Rebecca Gibney: Why I put on 20 kilos

The popular star of Packed To The Rafters is piling on weight, and having fun doing it.

For a woman whose issues with her own weight and body image are well-documented, the decision to pack on more than 20kg to fulfil her Hollywood dream must have been agonising for Rebecca Gibney. But the much-loved Packed To The Rafters star says she’s enjoying eating her way to a curvy frame to win a role in a major new movie, announced last week.

“It’s great,” Rebecca says. “It’s like being pregnant. You can eat whatever you want. In the beginning it was like, ‘Wow! Ice-cream, peanut butter, everything’.” While health experts warn that she is risking long-term damage with such rapid weight fluctuation, for now it’s a case of Fat to the Rafters for the normally slim actress, who needs to add even more before filming starts later this month. Rebecca, a Gold Logie winner for her role as Julie Rafter, has thrown out her sensible exercise and diet regime to stack on weight for her breakthrough role opposite Toni Collette in P.J. Hogan’s big budget feature film, Mental.

“I’m 46 and it’s my first big film role,” Rebecca says. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve had a few small roles, but this is a larger role, and to work alongside Toni Collette… it’s great. I’m really excited.” Rebecca felt obliged to explain her sudden weight gain when she was recently announced as the face of beauty product Olay Regenerist in front of a room full of fashionistas.

“I’m hiding it well,” explains Rebecca, who was dressed in loose-fitting and deceptively slimming black jacket and pants at the glamorous Sydney event. “It’s amazing what a Spanx [slimming undergarment] can do. It’s the thing that hides flab – know it’s there and you will see it in all its glory in the film.”