Ex-Coronation Street star Victoria Ekanoye has breast cancer

Victoria Ekanoye also played Rachel in The Royals

Former Coronation Street star Victoria Ekanoye is to have a double mastectomy following a breast cancer diagnosis.

The actress, 39, who played Angie Appleton in the ITV soap between 2018 and 2019, said she found a lump in her left breast while feeding her baby son.

Two doctors gave her the all-clear but she sought a third opinion, and cancerous cells were found in her milk ducts.

"I almost feel like having Theo and breastfeeding him has saved me," Ekanoye told OK! magazine.

She also said the death of Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding from breast cancer in September also made her "determined" to find out the cause of her lump.

“We’re the same age. It was really alarming for me, as it was for everyone," Ekanoye said. "And so sad. Really sad.

“If anything it made me determined to get to the bottom of things with my health.”

'Overwhelmed and scared'

With a history of breast cancer in her family - her mother was diagnosed at 41 and her sister also at 39 - Ekanoye sought medical advice quickly.

She said that after having a traumatic birth and becoming a new parent with her partner Jonny Lomas, the diagnosis was a lot to take on.

“I feel a bit overwhelmed and I’m scared because, as optimistic as the outlook is, you can’t predict the future," she said.

“I just want to be here. I’ve got a life to live and a family to love and look after.”

The actress also has sickle cell anaemia, so will need a full body blood exchange the week before her surgery, which is planned for early December.

Ekanoye said doctors hope the double mastectomy will be enough to get rid of the cancer as long as it's not invasive, otherwise she will need chemotherapy.