EastEnders' Colin Salmon gives health update on wife after devastating illness

EastEnders star Colin Salmon has given a health update on his wife following her devastating illness in an interview with Good Morning Britain.

Colin's wife, Fiona Hawthorne, whom he's been married to for over 30 years, suffers from a rare condition called interstitial lung disease, which has left her dependent on an oxygen tank. The actor has been open about his wife's illness in the past, and the motivation behind joining EastEnders, revealing that he "couldn't be far from home" due to Fiona's condition.

The artist was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease prior to Colin joining the BBC soap in 2023. She was placed on steroids and received chemotherapy for the condition, which makes it difficult for oxygen to enter the bloodstream.

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Giving fans a positive update on GMB, while speaking about his one million minutes campaign on loneliness, Colin said: "Well, I think at the time I mentioned my wife was unwell, which has been resolved. My wife is well, she had the surgery, and I bought a house in America on the 1st of July, we're in a completely different place.

"Being in Walford, part of the plan for me was, I always see the BBC as the university of broadcasting, so there I can learn and there I may get the opportunity to start to go down that road with really great crews to make sure I get it right."

Elsewhere in the interview, the star teased that he has a 'really disturbing' storyline coming up on the BBC soap.

George was previously at the centre of a baby farming storyline, after he learned from his parents that they were actually paid to take him rather than adopt him of their own choosing, but he's now explained that something even more dramatic is on the cards.

"We've got another storyline you haven't seen before. I did the farming storyline. We have another storyline that is perfect for this time, it's real, it's really disturbing, and it's coming. I can't tell you what it is."

It's been a tough time for George and his family recently, after his split from his wife Elaine, who later decided to sell the pub.

After their split, George moved in with his brother Kojo. Spoilers for next week reveal that George is set to find Kojo in a bad way when it's revealed he's taken drugs.

It comes as it was revealed that Molly Rainford, who plays George's daughter Anna Knight, would be leaving the soap. It's not yet been revealed when or how she will be leaving the soap but could this storyline tie in with her exit?

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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