Loose Women star Lisa Riley broke down in tears as she revealed she is "petrified" to be put under anaesthetic for weight loss surgery over fears she will not wake up.

During an appearance on the daily ITV programme, the former Emmerdale actress explained the procedures she will undergo, including the removal of excess skin following her 10 stone weight loss over the past year.

Lisa, aged 40, from Bury, thanked the show's viewers for their support and said it will "get me through the next five weeks", which she said will be "desperately hard".

She said: "People have judged me and said what they want to say but, excuse the pun, I've become thick skinned.

"I've got to go into this with my eyes wide open but I'm petrified about it, look I'm shaking, about going under the anaesthetic."

She added she has had "tormenting dreams" about her health, although she is happy to not be classed as obese any more.

Lisa added: "It's the ultimate fear that I'm not going to wake up."

Her co-star Anne Diamond told her not to think "morbid" thoughts ahead of the surgery.

Lisa, who has been under anaesthetic before for an operation on her tonsils, said of the doctors: "I know, as I walk into that hospital, that they're all there because they're brilliant, they're the unsung heroes."