No Return: Sheridan Smith stars in trailer for ITV series

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Sheridan Smith, 40, first came to prominence thanks to her roles in now-staple British shows, including The Royle Family, Benidorm and Gavin & Stacey. She has also performed in a variety of West End productions and worked on the radio throughout her career.

However, the actress was forced to take a break in 2016, while performing in the hit West End show Funny Girl.

She had been struggling with stress after being told her father Colin had terminal cancer.

Sheridan sadly lost her 80-year-old dad later that year, and has since reflected on that period of her life.

Speaking of her loss with the Daily Express at the time, Sheridan candidly admitted that she had “a massive meltdown”.

She explained: “I kind of lost it a bit after he died. I’ve come out the other side now and I need to get it all out through my music.

“In public it looks like I’ve moaned about everything with my dad dying, but that’s not the case. I just had a massive meltdown.”

When her family received the news of her dad’s diagnosis, Sheridan was advised by her mum to continue acting to avoid letting fans down.

Sheridan recalled: “As soon as dad got that diagnosis I thought ‘I’m not leaving your side, I’m not leaving you.’

“My mum said, ‘Well, you’ve got to get back, you’ve got the show, you can’t let people down’ and rightly so.

“People had bought tickets a year in advance and I hate letting people down.

“They’ve taught me that the show goes on, even if you’re ill, and I get that.”

However, Sheridan could not bring herself to leave her dad’s side.

She went on to explain how despite the “wobbles” she suffered at the time that led her to pull out of Funny Girl, the public was able to forgive her.

Sheridan added: “But at the time I was thinking, ‘Hang on a minute, reality check, I don’t want to leave my dad’.

“My dad was saying the same – ‘Don’t worry about me’ – but how can you not, he was my rock. I just didn’t want to go back.

“I went back and I got on the train to do the show and I thought, ‘I can’t do it.’ It just felt so weird. How can I be here taking applause?

“I just thought I want to be sat with my dad, sat on his chair cuddling him.

“I ran away from that, I ran away from that situation.

“I’ve come out the other side and I think people are very forgiving of all that, even though it’s all been in the public eye. Everyone has wobbles in life, don’t they?”

Sheridan also cancelled a headline slot at the Royal Variety Performance, explaining she had been suffering from “stress and exhaustion”.

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