Emmerdale star Laura Norton’s horror as her hair ‘falls out in clumps’ 

EMMERDALE star Laura Norton has told of the terrifying moment her hair fell out “in clumps”.

The Kerry Wyatt actress, 38, bravely opened up about her hair loss battle – which started when she was just 16 and dealt her a devastating blow when she joined the soap.

Laura explained in an open letter published in New magazine that she started taking synthetic hormones to tackle her “horrendous” periods.

She said: “What they never told me was certain pills are testosterone-heavy and attack hair follicles, making hair get thinner and weaker, then fall out.”

The actress revealed that it was when she joined the ITV soap that things got really bad.

Laura wrote: “I got my dream job playing Kerry Wyatt on Emmerdale and – boom – my hair was falling out in clumps.”

She added: “Thanks universe, great timing! It wasn’t great for the old self-esteem.”

However, Laura said matters improved massively when she contacted her local trichologist – a hair doctor – in Newcastle, where she lived at the time.

She said she was given drops for her hormones and supplies of ferritin, which helps your body to store iron.

The star was also given a ‘hair-friendly’ version of the pill to replace the ones she had previously been taking and her hair started to recover.