Hollyoaks star Alia Bastian has been hit with a heartbreaking family death.

The 43-year-old soap star recently announced she was "cancer-free" after undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a successful mastectomy in January. She had been diagnosed with stage two breast cancer last year.

In November 2024, she told fans she'd been hospitalised at Cork University Hospital as she needed urgent medical attention. However, she confirmed she'd returned home and thanked the hospital staff for "taking care" of her.

Ali, who played Becca Dean on Hollyoaks between 2001 and 2007, has now opened up about the grief she's dealing with after the heartbreaking loss of her "beautiful" mum in 2023. It came just months before her cancer diagnosis.

She posted a sweet snap of her with her mum at her wedding and told fans: "I wrote this on Mother’s Day but didn’t end up posting, but here goes…. TW grief. We lost our beautiful Mum in the autumn of ‘23, only a few months before my diagnosis.

"A sudden death after a short terrible illness. Impossible to make sense of. Grief, I attempted to put on hold whilst I managed a gruelling treatment regime now comes in waves, sometimes crashing, sometimes tidal, rarely gentle… but I try to go gently with myself as I navigate life after cancer and life without you."