Former EastEnders star Jill Halfpenny has described the death of her partner Matt Janes from a sudden heart attack as 'the hardest thing she's ever gone through'. The Gateshead-born actress, 50, lost Matt in 2017 when he was 43.
Halfpenny also lost her father to a similar attack when she was just four years old. Reflecting on her grief, she said she has tried to turn her emotions into something positive, learning that she can work through immense pain.
The actress discovered Matt had died after he failed to return home from a gym session. She arrived to find him lying on the studio floor; attempts to resuscitate him with a defibrillator were unsuccessful. She called her mother first, aware of triggering her own childhood grief.
Halfpenny, who also appeared in Byker Grove and Strictly Come Dancing, said Matt once made her promise she would find love again. She is now in a relationship with Ian McAllister, whom she described as her cheerleader.
The mother of one is currently starring in the psychological drama Girl Taken.
