'weighty issue'
GEMMA Collins has revealed the heartbreaking moment she was branded "too fat" for TV when she was a size 16.
The TOWIE star made the admission while speaking on the festive edition of The Gemma Collins Podcast.
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The 41-year-old revealed how she was hit with the upsetting jibe as clothing brands refused to dress her when she got her start on TV.
Gemma added that society's treatment of plus-sized women inspired her own brand's "mission statement" to make "curvier women feel amazing."
She revealed that when she first appeared on TOWIE, she faced being "ostracised" from big brands as she was a size 16.
"None of the big brands would dress me," she said.
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"They said I was too fat."
But defiant Gemma said that her response to the hurtful stance was to say: "FU brands - you wait and see, look what I'm going to do."
And despite her early-years struggles, Gemma has gone on to become a multi-millionaire thanks to blockbuster business deals and a series of major endorsements.
Earlier this year she signed a seven-figure deal with New Look to be their new ambassador, and also had hugely lucrative contacts with Aussie Hair Care, TikTok and Wizz Air.
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The Sun recently revealed the TV star raked in over £100,000 thanks to her dramatic weight loss journey.
She turned a hefty profit by flogging her old size 24 clothes on second-hand site Depop after shedding over three stone.
A source said: “Gemma is so savvy and flogging the clothes that don’t fit her anymore has made her a mint.
“All in all she’s made around £100,000 through selling her stuff on Depop.
“She has sold 4,750 items on the website and sells her stuff for around £21 per item.
“Gemma is clever with her cash and won’t miss up on an opportunity to raise some funds.”
Back in 2020 she opened up about the start of her weight loss journey and said she had been taunted for years by weight bullies.
Gemma said she became hooked on getting fit after appearing on ITV show Dancing On Ice in 2019 and admitted she wanted to keep it up.
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She told hosts Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield at the time: “I will 100 percent keep up with the fitness.
“I feel so much better.”
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