It can be difficult for celebrities to compete with each other when it comes to the flurry of fitness DVD releases over Christmas.

But Jennifer Ellison last night gave herself a head start as she arrived for the opening of a new nightclub in Liverpool looking incredible in a figure-hugging white Hervé Léger bandage dress.

The 28-year-old actress was virtually unrecognisable compared to photographs of her at her heaviest, and looked understandably thrilled with her sleek new look.

Jennifer teamed her bandage dress with a pair of studded nude peep-toe heels as she and husband Robbie attended the launch of new nightspot PlayGround in the city centre.

The 5ft 7 star, who gave birth to son Bobby in February 2010, previously admitted ballooning from a size 8 to 18 during her pregnancy and said she struggled to lose the weight afterwards.

She lost some weight last year after enrolling at boot camp in preparation for her nude scenes in the touring production of Calendar Girls.

Reflecting on her weight gain, she said: 'I got huge. I looked like a hippo.

'I had absolutely no idea how I had ballooned during my pregnancy. All I thought about was eating plenty of food to keep my baby healthy.

'I was pregnant at the same time as Coleen Rooney and Denise Van Outen. Denise seemed to snap straight back into her normal clothes and I remember looking at Coleen and thinking I was always much tinier than her and now she was smaller than me.'