Actress Christina Applegate has revealed that she overlooked an early symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) while filming her hit Netflix series.
The 53-year-old, from Los Angeles, was diagnosed with the incurable condition in 2021 but believes that signs of it had began emerging at least two years earlier.
She has openly discussed her health journey since disclosing her diagnosis with fans and has previously revealed how MS impacted filming for the show Dead to Me.
Applegate starred alongside Linda Cardellini in the comedic series which revolves around two grieving women who strike up a friendship in therapy.
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It became an instant success upon its release in May 2019 and Netflix went on to renew it for a second and third season.
But the final instalment of Dead to Me was nearly derailed after Applegate's condition began to take its toll on her, resulting in production being paused.
However, the actress insisted on finishing the show despite her health struggles, prompting producers to make some adjustments to the plot to accommodate her.
Now, Applegate has revealed what early MS symptoms she dismissed while reflecting on the last few years of her life during an episode of her MeSsy podcast.
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Discussing her journey with co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman, the Bad Moms star said problems began arising while shooting the first ever episode of the Netflix show.
Applegate explained that she suddenly stumbled to the ground on set - which was likely the first ever indicator of her MS.
According to the NHS, the condition affects the brain and spinal cord while causing a range of symptoms.
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These include fatigue, dizziness, feeling uncoordinated, muscle cramps, spasms and stiffness and problems with memory or concentration.
While anyone can suffer from it, you might be more likely to get MS if you’re a woman, you’re aged 20 to 50, you have a close relative with it, you smoke or you’ve had the Epstein-Barr virus.
"I remember falling that day," Applegate said. "Hi, first sign of MS! So, not to bring everybody down, but there it was."
Feldman added that she had also picked up on the Anchorman actress' physical struggles while filming the pilot, but thought it was due to long days on set.
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The producer said: "I remember you losing your balance when we were shooting the pilot a couple of times.
"It was very hard to figure it out because, you know, I remember one time, it was really late at night.
"We'd been shooting probably 14 or 15 hours...it seemed completely reasonable that anybody would be collapsing."
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Feldman then praised her pal's strength over the last few years and applauded Applegate for how she navigated the situation.
"There’s no handbook for this," Feldman said. "I could just sense that A, she was scared and B, that something was wrong, something in her body was not working the way that she wanted it to.
"I told her so many times that it’s just a TV show; we’re making a TV show and it’s so silly, you know, at the end of the day.
"I knew Christina well enough to know that something major had to be going on because she’s an extreme professional."
Applegate then thanked Feldman and the Dead to Me crew for being so adaptable and kind towards her amid her health struggles.
She added: "That would not happen anywhere else, so my gratitude towards you guys being humans - because you should be humans and love other humans - is astounding.
"I can't even tell you...that's not the normal reaction."
Topics: Christina Applegate, Health, Netflix, TV and Film, Celebrity
Olivia Burke