Kinmel Bay actress set to star in ITV drama after achalasia diagnosis

Annie-Rose Tate will made her TV debut in the drama, a six-part series written by Sir Lenny Henry based on his mother’s experiences of arriving in Britain as part of the Windrush generation in 1957.

She appears in episode five as Myfanwy Boyce, a love interest for lead character Aston, who has persuaded his sisters Leah and Chantrelle and their friend Hosanna to join him in leaving Jamaica.

Annie-Rose Tate as Myfanwy Boyce (Image: Submitted)

The episode airs on Sunday, November 26 at 8pm, while the whole series can be streamed now on ITVX.

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Annie-Rose described Three Little Birds as a “beautiful” piece of television for its portrayal of the Windrush generation’s determination to build a better life - despite facing racism, injustice and other obstacles to integration.

“I’ve watched it all and I think it’s really important,” she said.

“It’s based on the stories Sir Lenny Henry’s mum told him about arriving in the UK - stories that are just so beautiful but also very important.

“A lot of things happened that I didn’t realise. People need to know that they happened - we can’t just pretend they didn’t.”

The role is a big breakthrough for Annie-Rose who, at 17, had to have major surgery after being diagnosed with achalasia - a rare disorder of the oesophagus which makes it painful for her to swallow.

Annie-Rose Tate (Image: Submitted)

“When I was at Coleg Llandrillo (in Rhos-on-Sea), I started getting poorly,” she said.

“I didn’t know what was wrong and had to spend a lot of time in hospital having tests.  

“It was really difficult because at the time I didn’t know what was going on, and nor did anybody else around me.

“I was a 16-year-old girl who was being sick every time she ate, and I think a lot of people thought it was just in my head.

“It took about six weeks to get a diagnosis. I’d never heard of achalasia before, but essentially the muscles in my oesophagus are paralysed so swallowing is really difficult and painful.

“Once I was diagnosed I was able to have some stomach surgeries and some treatments to help relieve it. But there’s no cure so it’s something I’ll just have to live with.”

Annie-Rose had to have keyhole surgery to cut fibres in the ring of muscle that lets food into the stomach.

She has also had nine balloon dilations, whereby a balloon is passed into the oesophagus and then inflated.

She has to carefully manage what she eats, and relies on drinking water with meals in order to push food down into her stomach.

She added: “Everyone at the college was really supportive, especially since nobody had heard about achalasia before.

“They accommodated everything around me, because obviously it’s a very physical course, and there were a lot of things that I couldn’t do for a long time after the stomach surgery.”

Annie-Rose now lives in Manchester with her partner Callum Burbidge, who played Lurch in Coronation Street.