Tina Malone breaks down in tears speaking about husband Paul Chase’s suicide

Tina Malone has struggled to hold back tears speaking about her husband Paul Chase’s death from suicide a year ago.

The actress, 62, rose to fame playing Mo McGee in the soap Brookside from 1993 until 1998.

She then went on to play Mimi Maguire on Shameless from 2005 until 2013.

In 2009 she also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and then competed on Celebrity MasterChef in 2016.

However, in May last year she announced the devastating news that her husband had died at the age of 42 by suicide.

At the time she explained that she’d decided to share how he died as she ‘believes in transparency’ and wanted to shine a light on the rates of suicide in military veterans.

Tina Malone has broken down in tears speaking about her husband’s death (Picture: Lewis J Nicholls/ Instagram)

A year on, Tina has given an emotional interview, breaking down when asked about her husband’s death.

In a promo clip for the upcoming episode of The Lewis Nicholls Show podcast on YouTube, Tina was shown to be incredibly upset.

As she explained: ‘My husband fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland.

‘He went from Belize to Cyprus, and he had a wonderful life in the army. But 4.8 veterans take their own lives in the UK every week.

Chase died by suicide aged 42 last year (Picture: Ken McKay/ ITV/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

‘You never hear about it, and it needs to change now,’ she added.

Chase was a former member of the 22nd Regiment of the Cheshires, serving in Northern Ireland, Belize, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Falklands.

Last year Tina explained how after facing spiralling anxiety and depression, as well as a PTSD diagnosis, her husband had turned to drinking and drugs, saying he felt ‘lost and useless’.

‘This is a man who served his country and saved lives. He admitted it in the end but, by then, things had gone too far. He couldn’t find a way back,’ she said.

The pair shared daughter Flame, who was born in 2014 (Picture: Ken McKay/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

‘We have to talk more about suicide – that’s why I am speaking out now. It is the biggest cause of death in men under the age of 50 but there is still a stigma around it; there’s not enough support.

‘What are we actually doing to help people like Paul?’

A report released last year revealed male veterans aged between 25 and 44 had a higher risk of suicide than men in that age range in the general public.

Another study, by Northumbria University, concluded an urgent review of the mental health support for veterans was needed.

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