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Lucy Pargeter’s lockdown anxiety

Lucy Pargeter has suffered with "massive anxiety" during the coronavirus pandemic.

The ‘Emmerdale’ actress – who plays Chas Dingle in the ITV soap – admitted lockdown has been tough, and she has relied on friends and colleagues after "a really stressful time with online shopping".

She said: "Luckily, no one close to me has been affected, but anxiety has been massive and the enormity of the whole situation.

"I got very sick of people posting all their achievements rather than the reality. Plus I have had a really stressful time with online shopping, as I couldn’t get a slot for six weeks.

"I was relying on my mates around me and my work mates to go shopping for me. I’m very staunch in that I wanted to provide and be in control of everything and asking for help from my friends just wasn’t me.

"To say to my friends, ‘I can’t go shopping and we have nothing in the house’, well it has been a massive learning curve."

The 43-year-old star – who has three daughters with ex Rudi Coleano – has hated the "monotony" of lockdown.

She explained: "I hated the film ‘Groundhog Day’ and I’ve hated the monotony of the whole thing.

"I went into it thinking I’m going to be really creative and do something different everyday.

"Then tiredness kicked in, and monotony kicked in, and missing my mates and then the massive weight of responsibility kicked in. I’m here on my own with my three kids.

"I’m used to being a single mum, but then you have to put into the mix that you’re actually trying to fight to keep your children alive and the fear of what would happen if I became sick."