Coronation Street star, Rob Mallard, shocked fans with his brave health update this week.
The 32-year-old, who plays Daniel Osbourne in the ITV soap, revealed he has essential tremor, which is a progressive neurological condition that causes shaking. Sadly, the star says his condition is slowly getting worse and told the Mirror it could be “career ending”.
Speaking to us, he said of his condition, which is causing his hands, neck and voice to shake: “It has been suggested that Coronation Street wrap it into the character, which I’m not averse to, but I’d rather not do that now. I don’t want it to pigeonhole me.”
Following his brave admission, Rob, was inundated with well wishes from his Corrie colleagues. However, unfortunately, many of the most popular faces on the cobbles have also suffered with ill health…
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Samia Longchambon
In April, Samia, 41, who plays Maria Connor in the soap, shared her struggle with anxiety with a behind-the-scenes snap on her Instagram Stories on set.
Posting a photo of her nails with the sore-looking skin bitten down around them, she said: “I always pick my fingers until they hurt when I’m overthinking.” The mum-of-two continued: “I do it without realising… When my fingers look like this I know I need to slow my thoughts down… #anxiety ‘honesttruth #monkeymind.”
The actress, who is married to Dancing On Ice star, Sylvain Longchambon, added a GIF which read: “Mental Health Matters,” before adding: “Need to do my nails asap [as soon as possible].”
Sue Cleaver
Eileen Grimshaw star, Sue, 60, previously explained that she had slimmed down when she decided to give up alcohol after having “loads of wine” during the pandemic. She now no longer drinks at all, saying being in a pub is her idea of ‘hell’. The TV star told The Sun: “I went on HRT about a year and a half ago and realised I should have done that about five years ago.”
However, despite her transformation, the actress had a serious health scare early last year. She explained to the Loose Women panel: “I had a really bad year. I had a hysterectomy in March. Then a few weeks ago, I ended up in A&E, I don’t need to go into details, but it was a scary scary time. I had surgery and ended up in intensive care.”
Kate Ford
Kate, 47, famed for her iconic Tracy Barlow role, has spoken bravely about her struggle with endometriosis, a condition that affects one in 10 women in the UK. Endometriosis happens when cells such as the ones in the womb lining grow in other parts of the body.
These cells act the same as they do in the womb, getting thicker and then breaking down and bleeding. But the blood can’t leave the body, causing pain, swelling, and scar tissue.
Kate previously told her Instagram fans that she was having a hard time with endometriosis while working on Corrie. Sharing a snap of herself on set, she wrote: “Filming #itvcorrie this was a few weeks ago at a time that I was struggling with my #endometriosis. Luckily got lots of support x just sending a hug out to all those struggling with similar [heart emoji].”
Lucy-Jo Hudson
Lucy, 41, who played Katy in the iTV soap, was taken to hospital in November after needing an emergency blood transfusion. She was diagnosed with chronic anaemia, which is a common form of anaemia seen in hospitalised patients caused by long-standing diseases, infections and inflammations.
Sharing her health update on Instagram, the actress told fans: “Sooooo long story short, I was very short of breath last week, having chest pains and it turned out my HB levels were scarily low!!! They should have been between 115-155, and mine were 67…my iron levels should have been 38-48 but they were 1.5!!!”
Gray O’Brien
Scottish actor Gray, 55, who played villainous Weatherfield businessman Tony Gordon, shared his devastating news with his Twitter followers back in November 2019.
The star, who played Tony on the programme between 2007 and 2010, made his last appearance on the soap in 2010. Gray kept his diagnosis a secret from his followers and celebrity pals before going public after undergoing intensive treatment for tonsil cancer.
Taking to Instagram he said: “About 3 months ago a trip to the doctors with swollen glands led to stage four tonsil cancer. Today marks the end of my treatment & I couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who has supported me along the way.” Nowadays, Gray is, thankfully, the picture of health and frequently updates fans on his various treks up mountains.
Anne Kirkbride
At the age of 39, Deidre Barlow star, Anne, found a lump on her neck on the day of her mother’s funeral in 1993, which ended up being a non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which is a form of cancer.
The actress took some time off from Coronation Street to deal with her health before she returned after receiving the all-clear from doctors.
However, after her treatment had finished, she revealed that she was suffering from depression which was “worse than the cancer”. Years later, Anne contracted breast cancer before taking time off from the famous ITV soap again to focus on her health.