Coronation Street’s Simon Gregson has revealed that rising to fame on the soap had a detrimental effect on his mental health.
The 49-year-old actor first appeared on the ITV soap in December 1989 when he was just 15, and instantly became a household name as millions of viewers tuned in to watch his exploits as rebellious teenager Steve McDonald.
However, at the time, the soap didn’t offer any support to young actors joining the big show like they do now, and Simon – who joined alongside Nicholas Cochrane, who played his twin brother Andy – admitted he felt like he had been “thrown in the middle of the ocean”.
Speaking to YouTube channel DEEP, set up by former LADbible executives Ben Powell-Jones and Thom Gulseven, Simon spoke about the impact joining the show at the time had on him and revealed that the thought of his own children going through what he did makes him very ‘upset’.
Speaking about his and co-star Nicholas’ rise to fame, he shared: “Overnight we became a phenomenon and it was very strange and difficult for a young man to understand. But there was no help!”
Coronation Street’s Simon Gregson has revealed that rising to fame on the soap had a detrimental effect on his mental health.
The actor, 49, first appeared on the ITV soap in December 1989 when he was just 15, and instantly became a household name as millions of viewers tuned in to watch his exploits as rebellious teenager Steve McDonald (pictured in 1991).
Simon went on to say that nowadays, when people are cast in the soap, they are sat down and told about the implications of being on TV, and the show briefs them on things like press interest, fan reactions, the impact on families and potential criticism of the role.
He added: “But there was nothing with us. So they left us in the middle of the ocean at the age of fifteen and let us swim to shore.”
Simon went on to talk about how he suffered mentally as a result: “Looking back, it had a massive impact on my mental health. It makes me so sad for the simple fact that I’ve got children of the same age now and to think of them going through what I went through is horrible. It’s not nice.”
The soap star, who played the role of Steve for 35 years, shared that his father was a police officer and as a result, he received therapy through law enforcement.
However, he admitted that those therapists “didn’t know what to do with it” and “had no idea” how to advise him during his struggles with fame.
Simon recounted how it was years later in 2015 when he got a therapist and started working on his issues, with the star saying: “I realised it was okay to not be okay.
‘As I kept talking about it, he (the therapist) said to me, “This has been a bit of a pain for you,” and I said, “Yeah! A little bit, actually.”
However, at the time, the soap didn’t offer any support to young actors joining the big show like they do now, and Simon (right), who joined alongside Nicholas Cochrane (left), who played his twin brother Andy, admitted he felt like he had been “thrown in the middle of the ocean”.
Simon has spoken about the impact joining the show had on him at the time, revealing that the idea of his own children going through what he did makes him very ‘upset’.
“But there was nothing with us. So they dropped us in the middle of the ocean at fifteen and let us swim to shore.” LR Steve (Simon Gregson), Andy (Nicholas Cochrane), Liz (Beverley Callard) and Jim (Charles Lawson)
“Looking back, it had a huge impact on my mental health. It makes me very sad for the simple fact that I now have children of the same age and to think of them going through what I went through is horrible. It’s not nice.”
Simon added that at the time, any bad publicity he received was “good publicity” and he could do no wrong.
He added: “I was getting paid, so I stayed. I stayed, yes, and I got very drunk! That seemed to help a lot!”
This comes after Simon revealed last year that Coronation Street producers called in a doctor during his debilitating 20-year battle with anxiety, which saw him suffer 12 panic attacks a day.
The actor had to visit a psychiatrist after his mental health led him to believe he was suffering from mysterious illnesses.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine show, she explained: ‘In 2015 it hit a breaking point and I didn’t know what it was.
This comes after Simon revealed last year that Coronation Street producers called in a doctor during his debilitating 20-year battle with anxiety, which saw him suffer 12 panic attacks a day.
Speaking to ITV’s Lorraine programme, she explained: “I had heart and brain scans, they thought I had vertigo, then we went back to square one and my GP found it out.”
‘I had heart and brain scans, they thought I had vertigo, then we went back to square one and my GP discovered I had an anxiety disorder.
“My fingers were in the shape of numbers, I had tunnel vision, I felt dizzy and sick. I was totally deliberating.”
He continued: ‘There came a critical moment when I had to call my boss and said, “Look, I’m in my car, but I can’t get out of the driveway.”
Simon said the soap’s producers called in a doctor, who has assisted the Royal Family and naval officers, to come to the set and help.
“I took a six-month break and went to the gym. I did a lot of research and learned how the brain connects to the stomach. I retrained my brain not to worry,” she revealed.
