'Hollyoaks' Star Peter McPherson breaks down over decade-long health battle

Hollyoaks star Peter McPherson recently broke down after HIV diagnosis in an emotional interview.

The actor, who played Gareth on Channel 4 soap, explained that he has been dealing with the fatal disease for more than 10 years.

Reflecting on the moment when he confessed to David for the first time in 2013, McPherson told Virgin Radio Pride: "We were in Singapore at the time and, because I was always told it’s really important when you have a sexual partner that you tell them…"

"When I was first diagnosed there was two camps, there was people on treatment straight away and then there was delayed treatment because they didn’t know how it would affect in the long term,” he added.

In addition, Peter explained that he received quite a lot of messages from people who shamed him.

He recalled people saying things like, “such a shame you spoilt yourself, you’ve ruined yourself.”

In response to the abusive messages he received, the actor said: "Luckily I’m quite strong-willed and in a good place mentally, but that can be very damaging to someone who’s not."