Bronagh Waugh treated Joe Tracini to a lap dance while he was in rehab to help cheer him up.
The former ‘Hollyoaks’ actress – who played Cheryl Brady in the Channel 4 soap from 2009 to 2013 – has recalled visiting her co-star (Dennis Savage) in The Priory when he was going through a "particularly dark time", and while she joked her antics looked "pathetic" because she had a slipped disc, she made him laugh.
In a series of tweets, Bronagh wrote: "I’ll never forget visiting @joetracini in rehab with our @EmmettScanlan after a particularly dark time 4 him & being at a total loss of what 2do 2 help him or stop him.I made him placards of 10 reasons why we loved him & he shouldn’t kill himself 2 #ToyStory #YouveGotAFriendInMe
"And then I did the Workd’s worst lip synch lap dance (fully clothed) & hobbling because of my bad back to #NaughtyByNature ‘s #Sunshine just to try & make him laugh…
"It worked. Because it was pathetic. I was pathetic. Hobbling around with a slipped disc rapping profanities about female labia being like kittens & sunshine…but he laughed. I laughed. Scan laughed. And we loved hard. Because what else can you do…?
PS. I’m never lap dancing for you in The Priory ever again…I’m WAY too old!! (sic)"
Joe – who recently opened up about suffering from suicidal thoughts – replied: "And it will never, ever move from my top 3 most beautiful things that have ever happened to me. (sic)"
Bronagh is "so glad" Joe is "still here" after he tried to take his own life six years ago, and she has called for the 30-year-old star to be given his own sitcom.
She wrote: "I for one am so f**king glad our Joe is still here, still battling on, fighting the fight, showing up, doing the work & talking about it. That’s all we can do. As Joey said…’life is just a series of moments’ this too shall pass.
I love you Joe….
And I’m so buckin’ glad & happy you’re still in my life.
Now can you stop fannying around & write this bloody book & someone give him his BUCKIN’ SITCOM?!?!?!
K???! Xxxxxx (sic)"
Bronagh has encouraged others to make their friends laugh if they are "struggling" with life.
She tweeted: "If you know your friend is struggling and you don’t know what to do…that’s ok. Just show up. Be a nerd. Make them laugh. Make a d**k out of yourself because that dark moment for them will pass…for a time. And then they can keep on keeping on…hopefully.
The road is long & winding and there is no quick fix solution but it’s so important we talk to each other. Show up & be there for each other. Listen. (sic)"
Joe got emotional on live TV this week while discussing his demons, admitting his brain sometimes tells him that taking his own life is the "best and only option" he has.
He said: "Something I’ve learnt is life is a stack of moments and you can only ever see one at a time, and sometimes my brain tells me that taking my life is the best and only option I’ve got.
"I know this happens to a lot of people.
"I think the important thing to tell myself and anybody else is that in that moment you might feel like that and you might feel like that in the next one, but there will always be a moment where you won’t feel like that.
"So please wait for it."
Bronagh Waugh’s rehab lap dance for Joe Tracini
