Starring on Corrie has been no picnic for Sue Devaney. She’s been filming a gruelling dementia storyline for months.

Fans have seen her character Debbie Webster struggle to come to terms with a devastating diagnosis. Tackling such a serious topic for the ITV soap has been mentally tough for the actress.

Sue told the Daily Star Sunday: “The storyline is very heavy. It affects me sometimes. How could it not? Acting anything like this sits with you.

“With something like this, you draw on your own experiences,” she said. “You can’t just get in your car and forget about it; some actors can stop filming and forget, but I can’t.”

Tackling a storyline about dementia would be tough for any star, but at 58, it’s even more difficult because it’s an uncomfortable reminder it could happen to her in real life. There are nearly a million people living with dementia in the UK.

Sue said: “I’ve been doing research with a dementia specialist at a hospice in Rochdale for the storyline. As I’m a woman of a certain age and I’ve reflected on that.”

Sue’s loved ones have seen the effect the storyline has had on her. They are making sure it doesn’t get too tough.

She added: “My mates always say I need to look after myself more. Every now and again you need something fun to take you away from it.”

Sue’s performance has been praised by viewers; people who have been affected by dementia have been impressed with how realistic the scenes are. She said: “When you’re filming a big storyline, you don’t go out much because all you’re doing is learning your lines and filming scenes.”

“It’s only when I happen to be out and about and people stop me to talk about the storyline that I realise the impact it is having,” she said. “So many people have told me about their experience with dementia. They talk to me about family members living with it.

“And there’s a props guy who works at Corrie and his wife has vascular dementia. I chat to him a lot. I didn’t realise it was going to have this amount of attention, but it’s been incredible.”