Coronation Street star Jamie Kenna has spoken about how he 'struggled in silence' as he faced his own anxiety and depression battle.
The actor, who made his debut on the ITV soap as Phill Whittaker last year, shared his own personal experiences with mental health during an interview with Lorraine Kelly.
Jamie joined the Scottish TV presenter on her self-titled ITV show, Lorraine, on Wednesday (July 6) where he was quizzed about his current Corrie storyline as his character prepares to marry Fiz Stape in scenes to air this week.
After chatting about Phill and joining the cast of the Salford-based soap, Lorraine went on to praise the Green Street star for being 'so open' as she encouraged him to talk about his past struggles and how he now tries to help others simply by talking. READ MORE: ITV Coronation Street's Phill star Jamie Kenna unveils hidden talent as he announces job away from the cobbles "I suffered a few years back now, and I’m a 6 foot 4 burly guy – I’m a big bloke – so I’m typical of that demographic," the 38-year-old told Lorraine, 62. "I was brought up in the ‘70s so I wasn’t taught how to talk about it and I wasn’t taught that it was a possibility, and what anxiety is and what panic attacks are." He went on: "I started suffering when I was in War Horse in the West End and something was happening to me and I didn’t know at it was, and it turns out I was suffering from anxiety and depression." Jamie suggested he kept quiet about how he was feeling until he discovered that wasn't the way forward. "It went on for a long time and I kind of silently suffered, and then a few years on I discovered through meditation and various other things that talking about it does literally halve the problem," he said before