Harriet Bibby paid tribute to her soap ‘family’ after viewers of the ITV soap watched Paul Foreman’s heartbreaking death

Coronation Street star Harriet Bibby has declared her love for her soap ‘family’ after watching tear-jerking scenes unfold in the long-running ITV soap.

During Monday night’s (September 9) visit to Weatherfield, there was heartbreak as 17 months after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, the life-limiting illness for which there is currently no cure, Paul tragically died.

After being supported by his loved ones as his health deteriorated in the last year and a half, in his final hours, Paul was rushed to hospital as he struggled to breathe and shortly after arriving, doctors informed his family there was nothing more they could do but make him comfortable.

Bernie Winter and Summer Spellman called for help as Paul struggled to breathe while Billy Mayhew was out desperately looking for his lost phone.

Back at the hospital, doctors informed Paul’s family there was nothing more they could do but make him comfortable. Soon after, Bernie, Summer and Paul’s sister Gemma Winter-Brown headed in to say their emotional goodbyes to Paul with Billy still trying to make it to the hospital in time.

But in a tragic turn of events, Billy didn’t make it to the hospital in time to fulfil his promise of being by Paul’s side when the time came, thinking he’d only managed to say he loved him one last time over the phone.

However, as viewers saw, Paul had already passed as Summer Spellman got Billy, who was running to the hospital after getting trapped in traffic in Frescho’s car park, on the phone. Paul’s mum Bernie encouraged Billy to say what he needed to Paul while Summer and Gemma watched on in tears.

Shortly afterwards, Billy arrived at the hospital and was heartbroken to see a doctor confirming Paul was gone before bursting into the room, breaking down into tears and taking his husband in his arms for one last time.

Following the tragic twist, Summer star Harriet took to social media to pay tribute to those involved in Paul actor Peter Ash’s final scenes. Sharing a picture of herself with Peter and Daniel Brocklebank, who plays Billy, on Instagram, she also shared a string of snaps of the trio outside of work with their castmates and real-life families.

The actress wrote: “My Corrie family. I’m so proud of everyone for this storyline. Our amazing little Corrie family which I love so much! Our directors, our crew, our writers, our make-up and costume teams, the MND Association (@mndassoc), every single person in our building who has poured so much care into this story.”

She poignantly added: “This is a reality for a lot of people, I’m glad we could raise awareness of this condition and help people to understand it more.”

Peter was quick to respond to the post as he wrote: “Love ya, kiddo!” while Daniel said: “I bloody love our little tv family. You were fabulous in tonight’s episode darling. I’m a very proud tv dad.” Dee-Dee Bailey actress Channique Sterling-Brown also commented: “Dream team.” Elle Mulvaney, who plays Amy Barlow also shared a string of clapping emojis.