CORRIE star Mikey North has revealed that his portrayal of a soldier has been so convincing he has inspired young fans to sign up for the Army.
And he said top brass are so impressed with the way he has nailed the harrowing role that they have written to thank him.
His character, former bad boy Gary Windass, joined up a year ago on the soap, and was caught in a roadside blast in Afghanistan in November.
He is now physically back in good health - but suffers post-traumatic stress disorder like so many of Britain's brave fighters.
Mikey, 24, told TV Biz: "This is the most challenging thing I've ever done, but it's been the most rewarding.
"I had a guy come up to me in the street and said he signed up for the Army because he saw Gary on Corrie and it inspired him." The Yorkshire-born star said he was particularly proud of the way the soap had drawn attention to mental health problems suffered by many troops. He said: "Since the whole post-traumatic stress storyline has played I've had letters from people in the Army - high-up people, too - thanking me for raising awareness of it.
"You've got no idea that you're doing it right, so to get that recognition was reassuring."
Mikey was so determined to understand the experiences of Our Boys and Girls returning from battle that he sought advice from the Royal British Legion and a real-life soldier.
He admitted: "Obviously this was always going to be a high-profile storyline so there was a lot of pressure to make sure we got it right.
"You've got to try to put yourself there in your mind, because obviously I've never been there, and none of my friends or family have either."
At first he was shocked that Gary would suffer mental problems instead of physical ones, as he had expected. Mikey said: "When I was told I was doing the storyline, I immediately thought they would be physical injuries as that's what you expect when someone says they were injured at war.
"But the mental side of things is just as bad, sometimes worse.
"It's certainly more challenging to play them."
Heart-breaking scripts have seen Gary spiral into depression - lashing out at his family and, like many other soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress, hitting the bottle.
Soldiers' families have said they are grateful to see the issue, the subject of The Sun's Stress.O.S campaign, being aired.
Mikey said: "People write and say their son signed up at the same time as Gary and they can relate to the issues. This is not something that affects just the odd person.
"Ex-servicemen should not be going to jail for going off the rails - they should be getting help.
"I was surprised things like PTSD played second fiddle to the physical stuff - the lack of awareness was eye-opening. I hope Gary's story will help."
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Originally Posted by Perdita
How come I've been taking my meds"