Two years ago soap fan John Junior was watching an episode of the Channel Four soap Hollyoaks when they were jolted from the brink of suicide by a powerful storyline about mental health and suicide. John, who has battled depression since they were a child, had planned to end their own life until they saw heart-wrenching scenes featuring the grieving loved-ones of the character Kyle Kelly.
The character, played by former Coronation Street star Adam Rickitt, tragically took his own life in the harrowing Hollyoaks story that highlighted suicide being the biggest cause of death in men under 50. He was found by his friend Darren Osborne, who had also contemplated suicide and had to break the news to Kyle's fiancee Nancy Hayton.
John, 33, from Wilmslow, had experienced suicidal thoughts years earlier and those thoughts returned after their mental health worsened during the first lockdown. Watching the harrowing Hollyoaks scenes encouraged them to seek help from the Samaritians and the SOS Silence of Suicide charity who asked John to be an ambassador.
