Former EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison forced to use food bank after cancer battle

Cheryl Fergison, best known for her portrayal of Heather Trott in BBC One's EastEnders from 2007 to 2012, has opened up about her financial struggles following treatment for womb cancer. Diagnosed in 2015, the actress bravely went public with her condition in April 2024.

She told OK! Magazine that she underwent a hysterectomy, which led to an early onset menopause and eventually got the all-clear. However, her health ordeal forced her to halt her acting career leading to severe monetary and mental health issues.

Now aged 60 and residing in Cleveleys, Lancashire, Fergison admitted to the Sunday Mirror that, despite past financial support from the late Dame Barbara Windsor, her earnings dried up by February this year, leaving her penniless.

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"I didn’t have any money to do a weekly shop, I was trying to pay too many debts," she recounted her dire circumstances. "It was a really difficult time. Lots of people can relate to it. You’re trying to find a penny. You’re literally looking down your settee to see if you can find a quid."

The turning point came when Citizens Advice recommended visiting a food bank, an experience that reduced her to tears. Emotionally impacted, Fergison expressed shame and disbelief at her situation: "How could I have been earning that much money and now I am here?"

Former EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison has praised the "angels" at the food bank for their support, revealing that since their help, she hasn't needed assistance again. She's been able to get back on her feet, returning to work in pantomimes and singing gigs.

"I hope other people can relate to it. I really want to stress that food banks are a service," she expressed. "They’re there for you to use so please do not feel embarrassed or that it’s a weakness. Whatever the reason, you deserve help. We have a right to be able to live like a human being and do it in a dignified way."

Earlier this year, Rudolph Walker, who plays Patrick Trueman on EastEnders, shared his own struggles with housing instability while working on the show. He recounted to the Daily Mirror how he had no stable home and lived in a hotel with a shared toilet due to financial difficulties.

"I didn’t have any financial means" during his 70s, Walker, now 85, disclosed. "Some days on my way to the studio, I would pull up at the side of the road, have a cry."

Despite the challenges, he found solace in his work: "I’d pull myself together, arrive at the studio and the environment would act as a tonic, and I was ready to go. I suppose it was a sort of double life."

Cheryl Fergison has also appeared in Little Britain sketches, Your Face Sounds Familiar, and featured in the Netflix series Hard Cell with Catherine Tate in 2022.