Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank has opened up about his sexuality, saying he 'hated himself for being gay' when he was younger.
The actor, who plays Billy Mayhew on the soap, spoke about coming out at 15 in a candid interview with Gay Times.
"I always knew I was different from the other boys I hung around with, but couldn't ever work out what it was," Daniel said.
"I was 12-years-old the first time I actually realised that I was gay. Back then there was no internet, very few gay people on TV or in the media, and we weren't taught about homosexuality in school due to Section 28 - so for a while I thought I might be the only person out there who felt like that. I hated myself for it and hoped it was a phase."
Daniel Brocklebank
© Rex Features Ken McKay
The actor went on to say: "I was 15-years-old and told my mum first, and then the rest of the family in one hit, like ripping off a plaster.
"It was terrifying and exhilarating all at once. To feel free to say the words 'I'm gay' out loud was one of the hardest yet most natural things in the world. Now I wouldn't change it for the world. I love who I am."
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