'Emmerdale asked me to advise on Zak Dingle's mental health storyline - it's based on my life'

Emmerdale has been praised for its sensitive handling of Zak Dingle's mental health storyline, which was shaped with the help of Lawrence Butterfield, a 64-year-old who drew on his own life experiences to ensure the plot's authenticity.

The character, portrayed by Steve Halliwell for nearly three decades, was given a heartfelt send-off following the actor's passing last year, with the soap incorporating a funeral into recent episodes. Lawrence, a retired mental health nurse from Guisborough, took pride in his advisory role, stating: "I was very proud - being from the North East which has the highest number of suicides amongst men."

Tasked with "moulding the scripts" so they were as authentic as possible, Lawrence revealed much of the storyline was based on his own experiences. He was also on hand to advise how symptoms would manifest for the character, verbal and non-verbal mannerisms and what sort of medication might be used in hospitals.

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He added that the process was therapeutic for him: "A lot of it was based on my own experiences - I was made redundant around the same time I started it so in a way my mood dipped again. When I really put myself into that role, it lifted my mood because I realised how well the storyline was being received and it helped my own self-esteem."

"We wanted to make it as realistic and sensitive as possible. I spoke with Steve and he made it clear he had struggles with alcohol and depression - he wanted to raise awareness, particularly with men as well."

Lawrence revealed that his own battle with depression began in his youth, largely due to his upbringing. He shared: "It all started when I was a child.

"It was a dysfunctional family situation and my dad left when I was 14 and it was a struggle - there was a lot of stigma around it. I think subconsciously the difficulties I had as a child were the reason I decided to start my training as a mental health nurse.

"I tried to mask those experiences that I had as a child for so long. But it came to a head in 2004 when I was having suicidal thoughts.

"I tried to mask it as I was a manager of a large community health team. I was seeing people who were mentally unwell and here I was with the same symptoms - I had many sleepless nights and I lost a lot of weekends.

"I was trying my best to mask things but people were spotting it. I didn't want to admit I had depression. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone."

After becoming involved with Mind, a mental health charity, in 2008, an opportunity arose that Lawrence couldn't refuse. He said: "Time to Change by Mind was launched in 2008 - there was a part as a media advisor. So I was asked if I watched Emmerdale and knew the character Zak Dingle.

"I was told the character was very similar to my background and I was asked if I would help to devise a storyline around the character experiencing severe depression. I thought it would be great.

"It was quite a dramatic storyline where he was almost killed, went into hospital and I would be advising on how he would be supported, as well as signs and symptoms. I was getting regular phone calls from the researcher about how the story would pan out - I would get loads of scripts every day.

"So I would have to look at the scripts and mould them so they were as authentic as possible. It was all about how his symptoms would manifest and going through verbal and non-verbal mannerisms.

"When the character was in hospital I'd advise on what sort of medication he'd be on, how he would act, what sort of care plan and the legalities of the Mental Health Act. In his recovery his character tried to mask the symptoms because he felt stigmatised, so I advised on the things we do and say when we're mentally unwell."

"On the whole, I must admit I was quite pleased with the way they took on the advice. They weren't going to reinforce the stigma anymore than they needed to.

"It was a fine line that we had to walk between promoting awareness of what severe depression can look like while also not further reinforcing stigmatising views. I was watching episodes to make sure the scripts were done properly and the message was getting across."

Despite retiring, Lawrence remains dedicated to the cause he championed throughout his career. He shared: "I'm continuing the work we did in Steve's name.

"He was passionate about trying to get that message across to men. When I qualified a big part of my job was tackling the stigma around it - I dedicated my life to it."

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