Lydia Bright’s foster sister reveals how hero TOWIE mum Debbie saved her from ‘dirty, drug-fuelled home’

WITH her wavy brunette locks and warm brown eyes, Ellie looks nothing like her famous foster sister Lydia Bright – but, despite their contrasting appearance, the fiercely loyal pair are just like birth siblings.

Ellie, 18, was just six when she and her 18-month-old brother were taken away from their birth parents, who had battled substance issues and spent time in prison. Ellie went on to live with Lydia and her mum Debbie Douglas, 56, in the family's detached 1930s Essex home for 12 years.

“If I didn’t come here, god knows where I’d be,” she revealed. “I’d probably be hanging around on the streets, smoking weed, drinking 24/7. I can’t actually put it into words how grateful I am to have had Debbie and her family.”

Ellie, Lydia and Debbie - who has fostered over 200 children in 25 years - have spoken exclusively to The Sun Online in support of Barnardo’s Fostering Week 2018. The charity is urgently appealing for 7,180 foster carers to come forward and look after vulnerable children.

Ellie says her early childhood years were turbulent. “My home was dirty, small and there wasn't much space at all…,” she said. “There was nothing to do. I'd just sit there. I was exposed to drugs all day and most nights.” It's a complete contrast to Debbie's inviting pad, which is decorated in dozens of photos of smiling kids and is also home to three rescue dogs - Stanley, Dolly and Bertie - and Arnold the guinea pig.

Debbie says Ellie instantly got on with her four birth children – Lydia, 28, Georgia, 27, Romana, 14, and Freddie, 20 – but was incredibly protective of her little brother. Ellie said: “I looked after him. I felt it was my job. When I came to Debbie I found it really hard to let her take over. I’d push her away and wouldn’t let anyone touch him except me. I had to learn I wasn’t his mum and it wasn’t my job. I needed looking after myself.”

Lydia said: “I’d definitely consider being a foster mum in the future. I liked my upbringing as part of a foster family so I’d like my children to have the same experience.

“I’m incredibly proud of my mum. She takes on a lot and she does a lot in life, there’s always so much going on in her day. She’s very chaotic my mother and I’m very proud she doesn’t lose her marbles, I think I would.

";A lot of people, when I tell them what mum has done, they think she’s amazing and I’m proud. She’s super-mum.”

Here's details on how you can become a foster carer.