Dawn French opens up about how the menopause left her feeling 'robbed'

Dawn French has spoken out about her experience of the menopause, adding that it left her feeling 'robbed' of her memory.

Speaking to Prima magazine, the mum-of-one admitted that she felt her mind had never been the same since, explaining: 'You have to surrender to it, to the experience of it.'

'I found it was a thief of my memory, so I had to write lists to remember stuff – I still do.'

'Physically I found it a challenge – my womb was a mess, so it had to go. But the main thing is you can't pretend it's not happening; accept it and, if you need help go and get it.'

Dawn still has to use lists to help her memory since going through the menopause

Dawn - who has lost a reported seven stone in recent years - has opened up previously about how a uterine cancer scare prompted her to have a hysterectomy.

During her one-woman live show, 30 Million Minutes, she said to her audience: 'So my womb and I parted company. Goodbye.'

'When I was due to have my hysterectomy the doc told me that if I could lose some weight before the op, they would be able to do it via keyhole, and I would recover in three weeks or so.

'Otherwise it would be big open surgery, and three months to recover. So, I set about dropping a few stone.'

Explaining to Prima how going through the menopause had affected her, and her friends of a similar age, the star, who recently celebrated her 60th birthday, added: 'Lots of my friends are on HRT patches or pills and there's so much out there to assist you.

'I promise that afterwards, there's life and it's all fine. I think you can decide how you look at things.'

Can you relate to Dawn's experience of the menopause? Let us know in the comment section below!