Emmerdale star Samantha Giles has portrayed Bernice Blackstock for 25 years on the ITV soap.
Making her debut back in 1998, the resident beautician played a central role in several storylines before departing in 2004 following the breakdown of her marriage to Ashley Thomas (John Middleton).
After an eight-year break, Bernice returned to the Dales and began causing havoc once again.
READ MORE: Emmerdale’s Mark Charnock wished well by fans as he leaves UK during break from filming
In 2019, the fiery character dumped Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) on the night before their wedding and disappeared but returned for good in 2021.
Away from the soap, the 51-year-old actress has suffered a range of health battles and has opened up about them in recent years.
When Samantha was in her 40s, she revealed she suffered in secret with a painful condition because she was misdiagnosed by doctors.
The star had a debilitating chronic infection which lasted for two years and left her in serious pain.
Discussing the urinary tract infection, she told The Mirror: “I had an embedded infection and it was scary.
(Image: Mcpix/REX/Shutterstock)
“You are frightened of going to the shops or going out because you are constantly thinking about when you are going to need to use the toilet. It’s depressing.”
UTIs can occur when women women reaching the menopause experience lowered oestrogen levels which means their bodies have less immunity to fight infections.
But the soap star confirmed she was in pain for so long because of her misdiagnosis.
Following the harrowing experience, the soap star began campaigning for mass testing across GP surgeries to prevent other woman from going through what she did.
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Admitting she remains in fear of getting another infection, she added: “Now that I am perimenopausal, I’ve got to hope for the best that I don’t get another one.
“Eventually, my body fought my infection off, but I would urge any woman who is in pain and thinks they might have an infection to make a loud noise.”
In March 2022, Samantha was rushed to hospital with a mystery illness.
Updating her followers on Twitter, the star revealed she was recovering and thanked the NHS for looking after, however never confirmed what the illness was.
She wrote: “Huge thank you to all the wonderfully caring staff at @LiverpoolWomens for looking after me today.
“#NHS [heart emoji] I’m fine and I’ll be home soon.”
Recently on the soap, Bernice discovered she was menopausal which resembled to Samantha’s real life experiences as she is at the perimenopausal stage of her own journey.
(Image: REX/Shutterstock)
She admitted Bernice’s symptoms mirrored that of her own, admitting: “I get furious and anxious about things, which is obviously very common, and I had a brief rage in a chemist’s a couple of weeks ago.
“I didn’t go as far as Bernice but sometimes, you do get into situations where you would like to scream.
“It’s a tough one for women as you can lose your confidence or worry about your self-worth but, hopefully, a lot of the things Bernice says and does will resonate with women.”
For more of the latest showbiz and TV news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here .
READ NEXT:
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
