Darren has been struggling with his mental health lately...
Hollyoaks character Darren Osborne has been battling with mental health, and a new podcast episode aims to raise awareness.
Darren's actor Ashley Taylor Dawson appeared on C4's Don't Filter Feelings podcast to address male mental health.
He joined host Lauren Layfield and mental health adviser Josh Connolly to discuss the important topic.
Usually the Hollyoaks podcast record on set, but they had to change things around due to lockdown.
Speaking about caring for yourself during lockdown, Ashley said you have to "make it something".
He added, "It’s either you are going through a portal or going into a hole, and that’s how you’ve got to attack it really.
"You’ve got to make it something, make it an experience instead of wallowing in the misery of what it could be."
Ashley then spoke about his character Darren's storyline, saying, "He just wasn't feeling anything. He wasn't enjoying anything."
"Even his kids, he'd completely switched off and became numb to the world around him."
"The whole point of this storyline is to help people, and to get people to communicate. Whether that's talking or opening up to someone, or communicating with themselves."
Josh Connolly told listeners that men have a tendency to "bury emotions" which can lead to problems such as addiction, anxiety and depression.
He said, "What we need to do more of is, rather than tell people to talk, let's start creating spaces where people can feel heard."
"Because then people will talk, and they do talk."
Hollyoaks is shown weekdays on C4 at 6.30pm with the next episode following on E4.
