Strictly winner shares smear test update after ‘high-grade cell changes’

Strictly Come Dancing winner Ellie Leach has shared a health update after undergoing a smear test, which checks the health of the cervix and helps prevent cervical cancer.

The Coronation Street star, 25, told her followers that her test results showed she had tested positive for HPV (human papillomavirus) and had to undergo a colposcopy due to “severe high-grade changes” in her cells.

Leach then explained that she underwent a LLETZ (large loop excision of the transformation zone), which uses a thin wire loop to burn off abnormal cervical cells.

She added that doctors told her they were successful in removing the cells, and urged others not to put off going for their smear tests.