Former Emmerdale star Charley Webb has revealed the contact she had with Meg Johnson as she paid tribute to her following her death. It was announced on Sunday that the actress, who had played Pearl Ladderbanks in Emmerdale since 2003, died "peacefully" on Saturday aged 86 following a battle with dementia.
Stars of the ITV soap quickly spoke out to remember Meg as a "one of a kind" woman who would famously shout "Oh pig’s bum!" when she forgot her lines while working on Emmerdale.
The sad news was announced in a joint statement from her family, talent agency Jorg Betts Associates and the ITV show. It said: "It is with great sadness that we announce that actress Meg Johnson passed away peacefully yesterday evening surrounded by her family.
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"Meg was a kind and wonderful lady, full of warmth and always with a twinkle in her eye. Meg had an outstanding career that ended with her playing Pearl Ladderbanks in Emmerdale from 2003. Meg had dementia for the last few years, but battled on personally and professionally regardless. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her."
Actress Lisa Riley, best known for portraying Mandy Dingle in the ITV soap, said Meg taught her 2discipline, respect, comedy, and how not to take life to (sic) seriously." She tweeted: "You are the true meaning of the words-wonderful woman. Your energy lives on, because you were so very special!”
Meanwhile, Danny Miller, best known for playing fan favourite Aaron Dingle in the long-running soap, said he was “truly devastated” to hear of Meg's death. "Pearl was a fair way to describe our lovely Meg,” he tweeted. "The creator of ‘pigs bum!!’ – should she ever forget her lines, and a loved soul throughout the building. Shared many laughs with her and Dominic on set."
Charley, however, posted a picture of Meg as Pearl to her Instagram Story and shared how she had been spending time with the actress due to her living in the same home as her mum who Charley only revealed recently has dementia after being diagnosed eight years ago.
"Fly high Meg. We'll miss you," the former soap star, who is known for playing Debbie Dingle in Emmerdale, wrote. "I've seen Meg lots recently. She was in the same home as my Mum and they kept each other going. Meg is one of the most beautiful soals I've ever had the pelasere to meet. Thank you for the twinkle in your eye."
Charley recently took the brave decision to appear on TV and speak about her 65-year-old mum's dementia diagnosis after recently sharing the news. The mum-of-three spoke about her mum Helen's deteriorating health on This Morning with Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary after going public eight years after her mum's diagnosis.
"There was no support, no help, it was shocking actually, and for me and my siblings it has been eight years of hell," she heartbreakingly shared. "She’s now gone into a home and it was the hardest decision we’ve ever had to make." Charley also revealed that her mother was hugely involved in her career and she noticed that over time her memory was becoming worse.
The star explained: "I got into working so young. Mum took over things like that and my sister’s make-up academy, and she was just forgetting things. She forgot something huge for me financially, and I thought ‘this is quite serious’ then she was confused about something with her house, and I thought ‘this doesn’t make sense.’ And people were like ‘you’re just being dramatic’ because I can be dramatic but I just knew."
She went on: "I was pregnant with my middle one Bowie. That was traumatic, trying to get the diagnosis is actually a long process. It’s difficult, it’s hard, it was stressful. She had a big personality, she was much wilder than me. She would stay up until 4am in the morning with my friends, so seeing that decline was awful."
