Coronation Street stars legs went weak after MND storyline

Coronation street star calls Rob Burrows an inspiration following his set visit

Coronation Street couple Billy Mayhew (played by Daniel Brocklebank) and Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) have just got their relationship back on track and decided to try again. Despite wanting to take things slowly at first, Paul has moved back in with Billy and Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) after having financial issues. Billy is currently unaware that Paul has been given a preliminary diagnosis of limb onset motor neurone disease, with actor Daniel Brocklebank opening up about how he felt when finding out about the storyline.

Upcoming scenes in the ITV soap will see Paul’s health deteriorate and eventually, he breaks the news to his loved ones.

Daniel has previously revealed that he had a personal link to the storyline after his grandad suffered and died from the incurable disease.

He recently opened up to Express.co.uk and other press on how he felt when he was told of the storyline and said: “When I first got the phone call I was out walking my dogs.

“And like Peter said it is always a heart-in-throat moment when one of the producers phones you, and you think ‘What on earth is this about?’.

“And Verity [producer] told me what the storyline was going to be but they had no idea of my history with MND or with the association and so it was a bit of a shock.

“I am not going to lie, my legs went a little bit weak because I suppose it just brings back memories of that time and I did wonder ‘Well this could potentially be quite triggering in a lot of ways’.

“I mean Billy’s knowledge of MND is different to my knowledge of MND but I am hoping I am able to bring some of my personal experience into the playing of this storyline having been somebody who did in real life help to care for somebody with MND.”

Billy also admitted that he felt initially pressure to fulfil the important storyline. He said: “I think the only pressure comes… I mean it is Billy’s journey and not mine so I think the only pressure for me really is to see how triggering it is going to be.

“I won’t have any trouble accessing emotion to play it, Billy is quite an emotional character anyway I think, and obviously of course, as Peter said we want to portray it with as much sensitivity and realism as we can.

“I don’t think that it’s going to be any problem for me at all because I’m stepping into something that I need to do no research on.

“In some ways, it takes the pressure off because I have lived through and experienced it in real life. I guess the added pressure will be trying not to burst into tears all the time.”

The timeline for Paul’s storyline is unknown, Paul getting desperate to be able to leave some money behind for his family.

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During last Friday’s episode, Paul approached Damon Hay (Ciaran Griffiths) on the street and blasted out that he hasn’t long to live and needed to earn some cash, quickly.

Reluctantly, Damon handed him the details of a bloke called Kyle who is looking for a driver as part of an insurance scam.

Paul has been desperate to keep himself and his family afloat, after promising his sister Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell) help with her wedding.

If he continues working for Damon, will Paul end up saying goodbye to his family quicker than he expected if he gets caught?

Damon is known for protecting his own skin so won’t hesitate to throw Paul under the bus if needs be.

Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8pm on ITV.

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