Coronation Street star Faye Brookes reveals fears her nine-year-old brother would die during leukaem
CORONATION Street star Faye Brooks has opened up on the harrowing moment she thought her brother was going to die following the "terrible" news he had leukaemia.
The actress, who plays lesbian Kate Connor on the cobbles, was just 14 when her family was thrown into turmoil after her younger brother Jack - then aged nine - was told he had cancer.
Faye, 29, has revealed her much-loved sibling then had to adapt to a life spent in and out of hospital as he started chemotherapy to target the cancer which begins in the bone marrow, before moving on to infiltrate white blood cells.
She admitted the shock medial news "changed everything" in their "very close family.
Talking of the hard times before Jack was given the all-clear, she told the Express: "Our lives were taken over by hospitals and chemotherapy. My parents tried to protect me from it as much as possible but my mum was always at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital staying with Jack and my dad wanted to be there all the time too.
"It was caught quickly and he had a bone marrow transplant.
"But it was a terrible time, we thought at first he was going to die."
Faye, who is dating singer Gareth Gates, added: "We were all devastated. It was horrible to see him lose so much muscle and with his face puffy from the steroids and medication."
During jack's recovery, she revealed her family relied on the support of Macmillan Cancer nurses to look after her mum while her dad returned to work on an oil rig.
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Jack, now 25, has thankfully been in remission for seven years.
Still super-close to her younger brother, Faye added: "We have the same circle of friends which is wonderful and since Jack works in a restaurant and now delivers food to the Coronation Street set, I see him every day."
Family life has clearly been on Faye's mind of late.
Earlier this week, she exclusively told The Sun she is feeling broody - and can't wait to have a baby with Pop Idol star Gareth.
She told us: "I do get broody. I would like kids by the time I am 35, but when the time is right, the time is right.
"Me and Gareth are focused on our careers right now. We have plenty of time, although I am actually 30 this year. Everybody has said to me that it was the best year of their life, so I’m going to relish it."
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