Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank has opened up about his character Billy Mayhew tackling the current diabetes storyline affecting his ward Summer Spellman (played by Harriet Bibby).
Dealing with the diagnosis has been difficult for the family but Daniel has mentioned that Billy is trying his best to make sure Summer is well cared for.
Speaking to Digital Spy and other media, Daniel explained his thoughts on how difficult it is for teenagers who have to deal with a diabetes diagnosis. He also mentioned that his friend and former EastEnders star Jonny Labey helped him prepare for the storyline.
Related: Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank teases Todd Grimshaw being caught out
Daniel explained: "It's a scary thing. It's shit being a teenager enough as it is, you're dealing with puberty, exams, all of it, and especially now with social media and things like that, I'm glad that I grew up in an analogue era.
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"So I think Billy's very conscious that she has to be looked after in all departments, not just the diabetes but her mental health. Harriet's had some lovely scenes recently with the Dr. Gaddas stuff where she was pre-diagnosis, and I think he's very conscious that this is a serious ailment that has to be managed properly.
"One of my best mates, Jonny Labey, who used to be in EastEnders – we used to live together in London – he was diagnosed at 15 with type one diabetes so it's been really handy for me having him on the phone, just [asking] 'How did your parents deal with it, how did you feel?' And then to be able to use him as a point of reference to know what it was like."
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When asked about Jonny's current condition, Daniel mentioned that his longtime friend does a lot of charity work to raise awareness on the important topic, adding that Jonny is "very open about his diabetes".
"Yes, he does a lot of work with diabetes UK, he's from Jersey so he does a lot of stuff with Diabetes Jersey as well. He's very open about his diabetes, I'm not talking out of turn," Daniel said.
"It's a worrying thing, it can kill you if it's not managed properly. It's been an interesting story to get our teeth into."
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7.30pm on ITV, but days and times will vary during Euro 2020. A week's worth of episodes is currently dropping on the ITV Hub each Monday.
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