Emmerdale's Laura Norton 'could not imagine life' without fiance Mark Jordon
‘Emmerdale’ star Laura Norton has admitted she "couldn’t imagine [her life] without" her "amazing" fiance Mark Jordon, who previously starred in the ITV soap.
‘Emmerdale’ star Laura Norton "couldn’t imagine [her life] without" her "amazing" fiance Mark Jordon.
The 41-year-old actress and her ITV soap co-star - who reprised his role of Daz Spencer for a one-off episode in 2024 - became friends and talked "a lot" on the phone, but Laura never imagined "in a million years" that she would get engaged to her work pal in 2018.
Speaking about Mark - who was previously married to 'Happy Valley' actress Siobhan Finneran - Laura told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We became friends and were on the phone a lot, but not in a million years did I think we'd end up together.
"I couldn't have imagined my life without him now. He is phenomenal."
Mark - who has son Joseph, 26, and daughter Poppy, 24, with Siobhan - and Laura have a son, Jesse, four, and a daughter, Ronnie, two, and their children were born deaf and risk losing their eyesight when they are "around 15" because they have Usher Syndrome.
Usher Syndrome is a rare genetic disease that affects hearing and vision.
And Laura, who has played the role of Kerry Wyatt in 'Emmerdale' since 2012, admitted she and Mark have "this ticking time bomb" of when Jesse and Ronnie do lose their sight, but she is so grateful that they will "never feel alone" with their disability because they "have each other".
Laura explained: "[Vision loss] tends to be teenage years - around 15. So we've got this ticking time bomb.
"Mark and I are just doing as much fundraising and awareness as we can. The challenges we'll meet is when their vision starts to be affected ...
"I've been a carrier and never knew, and Mark was a carrier and never knew. We were told there was a 75 per cent chance our children wouldn't inherit it.
"They asked if I wanted to find out about the risks of Ronnie having the condition while I was pregnant, but I was like, 'No,' because it won't make any difference. She's coming no matter what. I knew in my heart that she'd have Usher syndrome like Jesse, but there is that small consolation that they have each other.
"They will never feel alone, and I am so grateful for that."
Laura and Mark - who are patrons of the Cure Usher charity - are working with genetic eye diseases expert and University College London (UCL) Mariya Moosajee.
And Laura has said Moosajee thinks she is "10 years away from finding a cure" - even though she has not been able to get funding because of how rare a condition Usher Syndrome is.
She added: "The science is there, the talent is there, but the funding isn't because it's a rare condition and no one's heard of it.
"Mariya's not getting the funding, but she thinks she's 10 years away from finding a cure."
