EastEnders star used food bank after leaving show
Former EastEnders star Cheryl Ferguson has revealed her financial situation was so bad that she was forced to visit a food bank after leaving the soap.
The 60-year-old actress said it left her in tears, adding: “It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I find it so difficult to be so vulnerable.”
Ferguson is best known for playing Heather Trott on the BBC show From 2007 to 2012.
she told the Sunday Mirror Her struggle with money began in 2015 when she was diagnosed with uterine cancer, which meant she had to give up her acting career.
she then Hysterectomy necessary Then comes early menopause, triggering mental health problems and self-harm.
Ferguson said she soaked herself in scalding water every day to try to “wash away” the cancer cells.
“I hurt myself badly,” she said. “I stopped doing it as soon as the all-clear was given. If you’re told you’re sick, it’s not just a physical problem – somehow you need to figure out what’s going on in your head.”
The actress said that by February this year, she was penniless.
“I didn’t have money for my weekly shopping. I was trying to pay off too much debt,” she said.
“It was a really hard time,” she added. “A lot of people can relate to this. You’re trying to find a penny. You’re actually looking down at your couch to see if you can find a pound.”
Ferguson said it was a far cry from her EastEnders days, when she “didn’t even think about the price of things”.
She said she sought help from Citizens Advice and a staff member from the charity took her to a food bank.
“I sat there and cried and cried. It was disgraceful. How could I possibly be on EastEnders? How could I make so much money and now be here?” she asked.
More than half of low-income Londoners reportedly had to turn to food banks last year living wage foundation.
Ferguson, who lives in Cleveleys, was full of praise for staff at the food bank, saying: “That was a day I will never forget, I will never forget those people. I feel like I got this amazing Amazing, the biggest, warmest hug is what it feels like.
“They were like angels. It was like a bunch of angels came along and said, ‘We can deal with this for you, Cheryl, we can do this for you.'”
The actress said she left the place with four bags of groceries and she hasn’t been back since.
Since then, she has made ends meet by singing in Chinese restaurants and performing pantomime at work.
She added that she hoped talking about her financial struggles would help others.
“I hope other people can relate to this. I really want to emphasize that food banks are a service,” she said.
“They are there for you to use, so please don’t feel embarrassed or think of it as a weakness. Whatever the reason, you deserve help. We have the right to live as human beings and to live with dignity. “
Last month, a new report from anti-poverty charity Trussell said A record 9.3 million people – including one in five children – face hunger and hardship in the UK.
Helen Barnard, director of policy and research at Trussell, told BBC News: “Everyone’s story of being forced to turn to food banks is heartbreaking and Cheryl has bravely come forward to highlight this issue.”
The food bank “does its best to provide a warm welcome,” she said.
But she added it was “not right” that anyone had to turn to food banks to survive.
BBC News has contacted Ferguson’s representatives and Citizens Advice for comment.
