Emmerdale actress Natalie J Robb reveals she was homeless and slept in a car after moving to London
The soap favourite lifted the lid on the darker side of fame as she made her mark on the acting world
EMMERDALE star Natalie J Robb won the hearts of thousands as heartbroken Moira Dingle following her onscreen daughter's death - but off camera life hasn't been a bed of roses either.
The Scot, 42, has opened up about the hardship she faced as a budding actress when she moved to London and admitted she was forced to sleep in a CAR until she got herself set up.
She confessed: "I was OK, but I lived in my car for a couple of weeks when I first came down.
"I was due to stay with my cousin but he had another lodger meaning I couldn't stay straight away, so I just slept in my car.
"I didn't mind – I just thought it was all part of the experience."
Natalie, who is now a firm fans' favourite on the Yorkshire soap, added to the: "I looked up to the sky to ask the universe and thought I'm going to do this and follow this dream and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work but, back me up, will you?"
Last year, Emmerdale viewers watched behind their tissues after the emotional scenes showing grief-stricken mum Moira’s raw emotion following the sudden passing of her daughter, Holly.
Blonde Holly, who was dating recovering drug addict Jai Sharma (Chris Bisson), passed away in a dramatic episode which saw her lying motionless in a bed after a sudden drug overdose.
Opening up on the difficulty of the scenes to ITV daytime show This Morning, Natalie said: “As a mother I was dreading filming it.
“That’s why I chose to play it without being too hysterical, it’s real life, it happens to people.”
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Meanwhile the Dingle family was at the heart of the action again during last night's Emmerdale.
Fans were left stunned following the shock death of Joanie Dingle, after Lisa told her she would be reigniting her relationship with Joanie's husband, Zak.
Shortly before the soap’s advert break, Joanie was seen sitting back in her car seat and letting out a low whine as she suffered a sudden heart attack.
It came minutes after Lisa told her she had reignited her love with Zak and the out-of-the-blue incident prompted fans to take to Twitter to express their amazement at the unexpected plot twist.
One wrote: "They kept that quiet didn't they? Joanie's died ," while another commented: "So Joanne just randomly died?! That was unexpected! Just released from prison, 10 mins later dead."
Another posted: "What the hell joanies dead?" followed by two worried Emoji faces while one simply wrote: "Didn't see that coming."
One viewer revealed: "Didn't see that coming! Another shocker."