Tearful Lisa Riley tells of anaesthesia fears

Loose Women panelist Lisa Riley broke down in tears as she told how "petrified" she is to be put under anaesthetic for weight loss surgery, as she fears she will not wake up.

While on the daily ITV programme, the former Emmerdale actress explained exactly what she will undergo, including the removal of excess skin.

Riley, 40, thanked viewers for their support and said it will "get me through the next five weeks".

She said: "People have judged me and said what they want to say but, excuse the pun, I've become thick skinned.

"I've got to go into this with my eyes wide open but I'm petrified about it, look I'm shaking, about going under the anaesthetic."

She said she had "tormenting dreams" about her health, adding: "It's the ultimate fear that I'm not going to wake up."

Her co-star Anne Diamond told her to not think "morbid" thoughts before the surgery.

Riley, who has been under anaesthetic for a tonsil operation, said of the doctors: "I know, as I walk into that hospital, that they're all there because they're brilliant, they're the unsung heroes."