Lisa Maxwell: Battle with eating disorder, bad reaction to filler, why she needed weekly therapy, and why she quit Loose Women

Once a small screen regular, Lisa makes a rare TV appearance this week…

The Weakest Link guest star Lisa Maxwell mostly keeps to herself these days, but she used to be on some of ITV’s biggest shows.

Once known for her long-running roles on both The Bill and later Loose Women, Lisa has been a TV star for (cough) nearly five decades, having started as a child. Apart from short stints on Hollyoaks and Celebrity MasterChef, however, she’s not been on our screens much in the last 10 years.

So why did she did Loose Women? And what has she said about her personal issues with eating disorders, and fillers. Here’s everything you need to know about Lisa Maxwell, including her career, personal life, and why she left her biggest roles…

Lisa Maxwell was a star of Loose Women and The Bill (Credit: INFphoto.com)

Was Lisa Maxwell in The Madame Blanc Mysteries?

Actress Lisa Maxwell guest starred in The Madame Blanc Mysteries in 2024. She played Nancy, a woman who was abducted at a surprise birthday party for a friend.

After excusing herself to a restroom, Nancy was snatched by a mystery gloved hand. Jeremy (Robin Askwith) then received a photo of a bound Nancy from her kidnapper. It became a race against time for Jean (Sally Lindsay) and Dom (Steve Edge) to rescue her.

The role marked Lisa’s return to the small screen after two years. In 2022, she’d popped up in one episode of Casualty as Alison Madbury, Before that, she’d portrayed Tracey Donovan in Hollyoaks from 2016 to 2017.

Who is Lisa Maxwell? What has she been in?

Lisa is an English actress, presenter and comedy star. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, her biggest roles were in The Bill and Hollyoaks. She was also a Loose Women panellist for five years.

A born entertainer, Lisa made her first TV appearance in 1976 aged just 12 years old. This was in the British sitcom The Many Wives of Patrick, starring Patrick Cargill.

She continued to have small roles as a child actor. By 1982, she beat off 3000 contenders to become a presenter of children’s music programme No Limits.

Her first adult acting role also came in 1982 with the Royal Navy film Remembrance. Timothy Spall and former EastEnders star John Altman were her co-stars.

She also proved to be quite the comedian, making a name for herself in sketch comedy shows including The Les Dennis Laughter Show (1987-1991) and The Russ Abbot Show (1990). By 1991, her efforts were rewarded with her own sketch comedy show, called The Lisa Maxwell Show. Disappointingly perhaps, this only lasted six episodes.

Lisa Maxwell looking fabulous in 2012 on the Nativity 2 red carpet, unaware she’s about to witness a car crash of a Christmas movie (Credit: INFphoto.com)