Ellie Leach said her first smear test led to abnormal results, an HPV positive result and an LLETZ procedure. She spoke on Good Morning Britain on September 11, after first sharing the health scare in July.
Good Morning Britain on September 11
The 25-year-old said the appointment made her nervous, but she still went ahead with it: "I went for my first ever smear test, and I was really nervous, but I was like, ‘I know I have to do it’." The results took time to come back, then brought the follow-up that changed the course of the story.
"I was waiting quite a while for my results, and they came back abnormal and also said I had a HPV positive result," she said. Leach is best known for playing Faye Windass in ITV's Coronation Street, but here the point was not her screen work; it was the path a first test can open when it finds something that needs more attention.
LLETZ after abnormal cells
Leach said the next smear test went deeper and showed pre-cancerous cells. "A lot of people will have it and not realise they have it. My cells also came back abnormal, so I had to go for another in-depth smear test, and they said, ‘Your cells are pre-cancerous’. So, I ended up having to have an LLETZ procedure, where they remove the cells from your cervix."
That is the practical part of the story: an abnormal result did not end with a warning. It led to treatment designed to remove the cells before they could develop further, which is why screening remains the step that changes what happens next.
July video, public warning
Leach first spoke about the scare on social media in July and shared a video explaining the process to followers. On Good Morning Britain, she made the same case in plainer terms for women who think vaccination replaces screening.
"100%, I’ve had so many messages from women saying, ‘I didn’t realise I had to go for my smear test because I’ve had my HPV vaccination’. You still definitely do, it’s so important," she said. She also added: "If I hadn’t ever gone for my first ever smear test, I wouldn’t have known, and I wouldn’t have been able to have that procedure done and hopefully have removed those cells that are pre-cancerous."
The open question is straightforward: the account stops at the LLETZ procedure. For anyone putting off a smear test after vaccination, Leach's own experience is the sharper warning — the test is still the step that can find something worth treating.
