The actor will bow out of the ITV soap next week as Paul Foreman, six years after he first took on the role

Coronation Street star Peter Ash was left emotional as he saw his final scenes for the first time. The actor will bow out of the ITV soap next week as Paul Foreman, six years after he first took on the role.

Paul was actually first introduced to Corrie viewers when he shared a prison cell with David Platt back in May 2018. However, the character didn’t officially appear in Weatherfield until January 2019, when he arrived looking for his twin sister, Gemma.

But as fans know, Paul was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in April 2023. The former builder was told had had the life-shortening disease, in which messages from the motor neurones gradually stop reaching the muscles, shortly after being knocked over by Carla Connor in an Underworld van.

Since being diagnosed with MND, for which there is currently no cure, Paul’s condition has continued to deteriorate, much to the frustration and sadness of Paul and the heartbreak of those around him.

There were also difficult scenes Paul’s husband Billy Mayhew discovered that Paul had been secretly planning to take matters into his own hands and decide when his life would come to an end as his symptoms caused by the life-limiting disease progress.

There were recently tear-jerking scenes when Paul headed on a day out with his husband Billy Mayhew, played by Daniel Brocklebank, after being told it was no longer safe for him to use the stairlift in the flat that gives him his freedom amid his deteriorating health as a result declining health.

The powerful episode was devoted entirely to the day in the life of Paul from his perspective, with his inner monologue heard describing his true thoughts and feelings as his speech continues to be cruelly taken from him.

He later signalled to Billy that the time had come for him to want to end his own life, which left his partner distraught. However, as the couple made devastating plans, they were interrupted by Chesney Brown who need emergency help with childcare and Paul quickly changed his mind.

But spoilers have now confirmed that Paul’s death will feature in next week’s episodes. The new preview has revealed that whilst complaining of his hangover, Billy realises he’s lost his phone and is thrown into panic as it contains all of his photos and memories. As he sets off to retrace his steps, Summer Spellman and Bernie Winter are horrified to discover Paul unresponsive on the sofa, struggling to breathe.

Summer calls an ambulance but realising that Billy has left Paul at the worst possible time, with no way of contacting him, Bernie and Summer do everything they can to keep Paul alive. With the odds against him, will Billy make it in time to say his final goodbye to Paul?

Later, Billy wakes up on the sofa and stares at Paul’s empty wheelchair and is hit with the sad reality that life now goes on without Paul. Tensions are high between the family as they grieve the loss of Paul. Can they all come together to plan Paul’s funeral?

After watching his final episode for the first time during a special screening, Peter told the Manchester Evening News and other press: “It was very odd [watching it]. I’ve never played a character on telly who has died before so that was a strange one. But I’m sure it [his exit] will start sinking in now.”

He added: “It was very odd. It was the first time I’ve seen it. You rarely see episodes until they air unless there’s a press thing… As I said I’ve never seen myself as a character die before so it’s very strange.”

On filming Paul’s last moments, the soap star shared: “It’s a beautiful scene. It was quite hard not to get emotional during the scene when they are [his family] giving emotional goodbyes because I’ve got to pretend not to hear it.

“When he does pass, it was that thing of trying not to breathe at all which gets quite tricky after a while but the scene in general was just beautiful and it was a nice way to end it. It was great to have all my favourites there for my last scene.”

Peter admits he had little to no knowledge of MND before undertaking the high-profile storyline and when he was told about it, he also had ‘no idea’ of the time scale soap bosses would work towards and when his eventual exit would be.

He added: “I’ve never been involved in something like this – such an issue-led story. It makes it special when you know you are raising awareness for an amazing cause and doing a bit of good… As far as I’m concerned that’s a job well done.”