Ex-Emmerdale star Malandra Burrows says dog discovered her cancer

Former Emmerdale star Malandra Burrows has told how she discovered she had breast cancer – after her dog raised the alarm.

The 56-year-old, who played Kathy Glover on the Yorkshire soap, said she was at her home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, when her border terrier, Teddy, appeared to notice that something was wrong.

Appearing on ITV's Lorraine on Wednesday, she said: "It was so bizarre.

"We were watching a movie together and she literally wanted to lie on my chest. She’d never done that before – nuzzling, sort of headbutting me – and this one night she kind of swiped me so hard with her head it really really hurt.

"So that same evening, before I went to bed, I checked myself and just thought, ‘Oh, she must’ve bruised me -  it’s really painful’. And that’s when I felt this little lump. I thought it was a swollen gland."

• Malandra speaks to Lorraine on ITV

The actress revealed last month that she had a stage three tumour removed and is facing six months of chemotherapy after her diagnosis in February.

At the time she said she had "gone into combat mode".

But, speaking to Lorraine, she said she felt "blessed" to have Teddy by her side.

"I was one of those women who didn’t have any symptoms, and without that I just dread to think where I’d be now. It’s astonishing and I’m so thankful to her." she said.

And she added that her time on the show I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here had steeled her to face her disease head-on.

"I’ve been in the jungle with Ant and Dec, I can do anything," she said. "I’m going to fight this. And that’s what I’m going to do."