'Hollyoaks' story saves woman's life

A storyline in Hollyoaks involving leaking carbon monoxide has helped to save a woman's life.

Beth Cordingly claims that watching a recent episode of the Channel 4 show alerted her to the cause of her vomiting and persistent headaches.

The episode featured a house party held by student Jessica Harris (Jennifer Biddall), which finished with several characters becoming drowsy, being sick and collapsing.

In the show, Harris had hired the services of Danny Valentine (David Judge) to fix a faulty gas boiler and his botched handiwork caused a leak that led to several characters, including Katy Fox (Hannah Tointon), nearly dying.

Cordingly had originally believed she was suffering from a mystery illness but recognised her symptoms as she watched the soap.

She told the Daily Express: "The only respite I had in the middle of all my pain was Hollyoaks. I can’t believe I owe my life to it. As the episode unravelled I saw myself on screen.

"The hospital staff told me I was lucky to be alive. They said that if I’d have left it another 24 hours I’d be dead. I still feel ill, but they said it takes about two weeks to get the gas out of the body."

She added: "I just want everyone on Hollyoaks to know how grateful I am. People say watching too much telly is bad for you, but in my case it’s saved my life."

Producer Bryan Kirkwood commented: "Hollyoaks is constantly being recognised for hard-hitting and engaging storylines to which viewers can relate. We are delighted this one helped to save a life."