'It's been horrible but I feel like one of the lucky ones'

Glamorous Real Housewives Of Cheshire star Ester Dee tells new how dodging her smear test appointments could have cost her everything

- BETH NEIL

EXCLUSIVE

She’s known for being outrageous, feisty and straight-talking. But Real Housewives Of Cheshire star Ester Dee has laid bare her vulnerable side as she recovers from a cancer scare following years of failing to attend routine smear tests.

Speaking exclusively to new, the Czech-born mum-of-one revealed that she’s furious with herself for putting off the potentially life-saving screening for so long. And having recently undergone surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells from her cervix, she knows now she’s had a lucky escape.

“It’s been horrendous,” says Ester, 37, who joined the RHOC cast in 2016 before quitting the ITVBe show last summer. “I’ve been an idiot with my health, putting my life at risk.

“I’ve been invited for a smear test numerous times but have always ignored the letters thinking there was no family history of cancer, that nothing could happen to me and that I was invincible.

“I didn’t want the inconvenience of going to the appointment or the discomfort of the procedure itself. I hate myself for not listening to my mum who would always tell me to go and get checked and for ignoring all those letters from the GP. It’s all my own fault.”

Every woman between the ages of 25 and 64 is invited for regular NHS cervical screening, but despite several prominent public health campaigns, Ester didn’t book an appointment until she started to experience some worrying symptoms three months ago.