1 week Ago By [email protected] (Danny Gutmann)
Simon Gregson , or Steve McDonald as he's better known to Coronation Street fans, became a household name after first appearing on the cobbles aged just 15-years-old. Now approaching his 35th year on the street, he has opened up about his time on the soap and his battle with his mental health , telling the 'People Are Deep' podcast : "It was only years later (after he first started experiencing mental health issues), in about 2015 when I got a therapist and I started talking, that I realised it was okay not to be okay." The soap stalwart revealed that he turned to alcohol in an attempt to self-medicate, adding: "I got very drunk, that seemed to help quite a lot, I self-medicated like mad, it was great.
"It never became a problem. I mean, in the eyes of family and friends they may say it was a problem, but I never deemed it as a problem. Although, looking back, it was crazy how we got through, but yeah, the money was coming in and the parties carried on," the Corrie star said.
But, after marrying his wife, Emma Gleave, in 2010, he said that he had managed to take some of his former habits under control: "When I met my wife, things seemed to get a lot better from there as well. Because she was like 'you ain't drinking that much and being with me'". Speaking to the Sunday Mirror in 2021 he opened up about how he also used to turn to drugs when he struggled with his "reality", saying: "The cocaine use came hand in hand with the alcohol abuse.
I started smoking marijuana first. Reality wasn’t too great so this alternative reality with the use of substances was a better place to be. It was an experimentation at first and I could afford it.
" Making his debut on the cobbles on 6 December 1989, he has been involved of some of the shows biggest storylines, with him claiming the 'Legends of Industry Award for Television Acting' award in 2017 for his acting exploits..
