Brit TV star looks like she’s ageing backwards 19 years after controversial C4 teen drama Sugar Rush
A BRITISH actress looks like she’s aged backwards after stirring up controversy with her early TV role.
The star, who featured in Channel 4 series Sugar Rush, has kept her fresh-faced look and natural striking hair colour through her years on-screen.
Olivia Hallinan, now 38, was branded “absolute perfection” as she uploaded a recent make-up free snap to Instagram.
She beamed in the stunning selfie, showing off her auburn hair, green eyes and freckled complexion as she posed in a naturally-lit room.
Hounslow-born Olivia, who has also starred in the BBC‘s Lark Rise to Candleford and 2014 movie Love By Design, captioned her snap with the words: “Sun is shining face.”
One fan was quick to gush: “Stunning lady absolute perfection.”
A second put: “Lovely Olivia,” while a third wrote: “A beautiful lady, a talented actress and an amazing mum.”
Another then added: “I found my dad Sugar Rush and watch[ed] it again and so good to watch again. You were amazing in that show.”
Olivia played protagonist Kim in the Channel 4 drama, based on the Julie Burchill novels of the same name.
The 2005 drama followed the teen tackling a slew of issues including her sexuality.
Kim, whose family are based in Brighton, discovers she has a crush on her best mate Maria ‘Sugar’ Sweet.
She develops a “sexual obsession” with her pal in the exploration of her true feelings.
In the show, the actress again wore minimal make-up, letting her natural beauty shine through.
She kept her shoulder-length locks their natural colour, often donning a half-up style.
Now years on, she appears almost the same.
The screen star, who initially found telly fame in 2003 series Girls In Love, often shares make-up fre snaps on her page.
Olivia also gives an insight into her family life with her kids, as well as her acting roles.
Off screen
Off-screen and away from social media, she also used to date BBC fan-favourite Nick Knowles, 61.
The pair were spotted on a night out back in 2017.
They met at a lavish showbiz bash and were even spotted on a second date in London.
At the time, a source told us: “Olivia is a really sweet girl and they had a good laugh on the date.
“She’s very much his type – she’s intelligent, she’s charming – so who knows where it will go?”
Yet their romance then quickly fizzled out.
Olivia is now married to husband Charles Smith and they share a daughter, Elora.
Screen ban
The first series of Sugar Rush aired in 2005 with the second hot on its heels a year later.
They featured 10 episodes each and lasted 30-minutes.
Channel 4 chose not to renew it for a third season.
At the time, series producer Johnny Capps said he was “surprised and disappointed at Channel 4’s decision not to recommission Sugar Rush.”
He then claimed that he “had lots of ideas of where to take the next series” and admitted he was “sad not to be able to finish Kim and Sugar’s story properly.”
The show sparked controversy at the time with Sara Stewart, who played Kim’s mum Stella, admitting she didn’t let her kids watch it.
At the time, she said: “My own kids don’t see it and they won’t in future. Sam is 13 and India is 11. One of Sam’s friends saw it and he was keen to find out what he was missing.
“But I said, ‘If I wasn’t in it, I might let you watch it. But on the brink of pubescence, to watch your mother having it off on TV is not psychologically healthy.”
Her character has an affair in the show and she added: “It could be a scarring experience. These are not images I want you to have’.”