Ashley Taylor Dawson admits that his character\'s depression story in \'Hollyoaks\' has been an "eye-opener" to him.
The 38-year-old actor plays Darren Osborne in the Channel 4 soap and he has revealed that he visited a psychologist ahead of the plot even though he had been "a bit reticent" beforehand.
When asked about tackling the storyline, Ashley told Inside Soap magazine: "I do feel a bit apprehensive. But this storyline has been a real eye-opener for me. Before we started, I had to have an interview with a psychologist, which was really interesting. We\'ve all been through something, haven\'t we?
"At first I was a bit reticent to even go there, but if I can\'t go and speak to someone myself, then I would be completely contradicting the storyline I\'m playing. It\'s important to practice what I preach."
Darren has been struggling with depression since the end of last year and has been seen struggling with simple tasks and often breaks down in tears when nobody else is around, and Ashley admits his alter-ego attitude is to \'man-up\'.
Ashley explained: "He\'s really struggling. His emotions are taking over, which is something he\'s never experienced before, and he doesn\'t understand what\'s going on. Darren is this fun-loving guy, cracking all the jokes - he\'s old-school, he thinks he just needs to man-up and get on with it."
In episodes to air this week, Darren organises a comedy night but then doesn\'t attend because of his inner turmoil.
Ashley said: "It\'s all part of depression - you can\'t face the world, and sometimes just getting out of bed too much. He\'s put so much pressure on this night, he\'s arranged it all, and the last one was a failure as he forgot to hand out the fliers. So the best way for him to deal with it is to hide, and say he\'s ill."
