t always feel secure in her own skin.

Posting a snap of herself sipping a cocktail while wearing a figure-hugging striped midi dress, the mum of two told her 3.5million Instagram followers, “When your child takes a photo of you and says you look beautiful. Sometimes I overthink my tummy or arms or something else, but they see a beautiful mummy and I love that!”

Over the years Jacqueline, who was thrust into the spotlight after joining EastEnders aged just 17, has been a victim of body-shaming. But today the star is proud of her enviable physique.

She has previously said she doesn’t “want to feel pressured into losing weight to please other people”, adding, “Everywhere I look, people are talking about weight or how to lose it. I feel sorry for the young girls looking up to the wrong people.” The proud mum is also acutely aware of how making negative comments about her body could set a bad example for her two daughters.