Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell’s heartbroken widower Jez says he watches old episodes of the soap to feel close to her

LEAH Bracknell's heartbroken widower Jez Hughes has revealed he watches old episodes of Emmerdale to feel close to her.

Leah, who tragically lost her battle with cancer last year, was best-known for playing the role of Zoe Tate in Emmerdale for 16 years before she married Jez

Jez explained on Loose Women today: "It helps me connect with her. Yes that is before I knew her but obviously it meant so much to her.

"It feels important to connect with that part of her. There's moments, if there's an emotional scene in the programme I know those moments, I know those facial expressions, that touches somewhere deep inside me."

Leah was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2016 and went public to raise funds for an experimental drug treatment.

She revealed a year later the treatment had failed but Jez recalled she'd never pity herself.

He added: "She was incredible she never moaned she never said 'why me'."

Jez, who is a Shaman, said he has uses his religion to feel closer to Leah and takes comfort in believing her death isn't "the end".

He said: "It's a spiritual practise that's been around for 50,000 years. It says  everything is made of a spirit and there's not only this world but loads of other worlds.

"She's in a different world, it's a bit further away. It's more distant but it doesn't mean death is a defining end, it's a transition and I'm intensely grateful that I've got that, we do move on to different lives and places."

Leah, who was 55 at the time of her death, sadly lost her battle with lung cancer in September 2019.