Charley Webb revealed her mum is living with dementia as she celebrated Mother's Day on social media today.
The former Emmerdale star, 35, told her Instagram followers how her mum Helen Webb was just 64 years old when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2015.
Charley, who shares three children with husband Matthew Wolfenden, went on to admit how each day can be a challenge and her mum's health condition has been hard to come to terms with.
The mum-of-three shared the news with her 574,000 followers on Instagram, as she shared a picture of herself from her wedding day in 2018 - with the sweet snap showing Helen fanning her daughter's lengthy bridal veil.
Charley captioned the touching image: "In 2015, our lovely Mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She was 64. This last 8 years have been a learning curve, a grieving process and something all of her children have struggled with.
"Every day is a challenge and brings difficulties which are really hard to come to terms with. 8 years later we finally feel ready to talk about it and the goal is to raise as much money and awareness as possible, to be able to help everyone that may face this in the future. Even though she’s still here, I miss her.
"Always my Queen, HM’sD, love you Mama."
Charley's fans and famous friends quickly flooded the former soap star with supportive comments and messages of love.
"Love you," her brother and Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas wrote, as journalist Terri White added: "Oh Charley. But what a wonderful thing you’re doing in the midst of what must be the most difficult of times."
One of the star's fans commented: "It’s the cruelest disease, I’m so sorry, I used to work in a dementia home and it broke my heart for the families, treasure your memories, sending love to you all x."
Another related to Charley's turmoil, adding: "My Granddad had Alzheimer’s. He was diagnosed at 49 and sadly passed at 58! Even though I was young, I can still remember how awful it was. Sending you big hugs xx."
Charley played Debbie Dingle for 19 years on Emmerdale before officially calling it quits for good at the start of last year, after her husband Matthew Wolfenden was accused of mimicking the accent of a mixed race actress on set.
Following her decision not to return to The Woolpack in the future, Charley had been selling a range of Scandinavian-inspired handcrafted toys online, but the actress put a halt to to her 'dream' business venture earlier this year, given her lack of time dedicated to the company.
"I’ve loved this chapter and the journey it’s taken us on but we just don’t have the time to run it the way we want to," the mum-of-three told her Instagram followers in February.
Charley's character Debbie last appeared on the ITV soap in February 2021, after the actress returned from maternity leave just a few months earlier.
The star officially confirmed her soap future on Instagram in January 2022, telling her followers: "This is always my most asked question but I've never answered it before because I've never wanted to make a big deal of it.
"I left to have Ace 2 years ago. I went back at the end of last year for 10 weeks to complete a storyline. So, I guess officially it's been a year. I never felt the need to announce it which is why we didn't."
* If you need dementia support, Alzheimer’s Society are there for you. Get personalised information, support and advice by calling them on 0333 150 3456.
