Coronation Street actor, Peter Ash, who plays Paul Foreman, has spoken about leaving the ITV soap ahead of his character’s tragic death on Monday (Sept 9)

Coronation Street’s Peter Ash has lifted the lid on how he really feels about leaving the soap.

The actor’s character, Paul Foreman, tragically dies on Monday (Sept 9) after losing his battle with motor neurone disease. Since being told of the storyline, Peter has known his time on soap would be coming to an end.

However, the 39-year-old says he has mixed feelings about leaving the cobbles. Opening up about his exit, he shared: “I massively thank Iain and Verity [MacLeod] for trusting me with this story,” he told us. “It’s a double-edged sword. I always knew it would be an eventual exit unless we were lucky enough to find a cure [for MND] in that time…

“But I always knew it would be [his exit] and I’m just, again, grateful that they trusted me to play the storyline and allowed it to play out, there was never a ‘this is when it’s going to end’. I was always quite surprised when I’d ring Iain and he’d say, ‘Right, this is what’s happening for the next six months…’ But it was amazing,” reports Metro.

Coronation Street fans are bracing themselves for an emotional rollercoaster as Paul’s devastating MND storyline reaches its climax this week.

In a race against time, Billy Mayhew scrambles to be by his husband Paul’s side, marking actor Peter’s poignant exit from the soap after joining in 2018. Paul has been courageously battling Motor Neurone Disease, which has robbed him of his speech and motor functions over the past months. “It was absolutely emotional,” Peter confessed about filming his final scenes.

Having worked with MND charities throughout the storyline, Peter says that the reaction from the community has been “incredible”. Speaking to the Mirror, he said: “They have been a massive help. I’ve met some great people and I’ve been going to as many fundraisers as the schedule allows. They’ve got me forever now!”

Daniel Brocklebank, who plays plays Paul’s husband, Billy, adds that Paul’s story has even made a difference to those living with MND. “One woman who is living with MND contacted me to say that because of this storyline, people now know how to talk to her,” he continued. “She said, ‘For the first time in a long time, I’m actually being spoken to like a person.’ So we were thrilled with the response.”

After a well-deserved holiday, Peter is now back to work – and his next role couldn’t be further from Paul Foreman. “I’m doing panto and I’m really looking forward to it,” he told us. “I’m doing Aladdin [at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in Oldham] and I’m the bad guy. That will be great fun, such a change from this. But right now, I’m enjoying a bit of time off and the lie-ins.”