Sophie Austin has become patron of children's hospice Little Havens after a visit to the centre "really hit home".
Sophie Austin and Shayne Ward
The former 'Hollyoaks' actress and her fiance, ex-'Coronation Street' actor Shayne Ward, visited Little Havens Hospice in Essex - where children or young people with life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses are cared for - and she admitted coming face-to-face with the kids at the hospice made her realise how "vital" it is.
Sophie - who has 12-month-old daughter Willow with Shayne - said: "Being a parent it really hit home how vital places like Little Havens are.
"I was surprised that it is the only place in Essex wholly dedicated to caring for youngsters with life-limiting illnesses and supporting families for as long as they are needed.
"I am really pleased to be the charity's new patron."
Sophie - who played Lindsey Butterfield on the Channel 4 soap for three years - expected the day to be "sad", but the reality was the "absolute opposite".
She added to Echo News: "It was an absolute pleasure to meet the families at Little Havens.
"Their stories were incredibly inspirational and I thoroughly enjoyed my day chatting with the children, parents and staff at the hospice.
"I learnt so much about what hospice care really is.
"I think you just expect it to be sad, but Little Havens was the absolute opposite - it was just full of love, laughter and joy."
Sophie previously admitted she will "forever be in awe" of Shayne after he revisited "tragic loss" to play his character Aidan Connor's suicide storyline in 'Coronation Street', for which he teamed up with charities CALMzone and Samaritans.
She wrote on Instagram: "So here we are at the end of this long journey , one that I'm so so proud of you for taking . At first it was such a hard decision and road to face knowing how important this story was for us as a family and for so many others. You were scared as you wanted to do it justice ! Well you did my darling , you listened to stories/ experiences , learnt , revisited your own memories and tragic loss and worked hard to make this story the truest it could be and to hopefully help others and get people taking . I will forever be in awe of you and your amazing talent as an actor .Thankyou my love xx @shaynetward @samaritanscharity @calmzone (sic)"
Tagged in Shayne Ward