ONE of Coronation Street’s favourite characters experienced a different kind of 'theatre' when he visited Wiltshire-based Army units yesterday.

Actor Antony Cotton, who plays Corrie favourite Sean Tully, visited several units based around the Salisbury Plain area where he chatted to soldiers and le arnt more about their roles, training, equipment and preparation for operational theatre.

His relationship with the Army began several years ago when he supported soldier friends as they prepared and deployed to Afghanistan.

Since then his network of friends within the Army family has grown and grown and several of them have visited the set of the world’s longest running soap.

During his visit Antony, who is an ambassador for Help 4 Heroes and works with Soldiers, Sailors, Airman and Families Association (SSAFA), learnt about the regimental history of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, a regiment whose recruiting ground includes his home town of Bury in Lancashire.

After dropping into the gym to meet the boxing team, he then went to the workshops where he was shown around a Warrior infantry fighting vehicle, a tool of the trade for the Fusiliers.

Antony also visited 158 Provost Company (Royal Military Police) based in Bulford, where he was given a demonstration of personal safety training (PST) in which personnel used their acting skills in ‘role play’ to demonstrate techniques used to keep themselves and the public safe when dealing with a suspect.

Antony said: “ I have several friends in the Army. It’s a world that I have been involved in for several years and that involvement has grown and grown.

“ I support the lads and lasses that go and protect and defend us and for that I am grateful but on a personal level, I am proud of my friends and proud of what they do and I am honoured to be part of it.

"People ask me what my involvement is with the Army and I would ask the same thing if I was outside looking in, people don’t put me and this world in the same bracket but life is full of surprises!

"There are so many similarities between my world and the Army. We also go on ‘tour’ in the theatre, we pack up our director and our leading actors just as the Army pack up its OC and assortment of corporals.

"We all put our kit or our costumes in the back of a van and wave goodbye to our families for six months.

“The highlight of my visit has been meeting the people, it doesn’t matter what company they are from, it doesn’t matter what rank they are or how they got there, for me it has been about meeting the people.”