'Coronation Street' star Beverley Callard has revealed that she experienced memory loss while receiving electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) for depression.
The Press Association says that in a 'GMTV' interview the 52-year-old said she underwent ECT as a "last resort" and it helped her recover from the illness.
She said of her memory loss: "I still have a little bit. I can't read a novel yet but I can learn my lines, which is weird really. I'm beginning to listen to myself a bit more. I've got to try and be kinder to myself and that's quite hard. But I'm getting there.
"I'm not 100% better but I'm getting there. I'm on the climb back up again now."
Callard was absent from the soap for five months while she received treatment and told 'GMTV' she broke down on the show's set on Friday, 13 February.
She described the experience as a "very hazy, foggy time".
"I just wanted it to stop. Apparently I was rambling. I did have suicidal thoughts," she added.
The actress has now written a book about her depression.
"I did think maybe I won't ever talk about this," she said. "It evolved because I started going to therapy sessions. I never thought things like that would help me but it did. The book came out of that really."
