Cherylee Houston hasn't been anywhere other than a hospital in 16 months.
Cherylee Houston
The 'Coronation Street' actress has been shielding since March 2020 due to a rare connective tissue disorder - which makes her vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus - and she has suffered from "recent complications", which have put her into a "different category".
Cherylee - who plays Izzy Armstrong in the ITV soap - said: "I'm in a slightly different category to Izzy, I'm slightly more vulnerable than she is.
"I've been shielding this whole time and I've had recent complications, which have put me into a different category.
"But what that meant was we had to be extremely careful at home.
"What was fantastic at 'Corrie' was they went, 'How can we tell that story?'
"Because it's happened to so many other disabled people over this time.
"I haven't been anywhere other than a hospital for 16 months now."
The 46-year-old star was able to return to 'Corrie' recently as she has been filming scenes in her own home, alongside her real-life partner Toby Hadoke, who has joined the soap as Izzy's neighbour.
The couple have been ultra-careful amid the coronavirus pandemic, so much so they have been sanitising all their food that comes through the door, and even their dog Bernard when he returns to the house after walks.
She said: "We sanitise everything that comes into the house.
"For quite a long time Bernard the dog was getting sprayed after his dog walks."
Speaking in a joint interview on 'This Morning', Toby added: "That's been my life, sitting in the porch spraying blueberries just to make sure that everything that comes in is sanitised."
Tagged in Cherylee Houston