Lesley says Brenda brain tumour plot has been a hit

Emmerdale star Lesley Dunlop has revealed the incredibly positive response viewers have had to her character's brain tumour storyline.

The actress, who plays Brenda Walker in Emmerdale, was surprised at how many people the storyline had resonated with.

Lesley said: "There's been a lot of thanks from people to Emmerdale for doing this storyline in order to highlight that it's actually more common than we think.

"I didn't realise how common this was and how much the people I work with have been through it. There's a cameraman whose mother had a brain tumour, and he was able to help me with the zoning out bits that I knew nothing about."

But the actress admitted she felt a lot of responsibility to do the story justice. She said: "As an actress, first and foremost, to get it right - to physically get it right for people who've been through this, I think it's important.

"It was very emotionally draining and it drew on a lot of experiences of my own, of loss and of illness.

"It was very draining to take home and it's hard to come in and out of that."