Nikki Sanderson attends the Pride of Britain Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
Nikki opened up at the Pride of Britain Awards (Picture: PA)

Hollyoaks and former Coronation Street star Nikki Sanderson has opened up about her close bond with the stranger who helped to save her mum’s life.

The actress, 40, who plays Maxine Minniver in the Channel 4 soap, shared the story following this year’s Pride of Britain Awards.

She explained that she first met Howard, the first responder, when her mum fell dangerously ill: ‘Well, three years ago, on November 14, so nearly three years, my mum had two cardiac arrests’.

‘We had a wonderful gentleman called Howard, who was one of the first responders that got to the house

‘My brother and I started the CPR. Anthony (Quinlan, her partner) was there as well, helping. And Howard came, and he took over.’

In 2022, she paid tribute to Howard on her social media, detailing the story to her 472,000 followers.

Anthony Quinlan and Nikki Sanderson attend the Pride of Britain Awards
She is in a relationship with her former co-star Anthony Quinlan (Picture: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock)

Up Next

‘My mum had passed away at the time, and he brought her back to life and took her to hospital and stayed with her

‘They worked on her the second time, which went into the second cardiac, actually she was in that for 48 minutes, and he stood by and he said to keep going.

‘And so, because of Howard, my mum is still here today.’

Following her mum’s recovery, the family have kept in touch with Howard and every year they visit the ambulance station with presents.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck87HkUKxZC/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=018f35ba-1580-4433-96c3-06253aa7ce8f
Todd, Sarah, Candice and Jason from Coronation Street sat in the Castlefield area of Manchester
Nikki starred in Coronation Street before Hollyoaks (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Nikki continued to The Mirror: ‘When my mum got out it ICU we tracked him down and he’s now one of ours friends.

‘My mum goes down to the ambulance station every November 14th and gives them all goodies.’

On recognising unsung heroes, which the award ceremony has honoured since 1999, she added: ‘I think every single person has been touched in some way by something amazing that someone has done.’

Follow Metro Soaps on WhatsApp and get all the latest spoilers first!

Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who’s leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale?

Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews.

Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers!

‘Unfortunately, you cannot give everybody an award, but if you could, there would be so many people that would be deserving of it.

‘And I think tonight, it’s just fantastic to be able to see people that are truly deserving of a thank you, a well done, and for everyone to be able to just look at them and go, congratulations.

‘You’re just a fantastic person.’

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you.

Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage.

MORE : TV icon wants to join EastEnders – but on one very specific condition

MORE : Ben Mitchell star Max Bowden reveals why EastEnders is ‘the hardest gig’ on TV

MORE : Beloved Coronation Street star reunites with cast for day out after soap death