Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) is facing a difficult time ahead in Emmerdale as she’s given a diagnosis of cervical cancer.

Already living with a condition called Fanconi anaemia, which could mean she’ll have a shorter than average lifespan, Sarah has made the decision to have IVF so she can become a mother.

She previously thought she was pregnant, but while his turned out to be a false alarm it left her realising that she desperately wants to be a mum before it’s too late. She decided to look into having IVF, and it was at an appointment about the IVF that a possible problem was spotted.

‘The doctor sees some inflamed cells and she gets called back in for a biopsy. She then gets called to an appointment and is told she’s got cancer,’ Katie Hill told us.

‘She’s trying to stay positive, she thinks everything is going to work out. She’s obviously dealt with cancer growing up, she’s been through so much she’s quite good at handling stuff like that as much as it hurts to hear.

‘She takes the route of “I’m going to focus on having this baby and the IVF,” so that’s where she’s at with her mental state. She just wants to have this baby and get the cancer out the way.’

Another reason that Sarah doesn’t want to confide in anyone is that she knows that they would advise her to forget about the IVF, Katie explained:

‘Deep down she knows she’s not doing the right thing by not telling anyone because she knows if she did, they’d say hold off on the IVF now, let’s sort the cancer. But she doesn’t want to do that, so for now she’s happy to keep it to herself.’

Having been at Emmerdale for eight years, Katie reflected that she has grown up on the show.

‘It’s funny because when I came into the show, I was the kid on set,’ she recalled. ‘I wouldn’t get involved in all the adult conversations and now Emma [Atkins] is my best friend. She’s a 50-year-old woman and is one of my bestest friends.

‘I know we all say it’s like a family, but it really is. If I ever need help with anything I’ve got someone to turn to. It’s been nice. The Dingle WhatsApp group chat, that’s always going off. It’s called 12 Angry Dingles after that storyline with Lydia (Karen Blick). We’re a really tight bunch and I adore them all.’

There are two Emmerdale legends that Katie would love to see back in the Dales, however, and that’s Charley Webb and Kelvin Fletcher, who played Sarah’s parents Debbie Dingle and Andy Sugden. Charley left the show in 2021.

‘Funnily enough I never met Kelvin Fletcher,’ Katie told us, as Kelvin was last seen in the show in 2016.