ACTRESS Jane Danson said motherhood has changed her life - and was the reason she threw her support behind a bid to save Fairfield Hospital's maternity unit.

The Coronation Street star, who plays Leanne Battersby, gave birth at Fairfield in Bury, becoming a mother to baby Harry nine months ago.

She was so touched by the support she received that she appeared on ITV talent show Soapstar Superstar to support the campaign to stop the hospital's special care baby unit and maternity ward from closing.

Jane grew up in Radcliffe and still lives in the Bury area with actor husband Robert Beck and their son.

The former Radcliffe High School pupil said: "One of the main reasons I did Soapstar Superstar was to raise money for charity. I really feel strongly about Fairfield's maternity unit and the SCBU and I saw it as an opportunity to raise money for that.

"Because I wasn't involved for very long, I didn't get to mention it really. I raised a bit of money but I would have liked to raise more. Any recordings I had done about why I chose the charity weren't shown.

"It's close to my heart and my little boy was in the special care unit for a brief period. It seems quite a shame that the unit could be closed."

A decision on the creation of three super hospitals has yet to be finally decided. An initial decision - naming Bolton as one of three super-centres, along with St Mary's in Manchester and the Royal Oldham Hospital - was made last December.

But an Independent Reconfiguration Panel is carrying out a review on that decision following campaigns by health bosses, council leaders and MPs from other parts of the region.