CORONATION Street star Charlie Condou revealed he had a breakdown after leaving the soap including being penniless and unemployed.
The actor, 49, – who played Marcus Dent on the ITV soap from 2007 to 2014 – opened up on the struggles he faced after leaving Corrie, including "the terrible times in my life."
Charlie who is dad to Georgia, 12, and Hal, nine, with husband Cameron Laux, quit the soap so he could be a "present" parent.
"There were a lot of great things about being at Corrie and it was a hard decision to make," he told Brood.
"I had been deliberating it for months, because in a sense you’ve got job security – you can potentially be there for a long time; you know when you can take your holidays, and all those things."
But with his kids living in London and him working in Manchester, the distance was too great and it was hard for him only seeing them on weekends.
"I was giving that role up with essentially nothing to go into," Charlie explained.
"I would come home on Friday evening, and I’d have to go back to Manchester again on a Sunday afternoon.
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"It just wasn’t working, so I don’t regret it at all, but it was still a hard decision to make.”
Following his departure from the ITV soap, Charlie had no work and eventually he had to get therapy to help him.
"I had a bit of breakdown after I left Corrie , as I had left for the right reasons but suddenly I had job, no money, and things were tough and I got myself into therapy because I needed to help myself," he said.
"So, seeing a therapist was brilliant for me and helped me to figure out who I was. I think we take care of our physical selves all the time but so many of us don’t take care of our mental health and wellbeing.”
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In 2019, Charlie joined Holby City in a guest role, playing doctor Ben Sherwood.
He recently enjoyed a night out at the Top Gun: Maverick premiere with Hollywood superstar, Jennifer Connelly.
Jennifer's husband Paul met Charlie, 49, who played Marcus Dent on the ITV programme – on the set of Dead Babies, and they became best friends ever-since.
Charlie and Jennifer's husband Paul Bettany are godfather to each other's children and both families spend every second Christmas together.
So when Jennifer, 51, was in town, Charlie made sure he was the perfect date to take her to the star-studded premiere of the year.
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The dapper duo looked partied out as they got into a taxi after the glam Top Gun event.
Jennifer looked sensational in a cream maxi dress with black embellishments as she posed alongside main man Tom Cruise.
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