Elizabeth Hurley reveals surprising secrets of her bikini body

Elizabeth Hurley consistently astonishes fans with her figure. At 56, the model, actor and swimwear designer is in perfect shape, as she regularly proves on Instagram, modelling her own designs.

Still no stranger to a skintight dress on the red carpet, Hurley sprang to fame back in 1994, when she accompanied then-boyfriend, now best friend, Hugh Grant to the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral in what came to be known as THAT dress - a plunging, black Versace sheath held together with gold safety pins.

Now, 28 years on, the star appears to have retained her youthful shape - and many wonder how she does it.

In Hollywood, forty and fifty-something stars tend to hit the gym hard, and restrict their food intake to a cube of sashimi and a small bowl of rocket leaves. (This week, David Beckham admitted that famously skinny fashion designer wife Victoria has eaten steamed fish and vegetables every day for 25 years. Fun it is not.)

Hurley, however, has a rather more British approach. Instead of running for miles, or taking three spin classes a day, she claims to avoid routine classes or gym visits altogether.

Watch: Elizabeth Hurley stuns in toffee bikini Elizabeth Hurley rocks bikini

She explained to Mail Online, "I don’t do any set exercise but can’t sit still for long...I love working in my garden and am never happier than when wielding a strimmer. I walk my dogs a lot too."

It's true that gardening is great exercise, and Hurley loves working on her Herefordshire estate, but it would take most of us a lot of dog walking to look like that.

Back in October, she told Women's Health Magazine that she also does squats while she brushes her teeth to tone her legs and bum, before a 20 minute dog walk first thing, and gardening for hours.

Watch: Elizabeth Hurley stuns in a white bikini

"I do as much outside during the winter as I do during the summer," she added. "Not only do I feel, well, actually exhausted, but also I feel that I've got the leaves up, which is also a nice thing."

She added, "I'd rather do housework than go to the gym. I'd rather scrub a mirror—it does just as much."

She admits to maintaining a very healthy diet, too - "I actually eat quite a lot, but very little junk or processed foods and don’t drink much alcohol," she said.

Read more: Elizabeth Hurley, 56, soaks up the sun in a leopard bikini

"I try to eat lots of vegetables and never eat between meals."

The star added, "I’m at least 10 pounds heavier than I was 20 years ago but I don’t care.

"I probably eat a bit more now but I don’t eat takeaways and only drink sodas once in a blue moon. Life’s too short to be on a super-strict diet."

Even she has a food addiction however, she confessed. "My weakness is peanut butter - if it’s in the house, I’ll stick my finger in the jar every time I walk past it!"

Undeterred by lockdown, Hurley has kept fans happy through the pandemic by regularly posting pictures of herself enjoying the sunshine in her own range of swimwear, both in her garden, and with throwback snaps of past holidays.

This week, she posted a shot of herself in a small, stone-coloured bikini, and captioned it:

"NOT complaining, but my last holiday seems like a lifetime ago- just before the first lockdown. I’m going on a pretend vacation and shall live vicariously through my phone for a few days."

Actor Patsy Kensit commented "God, I wish I had that body and face... simply stunning inside and out" with heart-face emojis, while others posted flames and hearts.

Read more: Elizabeth Hurley poses in a tight black dress on Instagram: 'Showing off'

In her latest post, she posted a shot of herself in a yellow bikini and billowing white shirt, and wrote, "I'm wearing a sunshine bikini and a white cheesecloth Beach Shitt today on my pretend vacation in the Maldives.. (I'm wearing ten layers of fleece in my real life, in Herefordshire)."

You don't get that kind of honesty in Hollywood.

Watch: Elizabeth Hurley sports a tight black dress on Instagram