ABOUT 18 months ago it would have been impossible for 47-year-old Mandy Vickerman to imagine having the figure she possesses now.

In 2001, Ms Vickerman of Millcroft, Pool-in-Wharfedale, was dress size 32 and weighed over 20 stone.

Incredibly since then, she has lost 11 and a half stone. She now weighs a modest eight and a half stone and wears dress size 8.

And to round it all off, she had a 'tummy-tuck' operation three weeks ago to give her the flat stomach she has always wanted.

She said: "I feel fantastic. The operation was fine. I found it very tiring rather than painful. But it was worth it. For the first time ever I have a flat tummy - and I can't stop showing it off."

Ms Vickerman has just come back from a holiday in Majorca where she was proud to wear a bikini.

She said: "I didn't care about the scars. I was just parading my flat tummy around."

Now she is looking for a new career to go with her new image.

The former children's entertainer is laying her character Dozy Doris to rest in the hope of creating a new, more streamlined model.

"My aim is to go back to television presenting," she said. "It's time to move on from Dozy Doris but I'd like to go back to do something zany.

"I'd still like to do pantomime but perhaps as a slim fairy this time instead of the fat witch."

Ms Vickerman has battled with her weight all her life. She said: "I was on my first diet at the age of four, and have gone up and down with my weight ever since."

But not everyone is so overjoyed at the new Mandy.

She said: "My son thinks I'm too thin and told me to go and eat some Mars Bars. I said, 'not bloomin' likely!' I'm happy with my weight and I don't want to lose any more."

Ms Vickerman is also working on a book of her experience with the working title 'Unzipped."

She said: "When you have the operation it leaves a zipper-like scar, but also losing all the weight is like unzipping the old person and letting the new thin self out."

Ms Vickerman will have to take vitamins for the rest of her life as the gastric bypass operation she had means her body cannot absorb necessary nutrients.

She is sticking to a healthy eating plan too, made easier by the fact her chocolate cravings have gone.

"I can't eat chocolate now as it makes me feel sick and as that was my downfall it's not difficult to stick to my plan. I enjoy eating low fat food and sweet and fatty foods don't interest me anymore."

Ms Vickerman is also enjoying compliments from the opposite sex. She said: "Men open doors for me now which is lovely. I feel very confident in myself now, confident deep down. I feel I am beginning a whole new chapter in my life."