Will Mellor is proud of his working-class roots.
But the Broadchurch actor, who was brought up on a Stockport council estate, is all-too-aware that growing up in less-affluent areas like he did can have long-term effects on health and life expectancy – and he’s grateful that he’s been successful enough to move out to the countryside to bring up his two children.
He lived in London during the early years of his career, and says: “It was very busy, and quite polluted.
“So as soon as my kids were born, I decided to move a bit further out to the country, just so they could have more of a healthy life, be a bit more free. It’s better for mental health, as well to be able to go out on bike rides and walks and go to a green park.
“I’m very fortunate to be in that situation – but it doesn’t mean I can’t have a voice in this sector and say ‘Listen, I’m one of the lucky ones’.”
open image in galleryMellor is lending his voice to the new Shelf Life campaign led by the coalition Health Equals, which has analysed national data to reveal a substantial life expectancy gap across the UK, with people from some areas expected to live up to 18 years less than others because they don’t have access to health basics such as decent homes, secure jobs and enough money to make ends meet.
“My childhood postcode in Stockport holds an 80-year-average life expectancy, eight years lower than the highest in the country, which is 88 in places like Marylebone and Berkhamsted,” says Mellor.
“Some people haven’t got the choice of where they live because of financial restraints – but where you live shouldn’t be detrimental to your health.
“We need the government to look at these areas and make their living healthier and easier. Everybody should at least be given a chance at a long and healthy life.”
The 50-year-old now lives in leafy Buckinghamshire with his wife Michelle and their two children Jayden, 22, and Renee, 18. But many of his wider family still live around the area where he grew up, and he says: “I lived on a working-class council estate, and I’m very proud of coming from there, but another reason I’m involved in this is because there’s a lot of my family – uncles, aunties, cousins, sisters – who live around the area.
“Those areas are the ones that come high on the list for quite a lot less life expectancy, because of polluted air or damp conditions or healthy food that’s not available to them.”
open image in galleryMellor, who has also appeared in popular shows including Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Casualty, and Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, as well as making it to the semi-finals of Strictly Come Dancing in 2022, stresses that “everybody should have a chance to live a healthy life, no matter where you live”.
He points out that he and his family try to eat as healthily as they can, largely because his wife is a “very good cook” and the couple brought the children up helping them to cook, and avoiding sugary drinks and snacks as much as possible.
“It’s not that we’re being tight as parents,” he insists, “But we’re trying to let them know there’s a cost to this. If you drink a can of whatever soda or anything with sugar in it, a) it’s not great for your health, or b) for your teeth.
“It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got, education and bringing your kids up in that way, that’s free. You’ve got to know what you’re putting in your body – there are ways you can help yourself by looking at better ways to eat.”
As for exercise, Mellor says he’s always on the go.
“I’ve got ADHD, so I don’t stop – I exercise when I’m not supposed to be,” he says cheerily.
“Sitting still was a problem, that’s why I didn’t do very well at school. But I’m a performer, I’m an actor, I’m a creative, and that’s what my brain is. I work out quite a lot.”
He says he goes for walks and runs, and works out at home.
“If I haven’t done something and I go to bed at the end of the day, I ask myself ‘What did you do today? What did you do with yourself that was positive?’”
He says he likes to have a drink, pointing out: “I’m a normal person – it’s not like I don’t eat takeaways or I don’t go out for dinner or I don’t have a beer every now and then. That’s not the case.
“What I try to do is balance it with exercise and drinking lots of water. What you can’t do is burn the candle at both ends.”
open image in galleryThe actor, whose autobiography, Where There’s A Will, is published on November 5, is very candid about his past mental health struggles, explaining that he became depressed after his sister Joanne, who had mental and physical disabilities, died suddenly in 2012 at the age of just 44.
“I struggled in silence for quite a long time with depression after my sister passed away,” he says.
“The reason I didn’t reach out is because I’ve been in quite a lucky situation through my career and been quite successful, and I thought ‘Who do I speak to?’”
He continues: “Mental health doesn’t discriminate how much money you’ve got in the bank, how successful you are, or where you live.”
He says time and the love and support of his family got him through those dark days.
“My wife stuck by me,” he says. “I wasn’t a great person to be around. I turned to alcohol and gambling and other forms of looking for a way to find some sort of colour in my life. But it just made me worse.
open image in gallery“And the hardest thing for me was I loved my family. I’m an energetic, positive person, and I just couldn’t find positivity at that time in my life.”
He says his mental health struggles were more than 10 years ago when he was filming Broadchurch and his children were young.
“They don’t even remember it, but I do,” he says. “And I remember not being present enough for my wife and kids for a good few months. I didn’t want to get out of bed.
“Thankfully, I’m better now. And you probably wouldn’t have known if you’d have seen me, because I was very good at masking it.
“I’m a big advocate of looking after your mental health. Talking is key. I just didn’t do that, and I learned from my own mistakes.
“It’s OK not to be OK.”
Will Mellor is supporting the Health Equals Shelf Life campaign highlighting the dramatic life expectancy gap in the UK. Check the life expectancy in your postcode on the Health Equals website.