Julia Morris made a name for herself on Full Frontal in the 90s as a grown-up class clown. Looking at the svelte 44-year-old now it’s hard to believe she ever earned a crust making fun of herself. Her incredible transformation has seen her drop an impressive 15kg and two dress sizes – from a size 16 to a size 12.

“It took a year and a half to lose that weight. It’s a churn and burn industry. There are so many failures,” she told The Sunday Telegraph. But it wasn’t simply a desire to get healthy that spurred her makeover. The House Husbands star was given a clear ultimatum when she moved to Los Angeles three years ago.

After her first round of auditions her agent told her, “I can’t work out why you didn’t land even a walk-on role, and the only thing I can think of is your size. You either need to put on weight or lose it, but unfortunately in Hollywood you’re invisible.” It was the wake-up call Julia needed. “I guess she was kinda saying, ‘I don’t want you to move your entire family across to the other side of the world and miss opportunities because of cake’, ” Julia told Woman’s Day.

Now she maintains a “no carbs after 5pm” rule and fits in exercise whenever she can. But unlike her LA counterparts, the mother-of-two refuses to suggest it’s a walk in the park. “These people who say, ‘I just love getting out there. It makes me feel so good’. No. No it doesn’t. I have to be forced at gun point out the door by a trainer a couple of times a week.”

Read more about Julia's new lease on life in this week's Woman’s Day on sale Monday October 1, 2012.