HOLBY City's Kieran Callaghan loses a leg in Afghanistan in a gritty plot bosses hope will bring home the horrors of war.
The heart-throb nurse, played by Barry Sloane, was called up as a Territorial Army medic last month and is gravely injured in an IED blast.
Kieran and on/off love interest Donna Jackson will get together before moving away and being written out of the BBC1 soap.
Barry, 30, told how he prepared by researching the stories of real soldiers who have lost limbs.
The actor said: "It was important for me to see some of the guys that had suffered in that way. I wanted the character driven and give him a goal that he wanted to get better quickly. It comes from the wounded guys. They don't sit around and feel sorry for themselves - they are so driven.
"If they set a target to be walking in six months, if that's at all possible, that's what they will be doing."
Dad-of-one Barry, who played villain Niall Rafferty in Hollyoaks, said the storyline has increased his respect for amputee troops.
He added: "I don't know how I would react if I lost a limb - I wouldn't be as strong-willed as these guys."
Barry hopes the plot will help servicemen and families who are struggling in the same way. He said: "I hope they will find some truth there and won't be disappointed." Kieran and fellow nurse Donna, played by Jaye Jacobs, leave on March 8.
Barry will then move to New York, where he is set to star in Broadway play Jerusalem alongside The Office star Mackenzie Crook.
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