EASTENDERS - WENDY RICHARD TO WED BEFORE CANCER TREATMENT

Former EastEnders actress Wendy Richard is marrying her long-term partner today, before starting treatment for terminal cancer.

Richard, 65, will marry John Burns in front of friends and family at a civil ceremony in London later on Friday.

The actress recently confirmed that the disease which she has twice fought off before had returned and had spread to her kidneys and bones.

She admitted that preparations for the wedding had been rushed through since the recent diagnosis.

"We were going to get married anyway but when we got the diagnosis we decided to push ahead and get married now. There was no rush before."

Richard who played Pauline Fowler in the BBC soap EastEnders for 21 years is due to begin chemotherapy on Monday.