EXCLUSIVE: Coronation Street star speaks out on ‘bittersweet’ exit ahead of ‘very sad’ final episode
Coronation Street’s Peter Ash shared he was facing “a mixture of emotions”, with his character Paul Foreman sadly dying on the ITV soap next week.
A year on from Paul being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, his family face turmoil next week as he passes away. With his health continuing to decline in recent months, Paul and his family knew he did not have long to live.
Monday’s sad episode next week will see Paul die in heartbreaking scenes, with his partner Billy Mayhew facing a race against time to be there by his side. Paul’s mum Bernie and stepdaughter Summer will do everything they can to keep Paul alive while Billy is absent.
Sadly he will pass away after being rushed to hospital, after he’s found unresponsive on the sofa and struggling to breathe. Whether Billy will make it to the hospital is yet to be revealed, but the hour-long special episode will no doubt leave fans in tears.
Speaking to The Mirror about the episode and Paul’s heartbreaking death, actor Peter who plays him revealed his final episode would be “strange” to watch. He also revealed he couldn’t wait for viewers to see it, as he talked about his “bittersweet” goodbye to his co-stars.
A year on from Paul being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, his family face turmoil next week as he passes away
He revealed: “I am happy with how it turned out and I’m excited for people to see it. I think it’s gonna be a very sad episode, people have come to love Paul as a character. It’s been amazing, people have taken him to heart.
“It’s gonna be very sad, I’m looking forward to seeing the aftermath and how Billy, Bernie, how they all deal with it. That’s a massive part of it, how people go on after losing someone to MND.” Peter also shared his appreciation to the fans for their support of Paul.
Speaking about the special two-hander recently, he went on: “As soon as we read it and found out we were doing the two-hander we knew it was gonna be something special. It was amazing to be a part of that, a different episode of Corrie, I felt honoured to be part of that.”
On what fans can expect from the emotional episode next week, Peter said: “It’s coming to the end of Paul’s story, he’s gonna have his loved ones around him but it’s the question of is Billy gonna make it.” On leaving his pals behind, he said: ” It’s bittersweet, mixed emotions. I’m so lucky with the actors I work with, they are amazing.
“We were having a great time despite the heavy storyline. It’s gonna be sad to not see these guys every day. It’s been really special, I am gonna miss everyone.”