Sarah Lancashire, best known for her role in Happy Valley, has spoken about the challenges of menopause she faced while receiving a special recognition award at the National Television Awards last week. The 58-year-old actress revealed she needed two hidden fans to combat hot flushes during the ceremony.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Lancashire said her friend helped her hide the fans from cameras. 'I brought one of my closest friends with me and his job was to keep an eye out for the cameras and if it looked like they were going to pan across to us, then he’d let me know so I could hide them,' she explained.
Lancashire also described experiencing brain fog, recounting an incident in a supermarket where she forgot what she had gone to buy. 'It just comes over you all of a sudden,' she said. 'I can’t remember things that happened 30 years ago either.'
The actress is the latest public figure to speak openly about menopause. Davina McCall previously said she thought she would have to stop broadcasting due to brain fog, while Kathy Burke revealed she had 'pretty dark, suicidal thoughts' linked to menopause. Lancashire, who is taking HRT, noted it had not been working well for her.
