Simon Gregson kept getting "really ill" before being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Simon Gregson reveals battle with anxiet
The 48-year-old actor has played the role of Steve McDonald on 'Coronation Street' since he was a teenager and had to visit a psychiatrist after his mental health struggles had led him to believe he was suffering from mystery illnesses.
Speaking on ITV's 'Lorraine', he said: "In about 2015, it kind of come to a head. I had no idea what it was. I just kept getting really ill I kept getting these mystery illnesses, I was having heart scans, brain scans, and they thought at one point I had vertigo, all these sorts of ailments. Then eventually I went to see my local GP and a psychiatrist and he said 'You've had an anxiety disorder, and you've had it for a very long time.'
The former 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!' contestant went on to add that these days when a young actor joins the soap, everything is explained to them about how their life will change but claimed that was not the case when he first joined the cast.
He added: "All the people who come into 'Corrie' now are taken off into a room and they're told about what will happen, press intrusion, how being famous - for want of a better word - will change your life. But when we started, there was none of that so we just had to deal with it. And we kind of became massive overnight.
"It was the late 80s, early 90s and now I think being on TV or in the public eye is a lot easier When it came to a head, it was when I rang my boss and said 'I'm in the car, but I can't get off the drive'. For a long time I was doing my job, but it happens to everyone in all walks of life so that's my goal, to highlight it. I think a lot of people are living with it and don't know what it is. And as soon as someone said it, a lot of it went. I went to go see the GP and then ITV brought a doctor in. He said 'Six months off'."
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