I have had to retrain my brain

EX-EASTENDERS STAR CHERYL FERGISON REVEALS HER DEVASTATION AFTER A STROKE AS HER MEMOIR IS PUBLISHED. BY LYDIA VELJANOVSKI AND SUSAN LEE

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THESE days when TV favourite Cheryl Fergison has a coffee, she needs to use both hands to steady the cup. This is because her right hand is too unreliable on its own since she suffered a stroke in May.

Opening up about the impact of the stroke, the actress, 59, reveals: “It was probably one of the lowest times in my life.

“One minute you're walking, talking, going to the shops, the next your world is rocked. It’s shocking.”

Speaking ahead of the release of her explosive new memoir, Behind the Scenes, the mum-of-one - best known as loveable Heather Trott in EastEnders - reveals she was at home watching television when she realised something was wrong.

She recalls: “I started to feel funny, with a really bad headache at the back of my head.

“I went to bed but couldn't settle. When I got up in the night to go to the bathroom, my balance completely went and I had to stop myself from falling over. My whole right side felt numb, heavy and tingly.”