Linda Lusardi is suffering from "distressing" hair loss following her battle with coronavirus.
The 61-year-old actress and her husband Sam were both struck down by the virus earlier this year, and even though she’s been free from the illness for five months, she’s still feeling some nasty side effects.
She explained: "Sam’s had heart palpitations quite badly, and he’s under a cardiologist at the moment. They can’t see anything specifically wrong.
"I’ve had some hair loss which has been a bit distressing. I still haven’t got the energy I had before although I’m getting there. Every week’s a bit better."
Linda says she’s worried about the long term effects of the virus, as there’s currently no telling how the illness could damage the body in the future.
She added: "It’s quite frightening when they’re talking about the long-term effects and how it can damage your kidneys and your liver and so on. But I’m just glad I’m here."
And it’s not just the physical implications that have been taking their toll, as Linda admits the "mental trauma" of the health scare has impacted everyone in her family, including her two children – Lucy, 24, and Jack, 21.
She said: "The mental trauma of it has touched us all even though it was me who was sick. My children had to deal with the fact they might lose both of us and then me, and the mental effect it’s had on us has been very traumatic really.
"I think we’re still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder a little bit."
The family have opted against attending counselling sessions set up by the NHS, but are supporting one another through the tough times.
Speaking to The Sun, Linda said: "You all have moments where we have a bit of a breakdown about it all. We just support each other through it. At the moment we’ve not all had it on the same day so we’re all right."