Simon Gregson was bullied by his teachers after landing his role on ‘Coronation Street’.
The 40-year-old actor – who has played Steve McDonald on the ITV soap since 1989 – has confessed he struggled at school as he was singled out by teachers who picked on him because he landed a part of the soap at a young age, eventually causing him to abandon his education.
In an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper, he said: "It still really upsets me. If people misbehaved at school someone would say it was me and I’d get dragged out of class.
"It happened more and more. The way some teachers spoke to me was terrible. I’d be in tears.
"[A teacher] kept saying, ‘Who do you think you are? Just because you are off the telly.’ I kept saying, ‘Stop.’ I was getting all teary. I was just a normal kid with this job, I was never cheeky to anyone."
He added: "I walked out of school and never went back. It has bothered me all my life."
Simon – who turned to alcohol and drugs to handle the pressures of fame when he was a teenager – ended up in therapy aged 18 having starred on the soap for just three years.
He said: "I had stress counsellors for a while. I would break down at home sometimes. I didn’t like what came with fame. The intimidation and anger and violence. People seemed to hate me. It was extremely hurtful. They would think you were some big head show-off."
Fortunately Simon was able to pull himself together after a friend took him on a life-changing trip to Antigua in Guatemala.
He explained: "He took me to Guatemala, to a place called Antigua. I remember seeing little kid of two poke her head out of a box. I pointed her out and he said, ‘That’s her house, that’s where she lives’.
"It was such a poor place. We saw terrible poverty, bandits, a terrible side of life, and he said ‘Stop f**king complaining about your life.
"That was a light bulb moment – I thought, ‘What you have are executive problems’. I re-found myself.
"I’m happy. Very content. I would leave everything as it was."
Simon Gregson bullied by teachers over Corrie role
