Coronation Street star Alison King has said her character Carla Connor's breakdown "can happen to anybody", and that she feels "a real responsibility" in bringing the story to the screen.
Fans of the ITV soap have seen Carla's life unravel following the factory collapse that resulted in the death of fellow Weatherfield resident Rana Habeeb.
Coming up in the show, Carla suffers a severe psychotic episode, with British mental health charity Mind arranging a meeting for King with a woman who had gone through a similar experience.
The consequences of the factory collapse finally catch up with those responsible...
— Coronation Street (@itvcorrie) May 18, 2019
Whose lies will come back to haunt them in a week of unmissable episodes?
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"When I talked to her I asked so many questions," King told The Press Association. "She suffers from what Carla is suffering and she told me that during those moments of extreme psychosis you are never not yourself, but you are just the most terrified version of yourself.
"You are locked in there - when you are spiking in these psychotic episodes there is no way out.
"You are trapped in there and wherever you are or whoever you are with it is terrifying, but you need to be free to go through it and this is what I am trying to portray."
King said she received insights into "how Carla would be speaking, her physicality, her need for isolation and desire to hide away".
"It shows with it happening to Carla that it can happen to anybody," she continued.
Carla thinks Rana is alive. What can Roy do to help her? #Corrie #Carla #Roy pic.twitter.com/3cTgAzEN6p
— Coronation Street (@itvcorrie) May 13, 2019
"Of course she is just as likely to get it as anyone because she has been through so much. The brain is so fragile and it has to snap at some point and for Carla it needs to break to mend, to change her lifestyle in some ways, to understand yourself better.
"I felt a real responsibility and especially after meeting that amazing lady who had been through so much. She is brave enough to go out there and talk about it."
Coronation Street airs on Virgin Media One and ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
If you were affected by issues raised in this story, please visit samaritans.org, contact the 24-hour helpline on 116123 or email: jo@samaritans.org.
