Coronation Street star Samia Longchambon has revealed her own health struggle was diagnosed as asthma amid her on-screen son's diagnosis.
The actress, who plays Maria Windass in the ITV soap, has just started a new storyline alongside Charlie Wrenshall who plays son Liam Connor.
Viewers watched on Monday night as Liam collapsed in the street after struggling to breathe while playing football with Jack Webster.
Liam was luckily OK but was diagnosed with asthma while at the hospital - marking the start of a new plot for Corrie to highlight the risk of air pollution for children.
READ MORE: Coronation Street fans confused by 'magical' appearance on the cobbles
But Samia also found herself receiving an asthma diagnosis as a child when she was actually suffering from crippling anxiety.
Speaking about struggling with her mental health from a young age, Samia said on Loose Women : "Everyone who knows me has always known I'm quite an anxious person.
"I'm known for being a bit of a worrier and being really cautious with everything.
"I've had anxiety since I was a child and when I was a child, my mum took me to the doctors and the doctor first diagnosed asthma because I couldn't get a deep breath.
"So they ended up giving me inhalers when I was about 11 thinking that it was asthma but it wasn't, it was anxiety."
Since becoming part of one of the country's biggest TV shows, Samia says she hasn't hid from her anxiety battle.
"I think as a child back then in the early nineties, it wasn’t really talked about, children’s mental health or having issues like that," she told the ITV panel via video link from her Corrie dressing room.
"But I've never hid it, I've just never publicly talked about it, I've never been asked about it or else I would have talked about it."
Samia also told Kaye Adams, Judi Love, Janet Street Porter and Coleen Nolan about lockdown being a "really anxiety-inducing" situation but found staying home and seeing less people helped her anxiety.
The soap star was applauded earlier this year when she revealed she had achieved a diploma in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
"In the last few years my anxiety has been quite bad. I don’t know if it’s to do with my kids getting older," Samia said when asked about her reasons for taking on the course.
"I've had psychotherapy and CBT and I just wanted to get an insight into what’s behind the therapy, and learn to help myself without having to see a therapist.
"I’m not at the stage where I can treat people, I need to further it a lot more but it’s definitely been really eye opening to see what’s behind the therapy."
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