Former Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell, who is living with terminal lung cancer, has shared her defiant outlook in an inspirational television interview, telling viewers of ITV's Lorraine: "I'm alive until the point I am not. And that to me is the key, not to surrender to something else."
The 53-year-old, who played Zoe Tate in Emmerdale for 16 years, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in October 2016 after experiencing breathlessness and swelling in her abdomen. A GoFundMe page helped to raise over £50,000 for the mother-of-two to undergo treatment in Germany.
We couldn't be more inspired following @LeahBracknell's visit this morning. What an incredible woman ⭐ https://t.co/WnxYpZ2HSV pic.twitter.com/QpicivPe8z
— Lorraine on ITV (@ITVLorraine) December 20, 2017
"I think I just decided, it's still my life," Bracknell told presenter Lorraine Kelly on Wednesday.
"But other people were writing me off quicker and even people close to me, they'd come and - I don't mean to be unkind - but people were embarrassed, or didn't know what to say."
Bracknell said that "the one thing that nobody wants is pity".
"I can't think that anybody, anywhere wants to be pitied. It's like all of your power has been taken away, and I'm very much about how can we hold on to our power in order to deal with hospitals, doctors, people who have qualifications - it's intimidating."
Bracknell said she does not worry about the "minutiae of life" and has an "attitude of gratitude" for being alive and "simple, simple, little things".
"It's obviously part of one's life, whether it's cancer or another disease or chronic condition, but the point is, it's life. It's living," she explained.
"Even when it's a diagnosis like I had and they literally said there are no options, I am still alive."
"And I'm not going to embrace anything else, full stop," Bracknell continued. "I'm alive until the point I am not. And that to me is the key, not to surrender to something else."
Bracknell played Zoe Tate in Emmerdale from 1989 to 2005 and was at the centre of some of the soap's biggest storylines.
These included raising awareness of LGBT issues after her character was cast as a lesbian and later her portrayal of suffering a schizophrenic breakdown.
