Coronation Street's Catherine Tyldesley shows off curves on Daybreak in optical illusion dress

PUBLISHED: 09:00 EST, 29 January 2013 | UPDATED: 10:58 EST, 29 January 2013

She spends lots of time and energy keeping her body in shape and following a healthy diet.

So you can't blame Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley for wanting to show if off.

Appearing on Daybreak to talk about her fitness plan, the 29-year-old soap star showed off her figure in a Zara optical illusion dress.

Va-va-voom: Catherine Tyldesley shows off her hourglass figure in red and black optical illusion dress

The actress, who plays Eva Price in the ITV show, was joined by her boyfriend and fitness trainer Sam Witter to talk about losing weight in a healthy way.

The pair have started up a health and fitness company called Sam & Cath.

Her healthy lifestyle comes after Catherine suffered weight battles 10 years ago, wearing a dress size 22 and weighing 15st.

Red and black: The actress teamed her fitted dress with a pair of black leggings underneath

Now a size 10, she credits Sam with helping her keep trim.

She told the Sunday People recently: 'Most people's New Year's resolution is to get fit and lose weight but so many quit after a small amount of time. It all about finding a way of keeping going.'

Catherine and Sam have designed a special diet and exercise plan, explaining it's important to eat the food out bodies are designed for.

She said: 'The beauty of the plan is that it is sustainable, a lifestyle change that is not one of those fad diets.

Fit couple: Catherine has fallen in love with her personal trainer Sam Witter, and they've now started a fitness company together

'Its very basic just taking things back to the food that our bodies are designed for.

Her daily fitness plan which includes 10 triceps dips, 10 leg lunges and 10 press ups, is designed to be a great upper body and cardio workout - getting the blood pumping and the heart working, perfect for those wanting to shift the Christmas pounds.

She enthused: 'The results are amazing, people are like 'oh my God, it was so easy. People make tiny changes and see a huge difference. I don't deprive myself, I eat loads but I eat the right foods'.

'You need to have a little bit of what you fancy, life it too short, you need to be good 90 per cent of the time'.