Amanda Mealing’s legal representative has revealed that the Casualty and Holby City actress is battling blood cancer.
Details of the 57-year-old’s diagnosis come after she was suspended from driving for 22 months and must pay £485 after while high on cocaine, her vehicle drifted across the road and collided with an oncoming car last January.
The incident left crash victim Mark Le Sage, 58, needing to give up his career as a theatre nurse due to his injuries.
Mealing, known for playing Connie Beauchamp on TV, was said to be dealing with the traumatic deaths of her father, her best friend and her dog when she took the Class A drug the night before the smash.
Now, her solicitor Edward Lloyd has revealed the serious health issue which also took its toll on her mentally at the time of the accident.
He said: "Unfortunately it came at a terrible moment in her life.
"She tells me she was undergoing divorce proceedings from her husband, which was extremely upsetting. Within a short space of time her father had died, she had to put her dog down and her best friend had died. So all of these events occurred. It was deeply, deeply upsetting."
Lloyd continued: "She is, however, a lady who has significant health problems. She suffers from blood cancer, so she's not working at the present time."
Speaking to MailOnline, the other motorist, Mr Le Sage, revealed how Mealing came out of nowhere.
“I was very lucky I was in such a substantial car—I very nearly took my motorbike out that day,” Le Sage said. He added: “I just came around the corner and 'bang,' it was right in front of me, and she hit the front corner of my car.”
In a statement read out in court, Le Sage revealed he could no longer work as a theatre nurse because the collision had severely impacted his motor skills.
Mealing, who last appeared on Casualty in 2021, tested positive for cocaine and benzoylecgonine following the incident, police confirmed.
