Ross Kemp questions TV stereotypes of PTSD

Ross Kemp is determined to fight TV stereotypes of PTSD.

The former soap star has slammed the way in which the mental health condition is portrayed in TV dramas, saying there needs to be a "more honest representation" of the issue.

The 57-year-old actor explained: "We need drama, and conflict inside the drama and it’s only right to see those characters.

"But there are too many of those characters who actually need to address and be a more honest representation of veterans’ mental health.

"And if you do have PTSD or any mental health issue, you can get access to the right treatment to go through that and come out."

The former 'EastEnders' actor made the comment during an on-air discussion with 'Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid.

Susanna, 51, said during their conversation: "There is a lot that is described when it comes to PTSD in a drama.

"You know, this idea that a soldier who has seen the worst of the worst out in Iraq or Afghanistan, comes back to be shattered by PTSD, he on a sort of hair-trigger.

"That’s what you’re saying it’s a sort of cliche in drama. That is not helpful because of course, people with PTSD, and not the majority of them will not be like that."

Ross subsequently explained that PTSD is a "specific kind of mental health".

He added: "It's now become an all-encompassing term for a mental health issue.

"Service personnel, veterans, so it only accounts for seven percent of all veterans, and as you compare that to people in the general community who haven't served, it's a full percent.

"So it's not dramatically larger than the people who haven't served."