'Adolescence' star Ashley Walters stays connected to his kids by banning phones during family dinners

He told the Daily Mail newspaper: "Have Sunday lunch with your kids and lock their devices away. That's what we do.

"Every Sunday my wife puts our children's devices in a safe and we all have lunch together and talk.

"Most of us have devices and stuff like that. I genuinely believe as brilliant as our devices are, they have taken something away from us.

"That human connection. That ability to talk to someone about how you feel."

He went on to add that talking in a relaxed family setting helps everyone cope with their issues. Ashley added: "A problem shared is a problem halved. It's real. It works.

"If we can talk about it, it can make us less angry. We talk about a problem and we can be less depressed about it."

The confession comes as Ashley's latest acting project 'Adolescence' - about a teenage boy accused of murdering a schoolmate - has become a huge hit on Netflix.

The show deals with hard-hitting themes of toxic masculinity and the "manosphere" - and Ashley previously admitted he was amazed by his 15-year-old co-star Owen Cooper.

He told GQ magazine: "He's a magician. I didn't know how he was doing it. Watching him, I was in awe of how confident he was - it's his first professional job, but it's also with one-take episodes and with actors that are very experienced and he's just holding his own with everyone ...

"I've got a lot of respect for him, and I believe that he's going to go on to do great things. Owen made me remember what I should be trying to achieve - that childlike innocence that, even as an adult, you should be trying to acquire in every job.

"That's what acting is all about: forgetting about your trauma, or how society may have tainted you, or the restrictions and just believing in what you're doing."