JO: I Want to make cancer plot real to life.

Tanya will get a shock next week - Photo: BBC

EastEnders star Jo Joyner has revealed that she is keen to make her cervical cancer storyline as 'true to life' as possible.

The actress's character Tanya Jessop will be diagnosed with the illness later this month.

Joyner told All About Soap: "I've talked to a lot of survivors of cervical cancer through a charity called Jo's Trust. They have a great website, which is very informative and has helped me a lot.

"It's a privilege to be given any sort of serious storyline and a real responsibility. I'm going to make it as honest and true to life as I possibly can."

Tanya receives the worrying results of a smear test just as she's about to tell husband Greg that she's ditching him to return to her ex Max Branning.

Asked whether it makes Tanya question her decision, Joyner replied: "Definitely. She remembers her mum looking at her dad with pity [when he was ill] and she'd hate that happening to her. She has some serious thinking to do about her future now."

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