Hollyoaks star David Tag is on a mission to encourage men suffering from mental health problems to open up about their feelings.
David, who plays Sylver McQueen in the Channel Four soap, is an ambassador for the charity MenWalkTalk with the aim of bringing men together to walk, talk, share their feelings and reduce social isolation.
He became an ambassador after going through a break-up a couple of years ago.
During lockdown David lost two friends to suicide who, unbeknown to their family and friends, were suffering with their mental health.
David says that, as an actor who plays an alpha male role on the show, he wants to show people that it's okay to talk about their feelings.
"Even the happiest of faces can suffer from mental health problems," he told us.
"The charity organises get-togethers where you can open up to each other.
"I am a strong-willed person and I found during lockdown a lot of people suffered in a lot of different ways.
"During lockdown two people I know died by suicide."
Speaking about the importance of fighting the stigma surrounding men's mental health he said: "When it gets down to the nitty gritty men pull back and think 'I'm being pathetic, weak and stupid.
"There is a stigma."
David, who is preparing to welcome his first child with his girlfriend Abi Harrison next month, is planning to take a course as a mental health first aider in his role as ambassador for MenWalkTalk, which has hosted events in the south and is now planning a walk for the Manchester area.
David believes that feeling more at one with nature can help.
"We get so wrapped up in the day to day life, when you go outside and see the nice views it helps you to relax," he said.
Last year Hollyoaks screened a powerful storyline during which the character Kyle Kelly, played by Adam Rickitt, took his own life to highlight suicide being the biggest cause of death in men under 50.
He was found by his friend Darren Osborne, who had also contemplated suicide.
"I am proud to be part of Hollyoaks," he said.
"In the storyline in which Sylver killed his own mother he went to a psychologist to talk about his mental health."
