A 27-year-old single mum of three had a £5,000 tummy-tuck on the NHS after persuading docs that her flabby stomach was ruining her life and holding her back in her career.
Kelly McManus from Huddersfield told the Sun she wants to be 'the next Julia Roberts' and that the cosmetic surgery has given her the confidence to follow her dream - despite having not done any acting apart from a drama GCSE as a schoolgirl.
Now, with her new flat stomach, she says she cannot wait to start having acting lessons.
"My new tummy has changed my life, I feel like a new woman," she said. "I got a Grade A in drama at GCSE and finally feel I have the confidence to start acting again now I've had the operation."
The part-time beautician currently earns £7,000 a year and says she longs for the 'glamorous lifestyle that being a celebrity would bring'.
She explained that her stomach never went back to its normal size after she had her first baby at 21.
"Then, after my third child, the midwife said, 'You do know that your stomach muscles have separated from your bulge? It looked like I was still pregnant and people even asked me, 'How far on are you? It was just so embarrassing. I lost all my confidence because of it."
After becoming 'depressed' and with a ruined sex life, Kelly said read up about tummy tucks on the internet.
"I realised I couldn't afford the £5,000 cost so the NHS was my only hope," she said. "At first the doctor recommended physiotherapy. I was seeing her for a couple of months and she said she couldn't repair my muscles and I should think about surgery."
Kelly's GP then referred her a surgeon who carried out the op.
"I was so happy and grateful to my doctors - after years of misery I felt I could start my life all over again," Kelly said. "My tummy is still a little swollen, but it's already much flatter. I'm more confident and a lot happier than I was. It's changed my whole outlook on life."
Kelly, who is mum to daughters Shania, six, and Tehya, four, and two-year-old son Rio - claims that she has SAVED the NHS money by having her surgery - because otherwise it would have ended up treating her for hernias and depression.
"I understand that a lot of people don't think the NHS should do procedures like this," she said. "But as a long-term patient, because I was so depressed, the NHS would have probably ended up spending more money on medication. So in the long run this has been the most cost-effective for the NHS."