EMMERDALE star Reece Dinsdale has hit out at trolls telling them to go “f*** themselves” after breaking his silence over his hidden health battle.

The 63-year-old actor who portrayed Paul Ashdale in the long-running ITV soap between 2020 and 2021 opened up about his “lifelong” struggle with body dysmorphia.

He said: "I’m 63. My weight fluctuates greatly nowadays. Sometimes I’m up sometimes I’m not. I do my very best to hold on to some self-worth over that.

“People trying to body shame me, when I have had a lifetime of struggling with body dysmorphia… go f*** yourselves!"

Fans were quick to support him, one said: “Well just be glad you’re not like that type of person, a bully basically . I’m full of wrinkles & quirk. It’s my face & I’ve earned it. Every line on it has a story & it’s part of what & who I am. Folk can criticise all they want cos it’s them I feel for.”

Another added: “Reece mate, I came to see you at the Crucible Sheffield a few years ago in The Absence of War and when you took your top off us gay boys in the audience had to cross our legs.”

The actor replied: “You will never know how difficult that moment was for me… I dreaded it for weeks in rehearsals. I was finally able to do it in performance only because I was playing someone else and was, by that time, eventually lost in the character… thank god!”

Thanking his fans for their support, Mr Dinsdale added: “Been a tough old day grappling with some very old & familiar demons.

“These battles are hard enough to win anyway, even without trolls & d***heads exacerbating things. The issues remain, but thank you for the support you wonderful folk have sent to my way. It’s helped enormously.”

Mr Dinsdale left Emmerdale in 2021 when his character was killed off in an explosion.