EastEnders icon Cheryl Fergison on how life paralleled Heather Trott's as she spiralled into debt

Cheryl Fergison, famously known for her role as Heather Trott in EastEnders, appeared on This Morning with Cat Deeley and Dermot O'Leary to discuss her experience of falling into debt and having to rely on a food bank.

Having portrayed Heather Trott on BBC's EastEnders for five years, an iconic character, Cheryl faced hardships this year that led her to seek help from a food bank, resonating with her character's potential struggles she shared with the ITV presenters: "My life sort of paralleled her a little bit in some things, including things like going to the food bank, that's the sort of thing that Heather would have done, I'm sure."

Continuing her reflection on life imitating art, she said: "So, it's weird to know that what I portrayed is something that is happening to millions. It shouldn't be happening but it is."

Cheryl then recounted her emotional first visit to the food bank, describing the helpers as "little angels" who comforted her with tea and understanding as she broke down: "They were little angels... It didn't matter if they knew me or not, they never, ever showed it. They sat me down, gave me a cup of tea [and] I started sobbing."

She delved into the profound impact of this reality check, expressing surprise at finding herself in a situation often reported on TV: "I sobbed and thought, 'Why am I here? I've been on the television, I've been in people's front rooms but I am actually here now'. You hear these stories, and I've reported on these stories, and I've done these stories, but I am actually here now."

She concluded by appreciating the thoughtfulness of the food bank volunteers, who even ensured her dog was fed: "Then they filled my bags up with food, and they asked me if I had an animal... I said, 'Yeah, I've got a dog, Rosie' and they said, 'Okay, well she needs to eat, so we'll get some food'.."

"I think this is the bit that got me, I was sat there with a cup of tea, with four or five bags of food and the lady said, 'Oh, we've got all these tins of Celebrations and chocolates - what we'll do is we put some in bags, and you can go home and have a cup of tea, because there's tea bags in there."

Discussing her financial struggles, Cheryl said: "I think that's a perception for everybody, that when you're on the telly, you're earning loads of money all the time, and it's great.

"I was earning a good wage there [but] I've always lived in council estates, so I'd never really had money. We'd never really been brought up with money, we'd never managed money very well as a family.

"When I was in EastEnders, you suddenly get this money, and I thought, 'I'm going to treat my friends and my family to holidays and things that they never had'... It was kind of frittered away."