'I was holding his hand' Heartbroken Lisa Riley reveals her grandad Sam has passed away

Heartbroken Lisa Riley has shared the sad news that her grandad Sam has died.

The actress took to Instagram to confirm her loss in an emotional social media post shortly after he passed.

'May your prayers stay strong tonight,' she wrote alongside a picture of herself holding his hand. 'My beloved Grandad Sam fell asleep, so peacefully,12.11am....no pain, just me, in the room with him.

She continued: 'I was holding his hand and stroking his arm as he slowly joined my beloved gran in heaven, and all the angels.

'Taking his final breath....with just me by his side....knowing he was safe to fly.....he waited for me to get back from London....to share stories of old.'

The former Emmerdale star added: 'My dear strong Grandad Sam, you made me proud, and I made you proud. I love you....sleep well. We love you, and your inner strength lives on is us all. REST IN PEACE 💛💛💛🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 the power of touch.'

Lisa's 55.1k followers felt the star's pain and shared their condolences: 'Aww so very sorry for your loss Lisa. My thoughts are with you and your family at this sad time ❤️❤️,' said one.

'Thoughts are with you Lisa 😘😘😘😘 so sorry for your loss xxxx' another posted.

One fan commented that it was 'lovely' she got to be there: 'So sorry for your loss @lisajaneriley but so lovely to be there with him when he passed. Much love to you ❤'

'A proud, happy and very well loved Grandad...and he will be with you and all around you every second of every day 💖🙏🏻😘' said another fan.

The Loose Women panellist shared this image of her beloved grandad in December 2016, captioned with: 'HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY Grandad Sam!!! I love you so much and you are a pure inspiration to us ALL🍾🍾🍾💛💛💛🎁🎁🎁🍰🍰🍰💐💐💐💐⭐️⭐️⭐️'

The 41-year-old is renowned for being incredibly close to her family and recently paid tribute to her mum Cath as she marked the fifth year anniversary of her death.