Emmerdale's Chastity Dingle is going through a horrendous time on the ITV soap at the moment, and actress Lucy Pargeter has endured some challenges too.
The feisty landlady of the Woolpack decided to have a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. Her friend and one-time lover, Dr Liam Cavanagh, first spotted a lump on her right breast in January and urged her to get it checked. Chas has always been aware of the risk of the disease as her mum, Faith, passed away from breast cancer last year. The family never found out if she carried a faulty BRCA gene.
Lucy and co star Jeff, who plays Caine DIngle (BAFTA via Getty Images)Lucy, 47, spoke about how she didn’t want to shy away from the storyline and how important it was to show that anyone can be affected by cancer at anytime: "She saw her own mother ultimately die after an incurable breast cancer diagnosis, so for Chas to receive a breast cancer diagnosis herself, makes it all the more poignant," she said.
"Our audience knows her so well, they have seen her relationships, know her faults, her passions, her insecurities, quirks and fears."
Lucy, who came third in the 2013 series of I'm a Celebrity, has had her share of heartache in her personal life away from the Dales too. She welcomed her first child, Lola, in 2005 with former fiance Rudi Coleano but despite trying for another baby for 11 years, the couple were unable to conceive, so they turned to IVF. In 2017 they were overjoyed when twins Missy and Betsy were born.
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She previously spoke about the difficult journey and how important it is for her to be open about it. "Having IVF was hard but we feel so lucky the girls have come along. I think it’s important to be honest about everything to do with how they got here," she told OK! Magazine.
Lucy with her three daughters (Twitter)Sadly, in 2019, Lucy and football coach Rudi announced their separation after 12 years together. A statement at the time read: "Lucy Pargeter has confirmed she has separated from her long-term partner, Rudi Coleano, and, while no longer together, their main priority is raising their three daughters."
More recently Lucy has confirmed she has met a new man, although his identity remains a secret. In November 2022 she spoke about her fear that she would never find love again as a single mum and her excitement over meeting someone: "I’m in a new relationship now. Exclusive. Don’t say anything," she told the Heal Is Real podcast. "Massive fear for me being a single mother of three, possibly finding someone else to spend the rest of my life with and thinking, ‘oh my god, the first thing I’m going to have to say is I’ve got no t*ts. I used to have t*ts, so imagine me with t*ts, but now I’ve got no t*ts’."
Lucy was referring to her decision to have her breast implants removed in the same year she split from Rudi because they were making it difficult for her to breathe. After the op she told the Sun about her relief: "They are out. I’m as flat as a pancake, I look awful but feel good," she said. "When I woke up in recovery, the first thing I did was panic because I could breathe - I could take in a massive breath. I thought they were trying to give me too much oxygen – I panicked. I forgot what it was like to have a full lung of air. I mean, it’s amazing - I can breathe."
It wasn’t the first time the actress had experienced a cosmetic surgery emergency though. Four days after she first had the implants, she decided she was going out for the night and wouldn't wear a bra. But disaster struck when the incision area split open.
"I got home, got in the bath and put my cream on that they used to give you for the scars, and my finger just disappeared inside my boob," she told the Heal is Real podcast. "I’d been out, and I’d been dancing all night and obviously it had split. I hadn’t felt a thing because the anaesthetic was still in there."
Lucy passed out when she realised what had happened but when she came to, a friend took her to her surgeon: "I held my t*t together going through Regent’s Park in London over the speed bumps, thinking ‘My boob’s going to fall out on the floor’," she continued. "Got to his office, he said ‘I’m cleaning the car, give me half an hour’. Then sewed me up without any anaesthetic and a whiskey. He said 'I’ve got nothing in the office, have a whiskey’."
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