When Antonio Ferreira was a teenager, he spent two years in a mental health facility because of his schizophrenia.
Now aged 23, the Londoner is using his experience to advise EastEnders on a storyline about schizophrenia focused on the character of Isaac Baptiste – a black man grappling with the physical and social issues associated with the condition.
He says people with poor mental health are often depicted in media and films as violent, spontaneous and gruesome. That’s how I pictured it, too, so I kept saying that I wasn’t supposed to be there and that I was fine. But I wasn’t well of course. I attempted to take my own life and was hearing voices.
Antonio feels the storyline in EastEnders is crucial to breaking down barriers for black people and hopes it provides “openness, empathy and understanding”.