Coronation Street star Antony Cotton is calling on the public to back the Help for Heroes’ Christmas campaign by sending festive messages of appreciation to veterans. Antony, 49, who plays Sean Tully in the ITV soap, stresses the need for veterans to know that they have not been forgotten.
A patron of the charity, he says loneliness and feelings of isolation can be a massive problem for former military personnel - especially at Christmas. Awarded the MBE in 2022 for services to the British Army, personnel and veterans, he tells The Mirror : “These men and women fought for our country, their mates died and they literally carried their friends home.
“When they leave camp for the last time it is like part of them has gone and I honestly can’t imagine what that feeling is like. “I think at Christmas when people are talking about joy, happiness, and family there will be thousands of people - not just from the military - who heartbreakingly will be feeling very lonely and isolated.
"I was chatting to a young lad who had recently been medically discharged. I asked him what he would be doing for Christmas and he wasn’t sure. I asked him if he had family and he said he didn’t speak to them as he had had quite a tough upbringing.
“He said he would probably be spending Christmas on his own. That is a 23-year-old. It is heartbreaking.”. Antony says that receiving a simple, digital message could make all the difference to veterans, adding: “Help for Heroes have created a link you can click to their digital message wall, it is really simple and you write your name and who you want to write your message to - it could be a serving person in the armed forces, or a veteran from a particular regiment or your home town.
