Hollyoaks star Ashley Taylor Dawson planning marathon for mental health cause

Ashley Taylor Dawson is planning a 50km run to raise money for a mental health cause after being moved by his \'Hollyoaks\' storyline.

The 38-year-old actor - who has played Darren Osborne on the Channel 4 soap since 1999 - wants to help raise awareness and understanding around depression and mental health struggles following his character\'s plot.

He said: "What Darren has been going through has been awful - I can\'t even imagine what that would be like for someone of a younger age.

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"Learning about mental health more through Darren has really made me start to realise that we just don\'t talk about this enough.

"Mental health should be something we\'re openly discussing from an early age. People still get funny about words like \'counselling\', \'mental health\' and \'depression\'.

"If something goes wrong with your car you get it sorted because you know something dangerous might happen later on if you don\'t. But for some reason we don\'t have that same attitude when it comes to our minds."

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Now, Ashley and his friend Jay Parlane will take on the challenge of a 50km run to raise money for Galaxy House, which is a children\'s and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) impatient unit at Royal Manchester Children\'s Hospital.

The actor\'s soap alter ego suffered in silence for months before finally reaching out to Mandy Morgan (Sarah Jayne Dunn), and he was contacted by fans sharing their own struggles.

Father-of-three Ashley - who is a patron for Royal Manchester Children\'s Hospital and last year took part in the Humphrey\'s Heroes Abseil fundraiser - was moved by those who have reached out.

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He added: "I\'ve been overwhelmed by the people who have contacted me since Darren\'s depression storyline started. Even people who don\'t watch the show much have contacted me to say they have connected with it and opened up to me.

"And people I\'ve known for years have told me things which I had no idea about. It obviously resonates with a lot of people.

"Everyone is going through a particularly hard time right now. So now more than ever it\'s important that we look at the issue and how we can all get better education around mental health issues.

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"I honestly believe that means this should start in schools. Normalise it while we\'re young and we will grow up knowing it\'s perfectly fine to seek help."

Ashley and Jay\'s run will take place on July 4 around Cheshire, and donations can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ashandjay.