Acclaimed actress Sian Reeves has revealed she made a huge sacrifice to take a guest starring role in the upcoming series of the BBC’s sun soaked police procedural Death In Paradise. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk as she packed to fly out to the set in Guadalupe the former Emmerdale star admitted agreeing to the role meant abandoning a course she was doing which she will now have to restart when she returns.

“I’ve started this children’s counselling course, which is just one day a week, because I’m doing this other charity work for The Great Imagining in Staffordshire, where I was brought up. And I thought, I needed a bit of more knowledge about children and doing drama stuff with them. But I’ve had to jack it in. I was nearly at the end of the course, but now because this job came up I’m going to shave to start and pay again,” she said. “This is the problem with our industry. You get something and you just have to jump at it – but to jump to Guadalupe, I think I can manage that,” she laughed.

“I mean what a jammy job, and lovely Don Gilet is in it at the moment, and also Don Warrington, who I’m such a fan of from Rising Damp. But Don Gilet was in Cutting It with me. And obviously he was in EastEnders and in Death In Paradise he’s this lovely, useless, but clever inspector. It’s a very gentle mystery show, isn’t it? But I can’t possibly tell you anything about my episode,” she laughed.

It is a wonder Sian has the time to film for Death In Paradise as she is hugely in demand and busy at the moment as she celebrates an impressive 40 years as a professional actor. She’s just released her autobiography 40 Miserable Years Later, and she will be using the profits from the book to set up a Musical Theatre Award to help people financially when they are studying.

She recently launched a podcast which she loves and admits she wants to do more radio after guest presenting on BBC Wales. She is also filming a family comedy for CBBC called High Hoops in which she plays Aunty Leena. And she is heavily involved in charity work. One charity close to her heart is Dementia Adventure who she has been working with for the past five years.

Dementia has impacted my life as my aunt has it. My aunty’s world has got so much smaller, and my uncle’s as her carer, has got so much smaller too. There’s a fear of leaving the house in case something happens. The person with dementia is too frightened to go anywhere anymore in case they make a fool of themselves.

“It’s such a weight on the carer. And Dementia Adventure are offering this Green Letter day which is a day out, a day of respite for both of them, where you can sort of have a mini holiday. Dementia Adventure have been going for 16 years and are known for doing five day supported holidays.

“But this new thing, the Green Letter Day is one day where you can go somewhere fully supported to do an activity like a picnic or flower arranging, boat trips, golf days. I’ve done a big picnic with them, and then I went to Lords with them for the cricket. And a lot of it is free. Sometimes there’s a tiny bit of money you have to pop towards it.

“People can come and have a day where there’s going to be volunteers around who will help when you nip off to the loo, sit with your person while you nip and get a coffee. Parking will be laid on nearby. Toilets will be nearby, and it’s a day where the person living with dementia has this relaxing time and the person around them is not busy trying to make them eat or get them dressed, or get them out of the house or get them to the doctors.”

Dementia Adventure have just launched their new Green Letter Day experiences for people living with dementia and their family and carers. Siân’s autobiography 40 Miserable Years Later is out now.