Soap star Lucy Pargeter has said she can finally “breathe” again after having her breast implants removed.

The Emmerdale actress had the “toxic bags” for 11 years, causing “massive problems”.

Speaking after her operation, the 42-year-old told Channel 4 show Dispatches: “I forgot what it was like to have a full lung of air …  It’s amazing. I can breathe.

“Surgery went absolutely fine. They are out. I’m as flat as a pancake. I look awful but I feel good.”

Lucy Pargeter
Lucy Pargeter (Ian West/PA)

Pargeter, who plays Chas Dingle in the Dales, said: “They are out. Last night, when I woke up in recovery, the first thing I did was panic because I could breathe.

“I could take in a massive breath and I thought they were trying to give me too much oxygen – I panicked.”

And she tells the programme: “I know that everything is going to be much better … Hopefully my joint problems, my anxiety, the rashes on my chest and the pain I get in my chest and armpits will be gone.”

Britain’s Breast Implant Scandal: Dispatches airs on Monday at 8pm on Channel 4.