Articles
Viewers will see me grieving for Eilidh on-screen
Says Simone Lahbib
By MARC DEANIE
Published: 27 Jun 2011
ACTRESS Simone Lahbib fought back tears while filming her latest TV role - as she struggled to cope with the tragic death of her teenage niece from cancer.
Eilidh Brown, 15, passed away from Germ Cell cancer, a rare form of the disease, in March last year after a 13-month battle.
Stirling-born Simone has since helped to set up a memorial fund in Eilidh's name to raise cash and awareness of the condition.
The 46-year-old - famed for playing Wing Governor Helen Stewart in hit series Bad Girls - admitted she was in bits when she travelled to Connemara, Ireland, last year for ITV drama Single-Handed.
But she revealed how her stay in the West of Ireland with mum Jean and five-year-old daughter Skye helped them come to terms with their loss. Simone said: "It was the most awful time. Her loss devastated the family.
"We took it in turns caring for her and visiting, which meant spending a lot of time at the hospital with her, so after that, coming to Connemara felt very healing.
"It was also lovely for my mum, who came with me and Skye, because she had really been through it. It was a very soothing place to be."
Simone admitted the strain of her off-screen heartbreak will be visible to viewers when she stars as Gemma Burge in the Irish cop show's second season. It returns to ITV next month.
She said: "The whole experience of losing Eilidh and filming Single-Handed are linked forever in my mind and on film.
"I worried about taking on the job so soon. You can see it in my face in the early episodes - the bags under my eyes from late nights at the hospital and the lines on my face.
"But by the later episodes my face lightens up again, which I guess also fits in with the story and my character Gemma moving to a better place in her life."
Simone and Eilidh's parents, Gordon and Nicole, are using Eilidh's memorial fund to help other families affected by cancer.
Simone said: "We're aiming to build a holiday cottage in Scotland - a place where families with a child or young person undergoing treatment for cancer, or suffering bereavement, can go for a break.
"It is something my family did before Eilidh died - one last holiday together.
"It was a treasured experience and the inspiration for this fundraising campaign."
For more information, go to eilidhbrown.co.uk
© The Scottish Sun