EastEnders star Kierston Wareing: I nearly died from anaphylactic shock

Actress had a frightening brush with death EastEnders star Kierston Wareing has revealed that she nearly died after going into anaphylactic shock. The actress, who plays Kirsty Branning in the soap, suffered a frightening loss of breath and was told that she didn't have long to live. ‘I nearly died about five years ago from anaphylactic shock,' says Kierston, 37. ‘I don't know what brought it on - I just suddenly lost my breath - and doctors said I only had a few hours to live. ‘They told my mum afterwards that they thought I was a goner.' The drama didn't end there for Kierston, who only recently came close to suffering another shock. ‘When I was on holiday recently in Lanzarote, I put a blanket around myself and a massive rash came up and the doctors said I was one step away from having another shock,' the actress tells TV Magazine. ‘If I thought about all that at night, I could go into a proper panic.'