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Nadia Sawalha was 'out of control' at start of lockdown due to concerns over father's health

Nadia Sawalha was deeply concerned about her parents' wellbeing at the beginning of lockdown.
Nadia Sawalha was deeply concerned about her parents' wellbeing at the beginning of lockdown.

Nadia Sawalha has described how she was left "freaking out" at the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown due to her concerns over her elderly father's health.

The Loose Women star told Yahoo UK how she began stress-eating to cope with the difficult situation as she panicked over dad Nadim Sawalha's wellbeing due to underlying health conditions.

The 55-year-old shared: "I had [anxious feelings] at the beginning of lockdown when I was just freaking out, freaking out about my parents.

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"My father had a heart operation and he's diabetic. And he's 86 and has heart condition. So he has all the underlying conditions under the sun. I was just freaking out the whole time. I was just a bit out of control."

Sawalha, who described herself as an "anxious eater", then went on to battle feelings of self-loathing as a result of the stress.

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She detailed: "I was watching the news all the time and I would find myself eating a whole pack of biscuits even though I don't remember eating the biscuits then I got into the self-loathing. 'Oh my god, I'm so fat' I had to go 'Right, what are you doing? You're forgetting everything that you know works for this’.

"Everything that works for this is to not watch the news all day long, once a day I'll watch the news. And two: when I get up in the morning, I exercise straightaway, just 15 minutes."

Nadia Sawalha lives next to her parents but is keeping her distance for the sake of their health.
Nadia Sawalha lives next to her parents but is keeping her distance for the sake of their health.

It comes as the former EastEnders actor posted a throwback weight loss photo of herself to Instagram last week as she noted she was "grateful" to have done the "hard work" over the years to no longer fixate on weight and calorie counting.

She and husband Mark Adderley and their two daughters live next to Sawalha's parents and share a garden, however, they are keeping their distance.

"They don't come into the house or anything like that, because it's just I'm so paranoid about it," she shared. "I mean, I go, I will make food for them and I wear a mask and gloves and I'll go around their house. And I will put it on the doorstep talk to them through the window."

The mother-of-two has been kept busy during lockdown with her family YouTube channel, The Sawalha-Adderleys, where she and her husband offer up their insights on life, mental health and entertainment as well as cooking demos.

Sawalha said: “It's been very good for us work wise because we've been really busy. And so that's kept our minds engaged.”

For more content visit her YouTube channel - The Sawalha-Adderleys: Family, Films & Fun.