Laila Rouass had urine thrown at her by racist bullies during her childhood.
Laila Rouass
The 49-year-old actress - who plays Sahira Shah in 'Holby City' - has revealed she was picked on "every single day" and that she's also experienced vile racist abuse during her adult life.
Laila - who was born in London to an Indian mum and a Moroccan dad - said: "I got p*** thrown at me every single day.
"Just a couple of months ago some guy cut me up in his car and shouted: 'F*** off, you f****** P***.' It's terrible. If you tell people they don't believe it happens so often."
Laila recently returned to 'Holby City' following an eight-year hiatus and she loves that Sahira's ethnicity isn't a factor in the show.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "One thing I love is that Sahira’s ethnicity is never mentioned, even I’m not sure what it is."
The actress has been in a relationship with snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan since 2012.
Laila has a 13-year-old daughter called Inez from an earlier relationship, and she admits it's tough being part of a "blended" family.
She explained: "It’s a lie if people tell you that blended families are easy. He’s struggled with it, I’ve struggled with it and Inez has struggled with it. It takes hard work and you have to be honest with yourself and each other.
"That’s what we’ve had to do over the last nine years. We’ve had to work through things and now it’s much smoother."
The sports star has three children of his own - Taylor-Ann, 24, Lily, 14 and Ronnie, 13 - from an earlier relationship, and Laila initially questioned whether he was "step-dad material".
But she thinks they've managed to create a great family environment for their kids.
She said: "Initially I thought, 'This guy is not step-dad material.' He’s a fantastic dad to his kids, but he was struggling with his own relationship with his family. I thought he had too much on his plate, but now he and Inez have got the best relationship."
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