‘Emmerdale’ actor Kelvin Fletcher is feeling the "pressure" ahead of scenes in which he will contemplate taking his own life.
The 31-year-old actor, who plays Andy Sugden in the ITV soap, has confessed he’s nervous about the reaction tonight’s episode – in which his character could be set to commit suicide following the death of his wife Katie (Sammy Winward) earlier this month – will receive.
He shared: "I think with suicide, I think as males feel they don’t want to be a burden upon other people and despite a strong support network and two beautiful children he just feels that if he ends his own life he almost ends the grief for them and ends the problems for them. "It’s something that’s been quite tough to play because obviously as an actor you do try and draw on personal experiences and obviously I can’t draw on that because I’ve not been in that tragic position where I’ve had to make or even contemplate things like that.
"As an actor it’s tricky to play because you know there’s people out there going through similar scenarios and there’s a lot of pressure on."
The hunky star – who has starred in the soap for nearly 20 years – went on to explain Andy’s reasons for wanting to end his life.
He told ITV’s ‘This Morning’: "This is a big turning point for Andy and I think he feels that it’s all got too much for him and men are very likely, most likely, more than women, to not share their problems and let things build up … And he feels like going to the funeral tonight is literally his last goodbye because little do people know but he’s actually preparing to end his life."
Meanwhile, Kelvin also spoke about the recent departure of his long-time co-star Sammy and admitted he’s been missing her on set.
He added: "It was a great shame for the show to lose such an iconic character like Katie and for me personally to lose a great friend and a great work colleague, we did enjoy some great times together.
"I think it’s been a fitting send off for Katie. I think it was a great send off I think it gave Sammy a chance to show off her talent and range as an actress."
Kelvin Fletcher feeling ‘pressure’ of current storyline
