Kevin Kennedy's charity has been "inundated" with calls throughout the coronavirus lockdown.
Kevin Kennedy
The former 'Coronation Street' actor set up Kennedy Street to help people in recovery or those looking to enter recovery from addiction, and he admitted the pandemic has led to lots more people contacting the charity, particularly those connected to the acting industry.
Kevin - who has been sober since 1998 - said: "We are a very small charity, Kennedy Street. But we have a big reach.
"Over the lockdown our phone has not stopped ringing. People are self-medicating at home because of the pandemic.
"People who are on the edge of addiction and have now crossed that line. Now is the perfect time to get sober and get some help.
"We signpost people to the right places. At the moment we are inundated, so we're doing a lot of fundraising over August. Because basically we need some help.
"It's a pandemic of its own out there. We may lose more people through mental health problems than we will do with the actual virus the way things are going.
"There's no judgement. We've all been through it, and that is the secret of it.
"There's never a better time because everything is online.
"A lot of the people who have rung us are within our industry, because we have fallen between the cracks.
"We need to reopen the theatres as soon as we can if it's safe."
Kevin - who played Curly Watts on the ITV soap from 1983 to 2003 - has admitted he feels "very proud" of his time on the cobbles, and says it is a "privilege" that people still recall his 20 years on the show.
Speaking on 'Lorraine', he added: "Once you've been involved in 'Coronation Street' you're an ambassador for life.
"And I'm very proud of what we did.
"People still remember it, and I think that's a privilege.
"People link it to their own lives."
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