She’s best known for playing feisty Janine Butcher in EastEnders, but Charlie Brooks showed a very different side to herself this week as she broke down in tears on TV.
Charlie, 34, appeared on ITV’s Lorraine with her best friend Lorna Sango, who is suffering from secondary breast cancer.
Praising her friend, Charlie said: “It’s just so painful but the strength and how brave this woman is when I speak to her, how strong she is and how positive, it’s just constant.
“It just astounds me, I don’t know if I could do it.”
Charlie’s bond with Lorna was obvious to viewers, as they held hands throughout the interview – which was in aid of new charity Second Hope.
Actress Charlie apologised for getting upset, before adding: “I think she’s wonderful and yes it’s hard for everyone around her.”
Explaining how Charlie has been her rock, Lorna said: “The disease can be very lonely and isolating. When I was first diagnosed, Charlie was there, right from the first day.
“I came home from the hospital, having had the diagnosis. Charlie had gathered some of my friends at my house.”
“I’d been away filming… Heartbeat in Yorkshire,” Charlie interjected.
Lorna continued: “She got a train back especially so she could be with me, which was lovely. And we spent the evening celebrating getting better.”
Second Hope is a charity dedicated to helping people in the UK living with advanced breast cancer – the only one of its kind in the country.
It aims to raise awareness of the disease, support those diagnosed, and anybody affected by advanced breast cancer, and fund research into potential treatments.
For more information visit www.secondhope.co.uk
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