Barbara Windsor’s life-saving secret gesture to cancer-ridden EastEnders co-star
Cheryl Fergison detailed how Barbara Windsor helped her financially during her gruelling cancer battle.
Cheryl Fergison reveals Barbara Windsor paid her mortgage
EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison opened up about the selfless way TV icon Barbara Windsor helped her financially.
In 2015, the Heather Trott actress underwent a secret health battle with cancer and only opened up about her diagnosis earlier this year.
During an appearance on ITV’s Loose Women, the 58-year-old revealed she was faced with stage two womb cancer and as a result, struggled to pay her bills.
She then unveiled the touching way, her late co-star helped her financially by paying her mortgage before she died in 2020.
Cheryl told the panellist: “Barbara Windsor and Paul O'Grady all helped me.
“I remember Barbs saying, ‘Come on you've got to come round my house,’ So I went there and to the toilet.”
The actress continued: “I explained everything that was going on and I was going to have my operation very soon. Her husband Scott got his chequebook out.
“‘So how much are your bills then?’ She wrote a cheque out to help me pay for my medical bills and my mortgage.”
Sadly Barbara died after a seven-year battle with Alzheimer’s aged 83 alongside her husband Scott who became her carer in her final years.
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Speaking on her decision to go public with her cancer battle, Cheryl explained: “I kept it quiet for a long time to process it.
“If you don't work you don't earn money so I had to put on a smile and get on with it. For me, it's about letting women know they should listen to their bodies.
“We don't have time for ourselves. When something happens you need to act on it. I wouldn't have been alive if I hadn't taken action.”
Cheryl received her diagnosis after attending a regular smear test, which came back clear but decided to go back after experiencing back pain and spotting blood.
She then went to see her GP where she was referred for tests and a biopsy, after four months after that she received the news she had stage two womb cancer.
