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Emmerdale star's psoriasis ordeal
Carmel Thomason9/10/2006
SEEING her play the brash Viv Hope on Emmerdale, you can never imagine Deena Payne being embarrassed by anything.
Neither can you imagine that the process of being transformed into bolshie Viv, with trademark back-combed hair, would be such an ordeal.
Or that between takes the bubbly actress would worry constantly about dusting away flakes of skin that had fallen onto her clothes.
However, although her performance never gave anything away on screen, anyone who has suffered from scalp psorasis, like Deena, will understand exactly how she felt behind the scenes.
For not only is the condition both painful and unsightly, it is also very difficult to control.
Pain
"Can you imagine when you've got a head full of psoriasis, which is almost bleeding, having to have your hair back-combed every day?"
the 52-year-old asks in the matter of fact way of someone for whom this is nothing unusual.
"And it was really embarrassing as well because every time I turned round I got flakes on my shoulders. It brought me down having it, let alone being brought down in the first place to get it."
It is unclear exactly what causes psoriasis, but it is thought that sufferers have a genetic tendency which can be triggered by a number of things including throat infections, certain drugs, physical and emotional stress.
Deena's psoriasis first appeared after a prolonged period of stress and, in the vicious cycle that all sufferers will be familiar with, the condition only served to cause yet more stress.
During her 13 years in Emmerdale, Viv has enjoyed the famous soap roller-coaster life.
She's been taken hostage, had an affair, lost one husband in tragic circumstances, married another and uncovered a romance between her son Scott and stepdaughter Kelly.
Dramatic
Off-screen, Deena's life may not have been quite as dramatic as her alter-ego's, but it was certainly being turned upside down.
"My son Will was born in 1992 and six months later I was offered the part in Emmerdale," she explains.
"We lived in West London at the time and not too far from my family.
Making the decision to take the job wasn't easy. Yorkshire is three hours up the M1 but who could turn down a part like Viv?
"I spent the first seven months trying to commute but it didn't work and we had to rent a place near the studio.
Luckily, Steve, my partner, is a musician and can work wherever he lays his hat. But his work also entails him travelling abroad. So, there I was, a new mum, with a new job and having to cope with being on my own at odd times.
"I think I can safely say that I was stressed and I believe that stress unbalances the immune system and it's then that weaknesses manifest themselves.
"The psoriasis didn't appear straight away, because I think these things take time when they are deep-seated.
I started Emmerdale 13 years ago and the psoriasis actually appeared about four years ago. At first I didn't know what it was.
It was at the nape of my neck. It was all itchy and when I used to have my roots done it stung. It spread up the sides and then round to the front, but it was always in my hair line.
It's itchy and horrible so I went to the doctor, who sent me to a dermatologist. He confirmed that it was psoriasis, suggested a couple of treatments I could try, but admitted there was not much they could do.
"It stung whatever it was he gave me. It did clear it up for a bit but then it came back ten times worse."
Alternative remedies
Before landing the part in Emmerdale, Deena had trained as an aromatherapist and reflexologist.
However, when it came to her psoriasis, it was a stubborn condition that didn't want to shift no matter what she tried.
"I tried everything but nothing seemed to work," she admits.
"My first port of call is always anything as natural as possible but I was trying to treat the result rather than the cause.
The cause, I think, is stress. Then two years ago I found Lesley Robinson and her Little Herbal Company."
Deena began taking a herbal supplement called Simba, which is made from an African root, much like a potato or turnip plant, and is used to help restore normal immune functioning as well as acting as a natural anti-inflammatory.
Traditionally it was used in Africa to keep away colds and fight infections and currently it is being used to treat AIDS patients, whose immunity is severely compromised.
It is thought to work because it is a very rich source of plant sterols and sterolins - `plant fats', which ensure that cells function optimally.
Cream
As well as taking this supplement Deena also used a herbal skin cream, Themba, which is made from the sausage-shaped fruit of the Kigelia tree, which grows in Southern Africa.
The Little Herbal Company has added Aloe Excelsia, Calendula, Wheatgerm Oil, Lavender and Vitamin E to the cream, promoting healing at the same time as tackling skin problems associated with viruses, bacteria and fungus.
"Lesley said that in some cases where people were absolutely covered in psoriasis they would be completely cleared within about three months.
I must have been a bit of a deep case because I took about eight months, but it went, and this is after four years of struggling to find anything this did it.
"I still take a little bit of Simba every day, but just one tablet, because I am still stressed and we don't work a regular day.
I have to learn to cope with it. I now do pilates, which is great for me, but life changed a lot and it's up to me really to kind of get back what I need."
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