weight loss in a white minidress during her hen do – as she gears up to marry fiancé Mark Perez.

The 49-year-old actress, best known for playing Karen Taylor in the BBC soap, beamed as she celebrated with pals ahead of her big day.

Lorraine celebrated in style with friends and family, heading to the Southsea Brunch Klub in Portsmouth and later the Gaiety in Southsea for a night of fun and laughter.

Taking to Instagram, she wrote: “The BEST hen do!! Thanks everyone who came & made me feel so special. I love you all to bits!! Big special mention to @karenstanley_74 for organising an epic day/night/morning 😉😎❤️you rock!!

“Thanks to @thegaietysouthsea for welcoming us all & to @southseabrunchklub for such a good time 👌❤️🥳#hendo #bride #pompey #portsmouth lots more pics to follow xxx”.

Lorraine stunned in the short white minidress as she posed for snaps, with fans flooding the comments to praise her transformation and wish her well for the wedding.

One commented: “You look SO Gorgeous and SO BLOODY HAPPY.”

Another added: “You look amazing as usual looks like you had a fabulous time not long to wait now xx”.

A third penned: “Gorgeous!”

THE BIG WEDDING DAY

Lorraine is set to marry fiancé Mark Perez later this year, after 11 years together.

The couple are tying the knot in a much-anticipated ceremony surrounded by close friends and family.

She got engaged to Mark, a property developer, after she popped the question to him on his birthday in 2023.

Lorraine and Mark first met through mutual friends and said their connection was instant.

WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY

In a desperate bid to change her appearance and feel healthier, the star embarked on an epic weight loss journey courtesy of fat jabs and surgery.

Lorraine has admitted that using weight-loss injections wasn’t for her after becoming “immune” to them.

In a new interview, she confessed to using Wegovy, a weight-loss jab similar to Ozempic and Mounjaro, but she failed to find her desired figure on the medication.

Lorraine told the Mirror: “I’d tried Wegovy. I have friends on different weight-loss jabs and they work for them.

“I’m not against them, but for whatever reason I feel like I got immune to them.

“It got to the point where I was injecting myself and eating at the same time.

“I was thinking, “What the hell are you doing?” So I decided that was it, time to get this surgery booked.”

Lorraine revealed that she opted to shell out “thousands” to undergo weight-loss surgery at a top Harley Street clinic in London.

The actress confessed: “I’m not going to lie, nor am I promoting it, but I had weight-loss surgery two years ago.

“I had a gastric sleeve. I went to Harley Street. I didn’t go to a clinic in Turkey or anything.

“In saying that, I’ve had friends who’ve gone to Turkey and had great experiences, but I didn’t trust that process.

“So, yeah, I went to a London clinic, paid an awful lot of money and had it done. It’s hands-down the best thing I’ve ever done – both for me and for my family.”

She continued to the publication: “I was at home watching an episode of EastEnders I was in and I could barely look at myself.

“The person on screen was unrecognisable to me.

“I know TV puts a stone on you, but… so yes, there was an element of vanity, but it was also me wanting to change things for my daughter and our future.”

Lorraine has now been shy of showing off her svelte figure following her six and a half stone weight loss.

She said: “I weigh 8st now. If you look at my little wrists and ankles, this is the weight I should have been.

“I should be a thin person. And I always was, until I hit my late twenties.”