EastEnders icon Cheryl Fergison so broke that she's been crying at a food bank

Ex EastEnders prima Cheryl Fergison, who played Heather Trott, said she wept aft being taken to a nutrient slope by a Citizens Advice unit member, aft she admitted to them that she couldn’t spend to eat

Former EastEnders prima Cheryl Fergison contiguous reveals she is truthful broke she ended up astatine a food bank.

The actress, who played karaoke-loving Heather Trott successful the BBC1 soap from 2007 to 2012, wept aft being taken determination by a Citizens Advice unit member, aft she admitted to them she couldn’t adjacent spend to eat.

It was a far-cry from her clip connected EastEnders erstwhile she “didn’t adjacent look astatine the terms of things”.

Cheryl, 60, says: “I sat determination and cried and cried. It was shameful. How could I person been connected EastEnders? How could I person been earning that overmuch wealth and present I americium here?

“It was 1 of the hardest things I’ve had to do. I recovered it truthful hard to beryllium that vulnerable. But I didn’t person immoderate wealth to bash a play shop. I was trying to wage excessively galore debts.

“Lots of radical tin subordinate to it. You’re trying to find a penny. You’re virtually looking down your settee to spot if you tin find a quid.”

Cheryl’s revelation comes aft our sister insubstantial the Daily Mirror reported she was selling aged EastEnders scripts for £50 a pop, and singing successful a Chinese edifice to marque ends meet.

A high-earner during her clip connected EastEnders, the mum-of-one’s beingness spiralled downwards aft she was diagnosed with womb crab successful 2015, forcing her to shelve her career.

Having a hysterectomy pushed her into an aboriginal menopause, which triggered carnal and intelligence issues starring to horrific self-harming – dousing herself successful scalding h2o aggregate times a time arsenic she became obsessed with “washing” distant crab cells.

“I was damaging myself truthful badly,” she reflects. “As soon arsenic I got the all-clear I stopped doing it. If you’re told you are ill, it’s not conscionable astir the carnal contented – somehow, you request to fig retired what’s going connected successful your caput with it all”

But by this February, Cheryl – whose headband wearing Albert Square quality was virtually killed disconnected by Ben Mitchell – recovered herself penniless. “It was truly a hard time,” says Cheryl, of Cleveleys, adjacent Blackpool.

So she summoned up the courageousness to spell to her section Citizens Advice branch.

“If they did cognize who I was they didn’t amusement it and that was what was wonderful,” she says. “I thought it was embarrassing.”

Of being taken to the nutrient bank, Cheryl says: “That time is 1 I’ll ne'er hide – and I’ll ne'er hide the people. I felt I’d had this amazing, biggest, warmest hug. That’s what it felt like.

“They were similar angels. It was similar a radical of angels had travel on and said, ‘We tin header with this for you Cheryl, we tin bash this for you’,”

But leaving determination with 4 bags of groceries, canine nutrient and adjacent a clump of daffodils, she was determined ne'er to spell back. Now feeling overmuch much affirmative astir life, she is looking guardant to starring arsenic the Fairy Godmother successful Cinderella, successful Peterborough this Christmas. Her son, Alex, 25, who she shares with archetypal hubby Jamshed Saddiqi, is joining the formed arsenic Buttons.

Cheryl, who tied the knot for a 2nd clip with Yassim al-Jemoni, 39, successful 2011, hopes opening up astir hitting rock-bottom financially volition assistance others.

She says: “I anticipation different radical tin subordinate to it. I truly privation to accent that nutrient banks are a service. They’re determination for you to usage truthful delight bash not consciousness embarrassed oregon that it’s a weakness. Whatever the reason, you merit help. We person a close to beryllium capable to unrecorded similar a quality being and bash it successful a dignified way.”

Cheryl reveals her embarrassment implicit being broke was exacerbated by perceptions that she should beryllium good off. “If I americium successful Lidl radical are ever amazed to spot me,” she says. “They go, ‘Why are you here?’ I go, ‘Where bash you deliberation I’m going to be?’ I’m surviving a mean beingness successful Cleveleys.”

While the glamour of beingness successful a large soap is down her, she says immoderate formed members – past and contiguous – person been her top supporters. She says of Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell: “He has ever been a rock. He’s 1 of my favourite people. He gets misunderstood due to the fact that of the quality helium plays, but I adore him.” The precocious Barbara Windsor, who played Peggy Mitchell, besides helped Cheryl erstwhile she was struggling with debts and cancer.

“She was amazing,” Cheryl recalls. “Barbara and her husband, Scott, were penning cheques retired for maine to support a extortion supra my caput erstwhile I couldn’t enactment and I was poorly.

“She gave maine astir apt 1 of the champion bits of beingness proposal ever. She said to maine once, ‘It doesn’t substance what’s going connected wrong your 4 walls. When you spell retired there, you retrieve the nationalist wants to speech to you.’

“She was saying, ‘Be bully to radical due to the fact that they don’t request to cognize what you’re going done successful your ain idiosyncratic life’.”

It is proposal Cheryl has heeded – adjacent uncovering clip to chat to fans erstwhile she was struggling to header with cancer. She says: “I’d similar them to deliberation that I was a bully person. I would similar radical to deliberation that I americium a subsister and that I’m positive.”

“And If I’m singing successful the Chinese edifice for a penny, astatine slightest I’m buying my ain nutrient to enactment connected my table, due to the fact that I don’t privation to spell backmost to the nutrient slope if I tin assistance it. If I person thing I tin merchantability that radical privation – I’ll bash it.”

Cheryl hopes fans person not seen the past of her connected TV. She says: “I would emotion to enactment successful different soap.

“I would emotion to spell connected I’m A Celeb. Bring it on, bring it on.”

lydia.veljanovski@reachplc.com