Former EastEnders star Melissa Suffield, who played Lucy Beale on the BBC soap, has said that Christmas will be very different this year after receiving a ‘bleak’ diagnosis
Former EastEnders star Melissa Suffield – who was known for her iconic role as Lucy Beale – has opened up about facing a challenging Christmas after being diagnosed with a life-altering condition last year. The actress, who graced the BBC soap from 2004 to 2010, shared that she has had a rough year dealing with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) following bouts of “horrible nausea” last December.
Speaking to The Sun, the 31-year-old revealed that, after around 40 appointments with her GP this year alone and spending more than five figures on tests and other medical costs, she has now sadly been given a diagnosis of SIBO and B12 deficiency.
Melissa went onto share her true feelings about the festive season this year and how she’ll be celebrating. She said: “For me, I would say about 80% of the joy comes from all the food. So I’m not feeling very festive this year.”
The actress continued and admitted she is ‘hopeful’ things will be different for her next Christmas: “But that’s mainly because I can’t eat loads of chocolate, biscuits and cake. So you know it is what it is. But I’m hopeful that next year I’ll be eating that Christmas dinner again.”
Due to her health hurdles, the TV star shared that her condition has led her to become the ‘healthiest’ she’s ever been. She elaborated: “This is on paper, this year I’ve been healthier than I’ve been ever in my life before.”
“The only thing I drink is water or water, with like ginger in it. I don’t eat anything that I haven’t like prepared fresh myself, really at home, unless I absolutely have to. While I’m out I can eat chips,” reports the Mirror.
Melissa revealed: “But even myself, like even chips at home and make them myself. I get an okay amount of sleep. I’ve got loads of like vitamins and minerals that my body needs going in, and I’ve never been sicker in my life.”
Despite having a clean bill of health on the surface, having not even had a sip of alcohol since her birthday on Christmas Eve last year, the mum-of-one described her reality as “very bleak”. As a body confidence advocate promoting self-love and raising awareness of SIBO in a bid to help others who are going through something similar, Melissa confessed that being “healthy on paper” doesn’t always translate to real life.
