Sheridan Smith | Source: Getty Images
'The One Show' Viewers Divided Over Sheridan Smith, 44, as Her New Look After Weight Loss Sparks Buzz — Before-and-After Photos
Sheridan Smith stepped out looking unrecognisable to many fans during a BBC appearance — and the videos are causing quite the stir online. Scroll down to see her transformation for yourself.
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Something about Sheridan Smith's latest television appearance stopped viewers mid-scroll — and not everyone can quite put their finger on what it is.
The beloved actress, 44, turned up on BBC's "The One Show" this week buzzing with excitement about a gruelling new project, but it was her appearance, rather than her words, that set the internet alight.
Smith arrived on the sofa looking every inch the action heroine in the making. She revealed she has been thrown headlong into preparation for a new role as a police officer — one that has demanded far more of her physically than she ever anticipated.
She listed everything the role had required so far: gun training, combat training, and learning to ride a motorbike. She is, by her own account, trying to "beef up" — putting on muscle for a character unlike any she has played before.
She described the experience as something entirely new for her, yet something she had taken to with genuine enthusiasm. And there is more to come: Smith revealed she is due to fly to Australia imminently, where training will continue and filming will begin in earnest.
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Not everyone in the comments section, however, was focused on the role. The clip, shared across social media, provoked a markedly divided response. Plenty were enthusiastic — one admirer cheered, "What is it with Sheridan Smith? Thr fame never went to her head such a role model - proper cool 🙌🙌 [sic]."
But a sizeable number of viewers were unsettled by Smith's changed appearance and were vocal about it.
"Oh what's happened... i didn't even recognise it as Sheridan Smith 😱 [sic]," one startled commenter gasped. "Wow! She's changed," another marvelled. Several went further.
"Great actress or actor, what's happened to her cheeks?" one puzzled viewer wondered aloud. "What on earth has she had done to her face😢😢 Love her acting but sad to see how this has changed her," another lamented.
"She changed her face😢," a third remarked with evident regret, while a fourth demanded flatly, "What has she done to her face?😳"
One viewer summed up a quieter disappointment, writing, "Great actress, but I'm not so keen on her new look."
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Others were harsher still — one declared her face had been "absolutely ruined," and another simply cried, "What's she done to herself?"
Smith's physical transformation did not emerge overnight. The actress has spoken openly in the past about the push and pull of her body changing for demanding roles.
Back in 2017, she revealed she had deliberately piled on weight to play Julie Bushby in "The Moorside" — the BBC drama about the disappearance of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews.
Bushby is considerably taller than Smith, and the actress explained she needed to bulk up to convincingly match her physical presence. The two women grew close during the process and remained in regular contact long after filming wrapped.
Losing that weight afterward, however, proved far harder than gaining it. Even while touring the country as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl", Smith acknowledged she was still carrying some of the extra pounds from "The Moorside" and was working to shift them.
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By 2019, however, a different transformation was making headlines.
Smith shared before-and-after photographs on Instagram revealing she had lost two stone across 14 weeks of rehearsals and performances for "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the London Palladium — where she took on not just the Narrator but multiple other roles, slipping between costumes and accents with remarkable ease.
The weight loss, she wrote, was entirely down to the sheer physical demands of the show rather than any dedicated regime. "I'm not one for weight loss regimes," she told her followers, adding that she believed everyone should be comfortable in their own skin.
Since then, Smith has maintained a visibly slimmer figure — the lean, energised look that viewers noticed on the "The One Show" sofa this week, even as many struggled to reconcile it with the Sheridan Smith they thought they knew.
See how she has evolved over the years below.
2016
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Sheridan Smith, all smiles in a voluminous black cape coat, flashes a thumbs up on the green-carpet at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards at The Old Vic Theatre, London, on 13 November 2016.
2017
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A fuller-figured Smith beams in a heavily beaded and fringed black gown on the red carpet at the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 9 April 2017 — the same evening she spoke publicly about her weight gain for "The Moorside".
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2018
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Dressed in an all-black ensemble with a satin-lapelled blazer, Smith poses at BAFTA in London on 27 November 2018 for the launch of the BBC One drama "Care", wearing her hair in a short, sleek blonde bob.
2019
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Smith takes to the stage at Southsea Common, Portsmouth, on 5 June 2019 for the D-Day 75th anniversary national commemoration, performing in a navy lace wrap dress, red stilettos, and a vintage-style victory roll updo.
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2020
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Newly slim with long platinum blonde hair, Smith attends the press night of "Pretty Woman: The Musical" at the Piccadilly Theatre, London, on 2 March 2020, dressed in an all-black outfit and carrying a structured black handbag.
2021
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Smith commands the red carpet at The BRIT Awards 2021 at The O2 Arena, London, on 11 May 2021, wearing a fitted black velvet mini dress with a choker neckline and her long blonde hair swept into a high half-up style.
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2022
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Stepping out of BBC Radio 2 in London on 9 December 2022, Smith cuts a polished figure in a wide-leg navy pinstripe suit, tan leather cuffs, and a structured camel handbag.
2023
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Smith strides out of BBC Radio 2 in London on 10 November 2023 wearing wide-leg light-wash jeans, a sheer black top, a Gucci belt, and a colourful gummy bear necklace.
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2024
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Showing off a markedly slimmer silhouette, Smith poses at the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall on 14 April 2024 in a floor-length crystal-embellished sheer gown with a jewelled neckline, her dark hair swept back.
2025
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Smith attends the press launch of "I Fought The Law" at The Soho Hotel, London, on 29 July 2025, wearing a bold red trouser suit over a white crop top, her highlighted bob cut to the shoulder.
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2026
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Just one day before her "The One Show" appearance, Smith cuts a striking figure at the UK premiere of "The Cage" at The Soho Hotel, London, on 16 April 2026, wearing an ivory satin shirt dress and black heels, her wavy blonde hair pinned up.
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