HOLLYOAKS’ actor Adam Rickitt has revealed his personal link to the depression storyline on the popular soap.
Adam, 41, plays Kyle Kelly on the E4 soap and was the first to notice on the show that his best mate Darren Osborne was suffering from depression.
Viewers celebrated the raw storyline and congratulated the soap for tackling such a serious topic.
But now Adam has revealed the storyline hits really close to him because of “stuff in [his] own life”.
He said that experience has lead to him being “well versed” to deal with the storyline.
The actor told TV Life: “Mental health’s something I’ve been campaigning about for over 20 years.
“It can never be addressed too much.”
He added: “I’ve been an advocate for discussing mental health and also a counsellor.
“I’ve also gone through stuff in my own life so I feel well versed to be able to give a voice to what’s an incredibly important message.
“That’s not to say I know everything, so I spoke to researchers but the majority of it has come from personal experience and from other people’s experiences I’ve heard about through counselling them.”
Last month, Hollyoaks‘ fans were relieved after Kyle became the first person to realise Darren Osborne was depressed.
Darren – who is played by actor Ashley Taylor Dawson in the E4 soap – has been suffering in silence for months with no-one noticing.
But when he missed his own open mic night, Kyle realised the signs and went to see him and told him about his friend’s issues.
However it soon became clear that Kyle wasn’t talking about a friend – but his own battle with depression.
He told Darren: “At rehab I had a roommate who suffered from depression.
“He said it was like a grey fog descending on him.”
Kyle told him about how his friend would pinch the skin on the back of his hand in a coping mechanism.
By opening up he encouraged Darren to open up but as he did he let slip that he and Nancy had slept together in the crane disaster – leaving Kyle devastated.
At the end of the episode Kyle was seen devastated by the revelation and sat outside pinching the back of his hand in tears.
Adam has also said how proud he is of Hollyoaks for tackling such an important topic.
He told Inside Soap.”I think it’s amazing, I genuinely do.”
If you need mental health help, reach out to The Samaritans on 116 123.
