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Cheryl Fergison, best known for her role as Heather Trott on EastEnders, has opened up about her struggles with finances after leaving the show. Fergison, now 60, told the Sunday Mirror that her troubles began when she was diagnosed with womb cancer in 2015, which caused her to leave acting. Following a hysterectomy and early menopause that led to mental health issues and self-harm, Fergison was left living on benefits.
The actress also revealed that her financial struggles led her to use a food bank, calling it “one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do”. She explained, “I found it so difficult to be that vulnerable”. Fergison’s situation highlights the ongoing financial struggles faced by many in the UK, with over half of low-paid Londoners forced to use a food bank in the last year, according to the Living Wage Foundation.
Despite the emotional difficulty of the experience, Fergison was full of praise for the food bank staff who helped her. “That day is one I’ll never forget – and I’ll never forget the people. I felt I’d had this amazing, biggest, warmest hug. That’s what it felt like. They were like angels. It was like a group of angels had come along and said, ‘We can cope with this for you Cheryl, we can do this for you'”, she said.
Fergison is now making ends meet performing in Chinese restaurants and pantomimes. By speaking up about her financial struggles, she hopes to encourage others to seek help and remove the stigma surrounding the use of food banks. “We have a right to be able to live like a human being and do it in a dignified way”, she said
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