Emmerdale star Sally Dexter has revealed it has been "tough" and "emotional" filming her character Faith Dingle's cancer storyline.
Faith learned the devastating news recently that her cancer had returned, and was incurable.
In upcoming scenes, Faith's family will finally learn the heartbreaking truth about her secondary cancer diagnosis, after she decided to keep it a secret.
Only a few people know the truth, including her daughter-in-law Moira Dingle and nurse Wendy Posner, but next week her children Cain and Chas Dingle are told the news.
Speaking to The Mirror and other press, actress Sally has revealed the storyline has been "tough" to film, and that the cast and crew have been a great support.
Speaking of the scenes, she revealed: "Yeah [it is tough]. First of all I thought, ‘this is great, this is a great way to go with this character and there's all sorts of things we can do with it, and all sorts of directions’. Faith is a character that can go in any direction.
"I think initially I thought it was a really great idea, and then suddenly I realised when I started reading about it, the treatment, how people cope with it and the reality of it, it dawned on me this is a serious gig and it's more than a gig because this is really happening to people. You can't just take it lightly."
She went on, asked if she got emotional during filming: "Hugely, hugely, one of the great things about the crews here and other actors is how supportive they are, I felt very held, it's been a great experience in that way, but also you don't forget ever for a moment that you’re doing something that is real and is happening to people. It matters how we portray it."
Sally also talked of the importance of doing the storyline, and getting it right for viewers watching at home.
She told us: "It's 100 percent vital we do it justice. There are people sitting out there watching the show who have it, or are sitting next to somebody who has it, are about to have it and they need to know first and foremost that you can get better.
"The fabulous treatments, the fabulous charities who work with people going through this and many, many people do come through it.
"We wanna tell the story as truthfully and honestly and as caringly, with all the humour and humanity that goes along with a situation like this. It is not all doom and gloom, we are humans. We laugh and do all sorts of peculiar things."
Sally added: "The other thing when you’re dealing with an illness like this, you don't suddenly become somebody else.
"You don't suddenly become a saint or anything like that. You are still you and that is a big thing we want to reinforce, that with or without cancer you are still you.
"I very much hope it helps people if they see it up on the screen, at least it gets people talking and that's something. One of the great things about Emmerdale is you see how not to do things, they do it in such a style, such a humour but not all situations are humorous."
Got any theories or thoughts on the storyline? Let us know in the comments section below
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays.
