Simon Gregson was "privileged" to have the right support to help him deal with fame.
The ‘Coronation Street’ star – who was a teenager when he first joined the ITV soap as Steve McDonald back in 1989 – has reflected on his path after watching a documentary about the late Amy Winehouse, who died aged 27 in 2011.
Simon – who suffered from alcohol abuse in the late 1990s – agreed with a fan commenting that he and Amy "didn’t get into singing or acting to become a ‘celeb’".
He replied: "Too true. I was 14. But good family, good friends and bloody tenaciousness saw me through but not everyone has that privilege.
"My point is. Don’t believe what you read and think before you think. Be safe people and take care xx (sic)"
He added that no one "shares a talent for a bad time", urging people to focus on "good vibes".
Simon, now 45, took a break from the cobbles when he was written out of the soap in the 1990s and he later returned to ‘Corrie’ after spending time at a rehab centre.
Speaking back in 2014 about his early years in the spotlight, he said: "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 like you were some bighead show off."
Commenting on his break, he added: "I had no confidence in myself at all, I didn’t feel myself. It all had to come out at some time.
"I was probably exhausted from the partying and the mental stuff and everyone has a breaking point and that was mine. I needed to get out. I had nine months away."
Simon Gregson ‘privileged’ to have right support as a teen
