Mrs Yurkwich-Ell, 34, is currently waiting to have a smear test to see if the abnormal cells in her cervix have gone.

The mum-of-two has already had two lots of treatment at Warwick Hospital to remove these pre-cancerous cells, which first showed up after a smear in 2005.

She said: "I should have had a smear test after I gave birth to my son - but it was four-and-a-half years later when I eventually went for one.

"I'm not saying it would have come back all clear if I had gone for one earlier, but it might only have been a slight abnormality."

If her latest smear reveals the cells have developed into cancer she is considering having a hysterectomy.

She said: "It's a case of third time lucky. There is a lot of stress involved and it has been weighing on me all year.

"There needs to be more awareness about cervical cancer. Women must go for their smears, I don't want the same thing to happen to anyone else - 20 seconds of discomfort is worth it."

Mrs Yurkwich-Ell, who was picked to appear in a GMTV make-over programme last month, is all in favour of girls having the humanpapilloma virus vaccine.

She said: "It should be for eight and nine-year-olds. Girls are starting their periods and experimenting with sex at an earlier age.

"In my day, there were girls of ten who were having sex.

"My daughter is five and if they made it available for her she would be having it."

She added: "I don't think the risk of getting cervical cancer is genetic - it's just the luck of the draw. My grandmother had a hysterectomy at 35 but whether it was through cancer or heavy periods we don't know.

"What we do know is that women need to be vigilant."