The cover of this week's Yours magazine, on sale now
Lynda Bellingham woke up from her first bout of chemotherapy to the news Bernie Nolan had died.
The former 'Loose Women' star - who announced last week she has been diagnosed with cancer - is determined to fight the deadly disease and make a full recovery, but her confidence was knocked when she discovered the singer had lost her long and hard battle to breast cancer aged 52.
In a letter written to Yours magazine readers, Lynda, said: "When you hear the word cancer applied to yourself, you do initially think it's a death sentence - even though in my case it certainly isn't.
"And had I needed any reminder of how serious it can be, I woke up to face my first bout of chemotherapy discovering poor Bernie Nolan had died. I just felt so, so sad."
The 65-year-old actress - who is refusing to share what type of the disease she is suffering from - was particularly devastated by Bernie's passing after developing a close bond with her while starring alongside the singer and actress on 'The Bill' and 'Calendar Girls'.
She added: "I admired her enormously for her bravery, honesty and being such a fantastic performer. A great role model for us all."
The full letter appears in this week's Yours magazine, on sale now.
Tagged in Lynda Bellingham Bernie Nolan