BB Rachel was called 'thunder thighs' and 'fat' by her own boyfriend

But the pretty 24-year-old, who also suffered cruel jibes such as 'thunder thighs', shed the pounds and dropped four dress sizes before she entered the house.

'It was Rachel's decision to lose the weight and she did it healthily', mum Julia told Heat magazine.

Rachel Rice dropped four dress sizes ahead of her entering the Big Brother house

Rachel, seen here in the film Happy Now. Mum Julia says she the film shows how big she became

'She did lots of exercise and ate healthy meals. She didn't want to yo-yo diet, she wanted to do it properly.

The BB star previously appeared in a film called Happy Now, which Julia says shows how big her daughter became.

Julia said: 'There aren't many pictures of her when she was bigger, because she didn't want a photo taken then.

'Rachel is so much more confident now.

'She went to the gym five times a week and runs about 10 miles a week too. She tried to lose 2lb a month.'

Rachel was just one of the housemates to find herself in heated arguments with fellow contestant Alexandra de Gale, who was removed by bosses last week for her aggressive behaviour.

Julia said of the rows: 'They (the arguments) probably brought back memories from her younger days when she was taunted about her size.

'She would never be one to say she was bullied.

'But she would regularly come back from school feeling down because the other kids could be really cruel at times'

Trainee teacher Rachel is now helping her sister Samantha to lose some weight.