'Lorcan is living with HIV so I spoke to sufferers ..and it's horrifying to learn how they are vilified at work' ROLE LEAVES MARK ON CLINIC STAR.

Byline: MAEVE QUIGLEY

CLINIC star Mark Dymond has hit out against the maltreatment of HIV sufferers in the workplace.

Ahead of returning to our TV screens tomorrow night as Doctor Lorcan in the hit RTE drama, Mark said his research into the condition that can lead to Aids moved him to tears.

Mark added: "As Lorcan specialises in counselling people with addictions, I met lots of drug counsellors and also visited methadone clinics where I shadowed doctors there.

"And because Lorcan is living with HIV, I spoke to a lot of people who had it and others whose lives are affected by it."

The star also discovered that life doesn't end with a HIV diagnosis. He said: "One thing I did learn was that while it is awful and it does affect people's lives negatively a lot of those who have it lead ordinary lives.

"It was horrifying to discover how many people who are HIV positive find themselves vilified in the workplace due to bad education and a lack of understanding.

"So all those issues have made me want to understand it properly and portray the issues as best I can.

"I did meet a doctor who was looking after a heroin addict. He was HIV positive and he had a partner who was an addict and was HIV positive too.

"And watching him remain upbeat and continue to selflessly help people in the middle of what we in the outside would perceive as a bad situation gives you mixed feelings.

"You feel sad for what you see as a tough life but also extraordinary hope as he still succeeds at being a doctor, a partner and a help to other people when all around him seems so broken.'

Now back for its seventh season on RTE1 at 9.30pm, The Clinic has been a smash hit at home and abroad.

And Mark said show's success is built on its portrayal of the people behind the medical dramas.

He added: "I think it works because it is more about people and their lives and emotions, their day-to-day activities.

"And it has a universal appeal that I think a lot of shows lack. After all, we are all just flawed individuals trying to get on with our lives and survive.

"The medical stories are almost the backdrop to the other things going on.

"When you hear and see the things people have to go through, life and death and all that comes in-between.

"Because The Clinic shows how these things affect people emotionally you can't help but get swept along.

"When I first arrived, the story with my sister and her heroin addiction was moving.

"And there are stories coming in the new series that even having to film them has been an emotional ordeal - but in a good way."

Mark was born in Wimbledon on the outskirts of London but his family come from Wexford.

He's very proud of his Irish passport and is delighted that The Clinic gives himself and his wife Jo - who's also an actress - the chance to hang out here for a few months every year.

He said: "It is fantastic to be able to spend some time in Ireland. It really does feel like a home away from home and it's a joy to spend a good number of months of the year over there.

"Dublin is such a great city and it is nice to be able to live there for a while."

So as Amy Huberman is part of his Clinic circle, does Mark get to hang out with our rugby captain too? He said: "I've been out with Brian [O'Driscoll] and Amy a few times and I've pretended to know a lot more than I do about rugby.

"I'd take him in a fight! Seriously though, Brian is such a gentleman that it's hard to believe he spends his time bashing into giants.

"You would think he would be involved in a much more genteel profession as he is such a mild-mannered, lovely person. He's extraordinary."

The new series brings fresh trials as Dan uses Lorcan's HIV to blackmail him into going against his own feelings.

And when Lorcan sides with the coward against Daisy, she finds herself hurt and confused.

Insiders said the power struggle is going to cause a lot of friction in The Clinic.

But even though they're surrounded by death and destruction, Mark admitted The Clinic crew aren't adverse to a bit of joking around in between takes.

And he said newcomer Victoria Smurfit has added a few laughs since joining.

But even though Victoria and fellow newcomer Alison Doody provide a fresh impetus, Mark said Lorcan's head won't be turned away from his love Clodagh, whose played by Leigh Arnold.

He added: "Lorcan is too moral and upright to be led astray by any new characters."

CAPTION(S):

PALS Brian O'Driscoll and Amy Huberman RIVALS Dan and Alice on The Clinic