Coronation Street star Natalie Amber has revealed her disability has ‘changed her for the better’ as she continues to support Rob Burrows’ charity.
The actress, 45, joined the ITV soap as Motor Neurone Disease sufferer Shelly Rossington last year, but her time on the cobbles was short-lived as her pal Paul Foreman (Peter Ash), who was also diagnosed with the same condition, was informed of her death.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a rare condition which affects the brain and nerves and is eventually fatal.
Symptoms, which get worse over time, include muscle weakness, twitches, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing.
Natalie learned more about the devastation the disease causes through her character’s storyline, and since leaving the cobbles, she has continued to campaign to raise awareness of the condition.
Coronation Street star Natalie Amber has revealed her disability has ‘changed her for the better’ as she continues to support Rob Burrows’ charity
The actress joined the ITV soap as Motor Neurone Disease sufferer Shelly Rossington last year, with her character passing away after befriending suffered Paul Foreman (Peter Ash)
Natalie, who played Shelly on the soap for two months, revealed to The Mirror: ‘My disability has changed me for the better.’
‘I’ve had a bigger passion in me to try to help and make change for people and after playing Shelly I wanted to do (even) more. My disability has given me much more empathy.’
When Natalie was 35, she fell on stage while performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
A slipped disc penetrated her spinal cord and she ended up spending three years in hospital.
However, she returned to work as a disabled actress in 2017 and has previously had roles in Silent Witness, Life, ITV drama Paranoid and Netflix hit Fool Me Once.
The actress confessed to The Mirror that it was much tougher to get auditions after her accident, but even when she won roles, she sometimes experienced prejudice on set.
She recalled: ‘The attitude was horrendous and the way they treated me was quite belittling, at auditions, I’d be told bluntly ‘No, your character wouldn’t be in a chair’.’
However, the actress claimed she decided to do an ‘experiment’ to receive auditions which included not mentioning that she was in a wheelchair.
Natalie learned more about the devastation the disease causes through her character’s storyline, and since leaving the cobbles, she has campaigned to raise awareness
The star also admitted to The Mirror that people could often be ‘unpleasant’ or ‘patronising’ on set due to her disability, however her cast were on hand to help
She also admitted that if she phoned ahead and asked if the audition was accessible, there would be a ‘deadly silence’ on the other end.
Before her character’s death in the ITV soap, she had emotional scenes with Peter Ash, 39, and Daniel Brocklebank, 44, who plays Paul’s partner Billy Mayhew.
According to The Mirror, the pair went ‘above and beyond’ to help her, however, not everyone she encountered on a set had an open mind.
The star admitted that people could often be ‘unpleasant’ ‘patronising’ and ‘impatient’ and never asked if she needed any help.
Natalie’s health problems began after she joined a theatre company in America in 2010.
During her time there she suffered four separate falls and continued to work through the pain, but the pain eventually became so bad that she could barely walk.
The star then revealed that she had to have a range of spinal operations over four years in an attempt to repair her ruptured disk and had to replace two discs with prosthetic ones.
She also confessed that her last operation in 2014 was not so ‘straightforward’ and she ended up spending three years in hospital.
According to The Mirror, Natalie now has no function in her left leg and the pain in her spine is so severe that she can’t put pressure through her right leg.
She also reportedly has neuropathic bowel and bladder problems and occasionally has to use a feeding tube.
Alongside acting Natalie works as access lead for the BAFTA award-winning TripleC organisation, which strives to create more opportunities for disabled, deaf and neurodivergent performers.
She also recently organised and participated in Roll and Raise for MND, an event to raise money for the MND Association, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and the Rob Burrow Centre.
The rugby star passed away last month at the age of 41, nearly five years after being diagnosed with the neurological condition.
Natalie has campaigned to raise funds for the Rob Burrow centre, after the rugby star’s death last month, five years he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (he is pictured in 2022)
