Kym Marsh has opened up about being away from 'Morning Live' since the end of July - admitting she has been looking after her father, and has suffered anxiety attacks.
Kym Marsh and Gethin Jones
The former 'Coronation Street' star's dad Dave, 76, was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer in March, and the TV presenter has taken a step back from co-hosting the BBC daytime show with Gethin Jones to help look after him.
Speaking on 'Morning Live', she said: "I've been off and one of the reasons for that is I want to be here for my dad.
"I need to be here to support my family, and it was absolutely the right choice to make.
"I've been able to be around and be there when they've needed me, to visit more, and to spend time with them and help come to terms with everything."
But Dave has had some good news recently, as his PSA levels - which are often detected in high quantities when prostate cancer might be growing - have dramatically dropped following treatment.
He said: "On March 21st when they diagnosed me my PSA level was 1,159, and at this moment in time it's 2.2."
Despite the positive news, Kym has been suffering anxiety attacks in recent months.
She said: "I've suffered with anxiety attacks in the past, and they've come back with a vengeance.
"Life has been pretty difficult for me and trying to support my family, and working away was making that really difficult.
"There had to come that point where I just thought, 'I can't do this. I can't be away from my family. I need to make a choice here of what I'm going to do.'
"I started to avoid going places again, which was a sign for me that, 'This is not OK.'
"So I decided to step back from 'Morning Live ' to focus on myself and my nearest and dearest.
"I went to the doctor and I've started to have some help about my mental health. You've got to give yourself a break."
Kym admitted it is "not long" until she marries her fiance Scott Ratcliff, and she has been busy planning the couple's big day with her daughter Emilie Cunliffe.
Earlier this year, the former soap star - who played Michelle Connor in 'Corrie' - and her family were struck down with coronavirus, and she has revealed her youngest daughter Polly, 10, who she shares with ex Jamie Lomas, was affected so badly she feared she was going to die.
Kym explained: "The scariest thing was Polly. She had one night where her temperature shot up to nearly 40 degrees.
"It was really scary, because she was shivering, really cold, but absolutely burning hot.
"She was panicking, 'Am I going to die mummy?' "
However, Kym is now planning to "take each day as it comes" and not put pressure on herself to return to 'Morning Live'.
She added: "For now I'm just gonna take each day as it comes and not put any pressure on myself.
"So I'll check in on the 'Morning Live' family with my own family for now … but don’t be getting too comfortable without me Gethin, please.
"I'll see you on the dance floor at the wedding."
'Morning Live' airs Monday-Friday at 9.15am on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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