Fans of ITV1’s Emmerdale have been gripped by the emotional storyline of Alice Wilson, played by Ursula Marsden, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma whilst pregnant.

Last week viewers saw her give birth to son Samson and finally she started chemotherapy for the first time. She had delayed treatment until after the birth of Samson - to the dismay of her anxious fiancé Sam Dingle.

In a bid to take control against the cancer, she shaved off her hair before it started falling out.In real life, Ursula, a member of the Leukaemia Research’s infamous celebrity running team – the TVTimes Asics Banana Army – also has a personal link to cancer. Her 34-year-old husband Howard has lost two relatives to the blood cancer.

"My husband's grandfather and uncle both died of it and it's awful. His granddad was elderly but his uncle was only in his 50s, it came in a very aggressive form. 

"It's a horrible coincidence that his family have been affected by it and now I am in contact with it through the show."

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