She was eight years old when he passed away

IFought the Law star Sheridan Smith has endured a lot of heartache in her 44 years on the planet. But perhaps nothing hurt more than the d3ath of her big brother when she was just a child.

Speaking previously about his d3ath at the age of just 18, Sheridan admitted struggling to “deal with it”. She was aged just eight at the time of Julian’s d3ath.

Sheridan Smith endured heartache at an early age (Credit: YouTube)

Sheridan Smith on ‘grabbing every opportunity’

Opening up to Red in a 2013 interview, Sheridan said the house was “never morbid”, although she did admit that losing her brother taught her to “grab every opportunity”.

Julian battled cancer for two years before his d3ath, with Sheridan having a tattoo tribute to him – two wings and a halo – on the inside of her wrist.

You wouldn’t wish loss on someone, but it does teach you to grab life.

She admitted that it’s “hard to think back” to his illness and d3ath and dealt with it by putting “a lot of it out of my head”.

“He was a joker like me, even when he was poorly. I remember him lying on the couch and mucking about – holding my head at arm’s length while my little arms would wave about,” she said.

Wanting to make her parents ‘proud’

Sheridan also spoke of her parents’ strength, admitting that Colin and Marilyn fought through their grief for the sake of Sheridan and her brother Damian.

“I have massive respect for my mum and dad for managing to fight on for the sake of me and Damian, for not letting it destroy us. How they survived it is incredible,” she said.

Sheridan moved to London when she was 16, having spent her teens “confused and angry about what had happened”. She admitted moving away “helped”. The actress threw herself into work, determined to make her parents “proud”.

Heartbreaking admission about her big brother’s d3ath

In a heartbreaking admission, Sheridan also revealed that Julian’s d3ath made her the star she is today.

She revealed: “His d3ath has made me want to live, to grab every opportunity. For his sake. The fact that I have these chances and he didn’t, he was taken away so young. You wouldn’t wish loss on someone, but it does teach you to grab life. Every moment you get, to just grab it.”

I Fought the Law starts on ITV1 tonight (August 31) at 9pm.