Shameless star Jody Latham has spoken of his shock at finding out he had contracted COVID-19 - and how he now wants to help curb the spread of the deadly bug.
The actor says he was affected for weeks after falling ill.
Burnley-born Jody, 38, who played Lip Gallagher in the gritty Manchester comedy drama Shameless, tested positive for the coronavirus six weeks ago and went into quarantine with his family.
"About six weeks ago I got symptoms. I was a bit chesty," he said.
"I was tested straight away. I isolated until I got the results and when I got the results I couldn't believe it, it was such a shock.
"You're as anxious as anything thinking the worst.
"Some people haven't been that fortunate to get over it. It's a brutal time we're in.
"I'm in lockdown with my family and we all had to quarantine."
Jody added: "I just pray we don't have to go through this again in our lifetime."
Jody is now looking to donate 100,000 face masks to care homes and charities across the north west, to help stop the spread of the infection, through his company Safe and Protect UK.
He explained: "Previously my background has been in cosmetics and aesthetics distributions, besides acting.
"Because of the COVID-19 outbreak my suppliers and a lot of people in the industry turned their attentions to PPE.
"We're giving 100,000 masks away and it's first come, first served.
"Come on the website and there's an option to apply for up to 1,000 free three-ply disposable face masks for you and your charity. All we need is the charitable number and if it's a trust we can get the registered trust number.
"Be it a care home or charity shop, if you need them for your customers or for staff so they can serve customers, please get in touch with us."
Speaking about his diagnosis and the impact of lockdown, he told us: "It's made me so conscious of mental health, not just myself but everyone else.
"It's heartbreaking the impact it's had on so many people and the social impact, not just the implications of getting corona.
"I daresay I was one of the lucky ones and it wasn't as bad as what some other people have been suffering.
"It knocked me off my feet for a few days and the worst thing about it was taste and smell.
"I had no taste and smell for weeks."
Jody memorably played Lip, the eldest of Frank Gallagher's children, in Paul Abbott's groundbreaking Channel Four show Shameless which ran from 2004 to 2013.
He played evil pimp Rob Grayson in EastEnders and in 2017 he was reunited with Paul Abbot to star in the police drama No Offence, which is also set in Manchester.
During lockdown Jody has been thrilled to see Shameless win over a new generation of fans on Netflix.
"It's class isn't it? he laughed.
"The only positive thing for me to come out of lockdown is the fact that we've got a new audience who are thrilled to bits with Shameless.
"It has a new generation of fans," Jody added of the show.
"On Instagram it doesn't take long for people to get on to you and I've had a wave of positive messages from a younger audience and a load of people who used to watch it saying 'I'm buzzing it's back.'
"It's nice, I'm not going lie.
"It's nice to know you've put smiles on people's faces while we're going through these miserable shenanigans."
Care homes and charities seeking more information on Jody's offer should visit safeandprotect.uk or call 0161 960 0099.
