Emmerdale's Samantha Giles shares mum's health battle as she makes difficult admission

Emmerdale star Samantha Giles was left heartbroken when her cherished mum was struck down by a devastating stroke. And the timing made it even more brutal - it occurred just hours before she was set to take to the stage.

The actress had just touched down in Shrewsbury and was preparing for a matinee performance of comedy production The Syndicate alongside Coronation Street's Brooke Vincent.

Now, she has candidly opened up on the situation. She was halfway through her tour when the health woes happened. "It was a brain haemorrhage and most people die when they have that," she said.

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She revealed she got the news on a Wednesday, a day she was expected to have two shows. Remarkably, Samantha, who has been celebrated for portraying spirited Bernice Blackstock on Emmerdale since the 90s, discovered the courage to take the stage.

While many would collapse under such devastating news, she pressed forward because she refused to disappoint her supporters. She explained in a chat with the Daily Star: "If you are doing a TV show and something disastrous happens in your family, you can reschedule things but you can't do that with a stage show.

"People had bought tickets and everything. There were understudies, of course, but you don't want to let people down. "I decided to do the show. It was very difficult to navigate going on stage."

And she said that during each performance she was unaware of how her mum was doing. She labelled the time as "very challenging".

In an honest admission, she revealed she doesn't know how she managed to carry on. Thankfully though, she later received the good news that the didn't have to operate and "everything was under control".

Despite the health challenges she faced, Samantha persevered and completed the tour. And now she cherishes every moment she gets to spend with her mother.

She revealed: "Mum has done really well because 80% of people who have that kind of stroke die. It's amazing she is still here; it could have been very different. She is doing OK; cognitively, she is quite challenged. She finds it difficult with dates and days.

"It's been a slow recovery process, and she's got a long way to go. It's frustrating for her at times. She knows she's not the person that she was. But it's amazing she is still here."

Despite all the trials she's faced, Samantha is eager to return to the stage. And she admitted she would love to take part in more theatre productions, saying she is hopeful something good will soon come up.

She explained it is so different when compared to her TV work and said it is amazing to think it is even the same type of role.

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