COLLY SATES CARRIE BEV
Clash over mental health
STAN Collymore has accused Beverley Callard of talking “crap” about mental illness
The ex-England striker slammed the Corrie star’s fears that some celebs may flaunt the illness “like a Gucci handbag”.
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan backed Beverley, who has fought a long-term battle with depression.
He tweeted: “She’ll be hammered for saying this, but it’s
100% true.’’
But football pundit Collymore,
47, who has also suffered depression, urged celebritiess to ignore the pair.
He messaged: “Don’t bite! Just keep advocating and using your voice to help others.
“Are Callard or Morgan trained MH specialists?
“No, so let them waffle crap and concentrate on what you can do to inform and help others.”
Beverley, 61, who has played Liz McDonald in the soap for 30 years, vis an ambassador for mental health charity Mind.
Tears
They said her frank revelations about her battle with depression had helped save lives by inspiring others to seek help.
Three years ago she had to take two months off work after breaking down in tears on the set .
She feared she did not measure up to the soap’s young female stars.
The actress said she was plunged into a “black hole”.
But as we revealed this week, she warned there was a danger it could “become fashionable” to claim to suffer from such conditions.
She said: “We have to be careful that mental illness doesn’t become like a Gucci handbag.”
Piers’ support for Beverley also upset actress Sophie Turner, 22, who plays Sansa Stark in Game Of Thrones.
She tweeted that stars “have a platform to speak out about it and help get rid of the stigma of mental illness”.
She added: “Please go ahead and shun them back into silence. T***.’’
Piers, 53, responded: “Do you think abusing people helps their mental health, Ms Turner? Maybe consider that question for your next virtue-signalling Twitter thesis on the subject?’’