Former 'Coronation Street' actress Liz Dawn has spoken about how her life has changed since she was diagnosed with emphysema five years ago.
The 68-year-old actress told ITV's 'Tonight' that she was told by doctors that she only had one third of her lung capacity left.
Dawn, who played Vera Duckworth in 'Coronation Street', recently quit the show due to ill health.
She said: "I used to go to Granada and I used to go in the dressing room, and I'd be really breathless before I even did anything."
"And I got that bad, at the end that instead of somebody knocking on the door and saying: 'It's your scene', I used to go on a scene earlier and sit on the Duckworths' set."
Dawn also said that she quit smoking after her diagnosis: "When you're addicted to smoking it's very hard to stop... I couldn't answer the phone unless I lit up."
The actress said that she regretted smoking around non-smokers: "I mean there are a lot of non-smokers in 'Coronation Street' that I have stood next to and smoked. Must have been awful mustn't it?"
Dawn's doctor Professor Ashley Woodcock said: "Liz came to me about five years ago really pretty desperate."
"At that point she could walk just a couple of yards... she was in a really bad way."
"Stopping her smoking was really critical and she did that... which has been great because she wouldn't be here now... if she hadn't stopped"
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