Ricki LakeOriginal Hairspray star turned chat show host Ricki Lake has said she blames her ongoing weight problems - at least in part - to childhood abuse.

Ricki’s then-chunky figure helped land her the role of Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film but since then, Ricki has battled with her weight, recently losing 120lbs from a high of 260lbs.

She told Access Hollywood recently: “I was a victim of childhood sexual abuse and I think it contributed. Who knows for sure?”

“I’ve done many years in therapy and worked on all my issues. I didn’t talk about it for, like, 15 or 20 years; I didn’t admit that it had happened to me because I wanted to kind of bury things. It, in some way, made me who I am today…”

“I don’t want to be a poster child for this at all but it’s very weird thing for children when they’re violated in that way. Food became a comfort to me; it was my kind of security blanket.”