Emmerdale star Oliver Farnworth gave a moving update on his partner and EastEnders actress Samantha Womack’s breast cancer experience during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday.
The 51-year-old former soap star announced in December 2022 that she was no longer breast cancer-free, five months after her diagnosis.
She was receiving radiation therapy at the time ‘to destroy any remaining cells’ and was on ‘ongoing treatment’ as prevention.
Now her actor boyfriend Oliver, 41, has revealed she is doing “incredibly well” and is “in awe” of her “strength and determination”.
While chatting to Christine Lampard on ITV’s morning show, the soap star blew a kiss to his partner through the screen and said: “She’s doing incredibly well. I have to give her a big shout out and wish her lots of love.
Emmerdale star Oliver Farnworth gave a heartfelt update on his partner and EastEnders actress Samantha Womack’s breast cancer journey during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday
The former soap star, 51, revealed she was no longer breast cancer-free in December 2022, five months after her diagnosis (the couple pictured above in 2019)
“She’s just been so strong and determined through it. I mean, I just thought, when she got her diagnosis she had no symptoms, it was a routine checkup and she just felt something, but she couldn’t physically feel anything.
“We were very lucky because they discovered a fairly serious form of cancer and were able to treat it quite quickly.”
He spoke candidly about her treatment: ‘But then she had the chemo and the radio, and they were her last radio sessions and she was determined to finish the programme she was on at the time – The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe.
‘And that coincided with our move to Spain. So she had radiotherapy, moved and did a West End show – and just handled it bravely and strongly, with such dignity and righteous determination. I was in awe of her.’
Oliver and Christine concluded the section by raising awareness of this condition for women and urging them to look out for any abnormalities in their breasts.
The TV presenter noted: ‘A tough time, but as you say, she was built to deal with it because she was very busy at the time.
‘That’s why it’s so important to continue to discuss our Change And Check campaign, which started here on this show a few years ago. I know Samantha will be very passionate about that.’
Oliver concluded the interview with a plea: “If you get a message for a routine mammogram or something like that — just go.”
Speaking to Christine Lampard on ITV’s morning show, the soap star blew a kiss to his partner through the screen and enthused: ‘She’s doing incredibly well’
Oliver said: ‘We were very lucky because they found quite a high grade of cancer and we were able to treat it quite quickly’
Oliver and Samantha started dating in 2019, the year after Samantha split from actor Mark Womack, 63, with whom she dated for 19 years and has two adult children.
In December 2022, Samantha spoke about her health OK! Magazine: ‘Now I am undergoing treatment while I am going back to work, as a preventative measure… We feel a lot better than before.
“My treatment for breast cancer is still ongoing. The surgery was quite difficult to recover from because it is quite sensitive when you have lymph nodes removed. There are some mobility issues in the beginning.”
She recalls: ‘The first round of chemotherapy was really tough, it was quite toxic,’ before adding: ‘I still have to have radiotherapy for a while to destroy any remaining cells.’
In November 2022, Samantha revealed that her breast cancer was discovered during a “random check-up” and said the disease had “attacked” her “femininity.”
Samantha told This Morning that she had not found a lump when she was diagnosed four months earlier. Her cancer was discovered at a random check-up, researchers said.
“It was really unbelievable because I didn’t find any lump and I didn’t feel unwell,” she explained.
‘There was a lot of illness amongst our friends and family and I thought I would just have a random check up and I had an ultrasound scan and there was a little shadow – at that point it could have been anything, a cyst… then I had further tests and that’s when that diagnosis came.’
Samantha and Oliver started dating in 2019, the year after Samantha split from fellow actor Mark Womack, 63, with whom she dated for 19 years and has two adult children
In November 2022, Samantha revealed that her breast cancer was discovered during a ‘random check’ and said the disease had ‘attacked’ her ‘femininity’
Samantha described herself as “very lucky” because the lump was less than 2cm and she was able to undergo breast-conserving surgery, which removed the piece of tissue and five lymph nodes.
She went on to describe breast cancer as a disease that “attacks” your “body” and your “femininity” and encouraged other women to get tested.
She said, ‘Breast cancer is a strange thing. It attacks your body and your femininity, your hair, your breasts, all these beautiful women of all ages.
‘So many women should get themselves checked in their thirties. That is an important message to also convey and get checked.’
She described the battle against cancer as “scary” but praised the treatments now available to treat the disease.