Ben Price has admitted it "isn’t easy" portraying his current ‘Coronation Street’ storyline as father.
The 48-year-old star – who has son Max and daughter Paloma – is currently playing out a hard-hitting plot which has seen Nick Tilsley’s partner Leanne Battersby’s (Jane Danson) son Oliver diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, but Ben believes it is an "important story to tell" to "get the conversation started" in real life.
He said: "It is a great story and as an actor you want to play those strong stories.
"I have children myself so it isn’t easy but it is important to tell it.
"All of the big stories are hard to tell, you have to be prepared to tell them and understand that people have gone through them for real and that is what makes them such an important story to tell.
"Also it is the job of an actor to highlight the elements where the character is struggling and highlight what those struggles are, the emotional heartache, all these questions that come with any illness, especially children.
"It is being talked about and people can open a dialogue about something that isn’t easy to talk about.
"It is a hard thing to discuss but if you have a gateway with a soap opera storyline it gets the conversation started, it gives a point of reference. It does transcend entertainment."
While in normal circumstances Nick may comfort Leanne with a hug, that is not possible in the current climate as the ‘Corrie’ stars resumed filming this month with social distancing guidelines, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But Ben insists the plot will still be "as good", it will just be played out slightly differently.
He said: "For this story we can make it work. Some people from the outside looking in have asked whether it will be as good, it isn’t about being better or worse, it is about it being different.
"You have to make different choices, they are as good, you have to look for them a bit harder. The choice with those scenes, we tell the story that he is struggling and she is struggling so he goes over to comfort her or is he struggling so much that he can’t even do that."