Home And Away star Georgie Parker has revealed that it was a diagnosis of the condition scoliosis which prompted her to become an actress.
The 48-year-old has won numerous Logie awards for her roles in the likes of A Country Practice, All Saints and, more recently, Home and Away - in which she plays Alf Stewart's daughter Roo.
However she said it was the illness - which causes a curvature of the spine - which put paid to her original plans to pursue a career in ballet.
"I was a ballet dancer when I was very young but I always liked acting," Georgie said. "I was diagnosed with scoliosis, and I was braced. And that took out the ballet option.
"Which was good, because I was very good at ballet and I think when you're very good at something everyone thinks 'Well you should do that'.
However the actress admitted that she ultimately made the right decision, after being advised against a career in dannce.
"I was kind of relieved in a way because the professor who braced me said, 'Look ballet really isn't an option,' and I said, 'That's okay because I want to be an actor anyway'," Georgie recalled.
"I was lucky because I knew that's what I wanted to do from an early age so I concentrated on that."
