Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver has shown her support to co-star Simon Gregson after he bravely opened up on his mental health battle during a candid appearance on ITV’s Loose Women

Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver has expressed her support for fellow cast member Simon Gregson after he courageously shared his experiences with anxiety attacks.

Simon, 50, graced the Loose Women panel on ITV’s chat show on Thursday, January 1 to open up about his personal battle with mental health challenges, shedding light on the issue in an effort to help others going through similar troubles.

The following day, Sue joined Coleen Nolan, Nadia Sawalha, and Kelly Holmes on the daytime show, praising Simon with affectionate words: “I’m really proud of him for talking out because I think it sounds like a classic example of somebody who was very good at hiding it.”

Sue Cleaver shared a sweet message her co-star and admitted that she is ‘proud’ of Simon(Image: ITV)

She continued to express her admiration: “So you wouldn’t have been with Simon and thought ‘oh’ because he was really good at hiding it and he felt like he had to hide it. Now we know – I’m really really proud of him.”

Veteran soap character Steve McDonald, played by Simon since the tender age of 15, recalled his own ordeal, admitting: “Yeah, with me it all came to a head in about 2015,” reports the Liverpool Echo.

Delving further into his condition, he shared: “I kept having anxiety attacks, panic attacks. Which is so bizarre because I’ve been having them all day today. I was like there’s no way I can go on. It just hits you like a ton of bricks and it just makes you completely incapacitated.”

Opening up about the onset of his health troubles, he candidly shared: “I’ve been having them since about 1990, but I just kind of got on with it.”

Simon has suffered from anxiety disorder for over a decade

He revealed a turning point came when his condition became noticeable to his children, admitting: “But then when I had children, and they were noticing it and they started talking that they’re getting anxious, I thought ‘Oh I’ve passed it on, it’s like a cold I’ve given them.'”

The actor has previously confessed that his rapid rise to stardom brought about its own set of challenges which included alcohol dependency, subsequently causing an anxiety disorder. Simon’s battles with the bottle nearly wrecked his marriage with Emma Gleave until she presented him with a stark choice.

Ultimately, he chose to stop drinking, yet this decision plunged him into intense anxiety, compelling him to take an extended six-month break from his work.