When we opened at Edinburgh, it was unnerving to see a group of 70 protesters outside the theatre. One of them gave me a bag containing 30 pieces of silver. Actually I counted them and there were only 29. I gave the money to the box office and told them to give it to charity.

I hope there won't be protests in London: the Bishop Of Edinburgh, who reviewed the show, said he was moved to tears by its power and beauty. He also said he hoped the people protesting would go and see it. It's such an honest and inoffensive play. If only those people could take the time to watch it, they would benefit.

I had a religious upbringing in an evangelical church and was heavily involved until I was 12 or 13, when I became disillusioned and drifted away. The play has some funny and entertaining moments, but it's also very moving and does make you think. My father came to see me and very much enjoyed it.

When I took the part, I didn't think it might be seen as making some sort of statement. A tabloid newspaper wrote a fabricated story about me - I'd rather not talk about that incident. I try to live my life and make my choices in my work independently from my public persona.

I've never cultivated an image as a "hunk", despite my roles in Jilly Cooper's The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous and as Greg Kelly in Coronation Street, but you get cast according to how you look and there is no getting away from that. It's neither here nor there for me, so long as people enjoy my performances. It's more important to me that I draw attention to the domestic violence that gets ignored and I'm pleased that the government is using some of my Corrie scenes in its campaign against domestic violence.