Luca Toolan’s dad has shared his own message of praise for his son as he bowed out of the ITV soap as Mason

The radio star dad of Coronation Street star Luca Toolan has shared his own message of praise and support for his son as he bowed out of the show after 16 months.

There were heartbreaking scenes in the ITV soap on Monday night (January 6) as the serious topic of knife crime was tackled, resulting in the death of teenage character Mason Radcliffe.

The former Weatherfield High bully, played by newcomer Luca, had been trying to turn his life around after he was imprisoned himself for possessing a knife amidst a cruel bullying campaign against fellow school pupil Liam Connor.

When he returned to the cobbles, he was taken under the wing of Stu Carpenter and Yasmeen Nazir and later Tim and Sally Metcalfe. While he wasn’t welcomed by everyone on the street,he still tried to make amends but he couldn’t escape his past and his brothers arrived to cause havoc, not just for their sibling, last year.

It culminated in the shocking scenes witnessed in the latest episode where Mason and Dylan Wilson were attacked by Matty and Logan as Mason tried to retrieve some family photos from their flat to take with him to Germany after accepting a job offer from Stu.

After Mason was seemingly fine after a beating from his older siblings, things changed as Mason was seen going about his day. During it, he and Liam discussed the latter carrying a knife for protection nefore the screen blurred back to reality.

Mason was back sitting on the playground, only this time, he was bleeding heavily from a stab wound, inflicted by his brothers. It was revealed that Liam had brought the knife he’d been hiding for months in a bid to help save Mason.

Scared, he threatened Matty and Logan, only for Logan to take the knife and as Mason jumped to Liam’s defence, Matty pushed his younger sibling in Logan’s direction and right into the zombie knife. It was Abi Webster was then the first at the scene to find Mason bleeding and did her best to stop the flow of blood before the ambulance showed up, which was delayed due to a hoax call.

Betsy Swain arrived, and she and Abi assured a scared Mason that he would be alright. However, the attempts to save his life ultimately failed and it was confirmed that Mason had died as a result of his injuries.

Following the scenes, Luca’s dad, radio star Mike Toolan, who can currently be heard hosting the Hits Radio drivetime show from Manchester alongside Gemma Atkinson, took to social media to heap praise on his son’s efforts.

Alongside a string of photos showing Luca with his co-stars on the famous Corrie set as well as images used to promote the dark storyline, Mike said: “What a journey. Unbelievably proud. Well done mate. @coronationstreet What a show, what an experience and what amazing friends you’ve made along the way. Here’s to the next chapter @lucatoolan.”

Mike’s co-host and firiend Gemma was quick to respond to the post with a string of clapping emojis while Luca’s co-star Harry Lowbridge, who plays Logan Radcliffe, commented: “Sorry for killing your son Mike.” Liam Connor actor Charlie Wrenshall also shared: “Gunna miss my brother at work.”