Former TOWIE star Danielle Armstrong was in tears today as she opened up about the heartbreaking reason she was taking part in the All New Monty.
Tonight, the female celebrities will strip off on stage to raise awareness of breast and cervical cancer.
Speaking on Loose Women today, Danielle revealed that her best friend died at just 29 years old after her breast cancer returned last year.
Danielle, 31, struggled not to cry when she saw a picture of herself with friend Sammy.
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"Sorry it's when I see her face..." she said. "It's because it's so raw."
The TOWIE star revealed that Sammy's parents were in the audience and said that she would "barely look at them" because she was still struggling over her friend's death.
"We were so close and it was like losing a sister, 29 is so young," she said. "We'd been friends since primary school."
Initially she hadn't ever thought she would be able to "get her boobs out" on TV, but when this opportunity arose she knew she had to do it if she could save lives.
"I promised I would keep her memory alive," Danielle said.
She was joined by So Solid Crew singer Lisa Maffia, who was taking part for her mum, who had been diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Lisa had missed out on the beginning of All New Monty because she had been with her mum in hospital.
"They said that she had six months to live... 8 years later it came back all over," she said.
Admitting that she had never watched the show before, Lisa said: "When I first got involved I thought, have we really got to do that?"
*Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV
