Former Casualty star Cathy Shipton will be swapping the hospital for the village life as she will be joining Hollyoaks as Lydia, the wife of Luke (Gary Lucy) and Zara Morgan’s (Kelly Condron) deceased uncle.
Casualty fans were left in tears when Cathy’s character, Lisa ‘Duffy’ Duffin, died from dementia in February last year, after playing the well-loved character intermittently for three decades.
Cathy will now be back on our screens starring in another dementia-based storyline in Hollyoaks.
In future scenes, Luke and Zara will be heartbroken as they learn that their uncle has died from FTD, also known as frontotemporal dementia, the most common form of dementia for people under the age of sixty.
Hollyoaks fans will know that Luke was diagnosed with the same condition, FTD Pick’s disease, nearly two years ago, which has rapid progression. At the time the doctor explained, "It's a problem with your brain cells, causing a decline in behaviour, speech, memory and movement. Your tendency towards impulsivity and irrationality over the last few months is likely to have been caused by the condition."
Luke has been going through a turbulent time on the soap, as his mother, Sue (Marian McLoughlin) also died last month from heart failure, which left him devastated.
After hearing the awful news about their uncle’s passing, the Morgan family are sure to get increasingly worried about his condition, especially for Luke’s girlfriend Cindy Cunningham (Stephanie Waring), who, in recent scenes, has become very worried that his condition is getting worse, due to his erratic behaviour.
This is when kind-hearted Lydia will offer Cindy some helpful advice and guidance on how to support a partner living with the disease.
Fans will be happy to see Cathy returning to our screens, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for her character and how she will help the Morgan’s and Cindy.
