TV star Lisa Riley has opened up on a recent episode of Loose Women about the possibility of starting a family.
Despite being adamant in the past that children weren't for her, the former Emmerdale actress appeared to have had a change of heart, telling fellow panellists Christine Lampard, Linda Robson and Jane Moore 'maybe it's my time.'
The comments came during a segment discussing whether the NHS should cap the age for IVF treatment. Acknowledging that she was getting to the age where falling pregnant naturally could prove to be more difficult, Lisa said: 'I've always said because of my mum [who died of cancer] and the cancer gene, I was very reluctant to have a child.'
'But like you said, you might not have met the right person well I'm really lucky that over the last three years, I feel that I have met the right person and the person who I would want to be the father of my child.'
'So I would like to think the NHS would help me should I need it.'
Opening up about the internal battle she was having with her fertility, she added: 'do I allow Mother Nature to take its course or am I too old? I'm at this real crossroads in my life where I don't know what to do.'
'It makes you think, again, because it's stamping the age, it's 41. maybe 15 years ago people would say oh you're too old but now I don't think that's the case. I always wanted my career, I always wanted to not be thinking of having a child so early whereas I think it was expected, where I lived, all my friends had their kids so early in life.'
'But now who knows, maybe it is my time.'
Lisa has previously been vocal about her fears of passing on the cancer gene which took the life of her mother back in 2012, saying on the show last year: 'I don't want to put a child through the pain that I went through - seeing the last three years of my mum, I couldn't do that to my child. So I've consciously made the decision that I'm not going to have a child naturally. I'm not.'
'I've thought about it long and hard and I discussed it, especially with my mates at home. They've got loads of kids and I live my life vicariously through them by being a great godmother.'
