Cheryl Fergison felt "so alone" at the height of her 'EastEnders' fame.
Cheryl Fergison felt 'so alone' at the height of her EastEnders fame
The 59-year-old actress - who has son Alex, 25, with ex-husband Jamshed Saddiqi and is now married to Yassim al-Jemoni - has been open about the financial difficulties she has faced since leaving her role as Heather Trott on the BBC soap in 2012, but recalled a time when she just broke down in tears despite the gloss of celebrity success.
Speaking on the 'How To Be 60 podcast', she told 'Loose Women' star Kaye Adams: "If I go to a food bank because I need to eat food because I need my family to eat because I can't afford to pay the bills, or I've been to Citizen's Advice for debit management, I'm not the only person in the world who has done that.
"If there's a celebrity - I don't know what celebrity means - if there is a person in the public eye who has been there but is embarrassed or ashamed, we've made them feel like that.
"You're only one step away from being a homeless person on the streets, you really, really are.
"The reality is, if you have a child that you can't feed or a home you can't keep, or a roof over your head, who gives a s*** what they see through their rose-tinted glasses?
"I got a Soap Award, and it was lovely, had it in my hand, went to the party - this was before I met Yas - and I came home and cried my eyes out. I went 'I've got no one to share this with, I'm so alone'. A few hours ago, everyone was [cheering] but then I went home and did that."
Cheryl - who has appeared in 'Hard Cell' opposite Catherine Tate and has is also a regular in Christmas pantomimes - admitted that her most famous alter-ego came as both a "blessing a
"I think it was a blessing whilst I was in it, it's given me a great platform, the curse is that now that I'm out of it is that I struggle to not be seen as Heather Trott."
Tagged in Kaye Adams