Former Hollyoaks star Lysette Anthony has opened up about her secret battle with Parkinson’s disease.

The 58-year-old actress has been living with the condition for the past six years and admitted she kept her illness private over fears she would lose her job.

The actress has a public falling out with Channel 4 bosses which led to her losing her job on the soap and has now decided to break her silence.

She told OK: "I decided to, well, brave it and speak out now because there is no cure and I need to be a part of the cure, but also because my symptoms have got worse."

Hollyoaks actress Lysette Anthony breaks silence over Parkinson's diagnosis

Lysette revealed how her condition has got progressively worse since first being diagnosed at 52 admitting she was left fearing for her life two months ago.

She said: "At Christmas it was so bad. One of the symptoms you can get is muscle freezing. You cannot move but then you just get this rush of smoke sound inside your ears and then you fall and knock yourself down. I thought that was it."

She added: "I couldn’t get off the couch. I was so frightened in every sense. I couldn’t stand. I had to crawl to the loo – it took 45 minutes just to get there and it’s only around the corner."

The mum of one decided to speak out in the hope of making a documentary to raise awareness of the condition.

"I’ve decided to speak out because there’s no cure, and I want to be part of the cure,” she said.

“But looking at Billy Connolly and the work of Michael J Fox, who both have Parkinson’s, I want to step up to the plate.

"I would not swap my world now, although I could do without the pain. Now that I’ve accepted it, it’s such a relief not to have to hide it anymore."