A single fall, 22 broken ribs, and a brutal betrayal—how one of soap’s fiercest villains fought back from the brink

From Fame to Fragility

Siân Reeves, best known to Emmerdale fans as the chillingly manipulative Sally Spode, has opened up about a real-life nightmare that left her fearing she’d never act again. In her raw and honest autobiography 40 “Miserable” Years, the 59-year-old reveals the harrowing details of a fall that shattered her body—and nearly her future.

The accident occurred just after her stint on EastEnders, as she was rehearsing for a stage production of Vernon God Little at the Young Vic. During a technical break, Siân unknowingly stepped into an open trapdoor onstage. The fall was swift and silent.

“It wasn’t a dramatic fall with a scream,” she wrote. “It was a fast, brutal absolute.”

The impact left her with a punctured lung, 22 fractured ribs, and a damaged foot. The pain, she recalls, was instant and “overwhelming.”

Betrayed While Broken

As she lay in hospital, immobilized and terrified, Siân’s fears deepened. Her career, once soaring, now felt shattered. The emotional blow intensified when she realized that the young woman who had accompanied her from the theatre wasn’t there to support her—but to assess if she could still perform.

When it became clear her recovery would take months, not days, she was removed from the production. “I had been soaring… and in a heartbeat, it was gone,” she confessed.

That moment, she writes, marked the darkest point in her professional life. “I was scared I’d never walk into a theatre again. I thought, this is it—this is the end of my career.”

A Painful Road Back

It took a full year for Siân to return to work. Her comeback came in the BBC One series Hope Springs, where she starred alongside Strictly alum Alex Kingston. But the victory was bittersweet. She still battled chronic pain and had to relearn how to navigate a set—not just physically, but emotionally.

Rather than hide from the trauma, she embraced it. Siân became involved in the chronic pain charity Away With Pain, using her platform to support others.

From Broken to Celebrated

Her resilience paid off. Following Hope Springs, she landed the infamous Emmerdale role of Sally Spode—earning her a Villain of the Year nomination at the Inside Soap Awards. The woman who feared being forgotten was now terrifying audiences across the UK.