EXCLUSIVE: Coronation Street’s Paul Foreman has been desperate to get back to work after sustaining an injury when Carla Connor hit in with an Underworld van. However, he has a more serious health issue to deal with.
After being drugged with LSD by Stephen Reid (played by Todd Boyce), Carla Connor (Alison King) was adamant to get to an important meeting and drove a van she wasn’t insured on. However, she didn’t get far as she knocked down Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) leaving him unable to move his hand properly. In recent scenes on Coronation Street, Paul’s hand has not been getting better with the tradesman later being told he, unfortunately, has motor neurone disease (MND).
Paul has recently struggled to recover from injuries, and viewers have seen him struggle. They have also been informed that he has muscle and nerve damage and has been off work.
Unfortunately for Paul and his family, though, when Dr. Gaddas (Christine Mackie) schedules a consultation with a neurologist, Paul is going to learn some devastating news.
According to official spoilers, Paul is referred to a specialist as time goes on and he starts to notice other problems with his balance, mobility, and dexterity.
Early in April, he receives the heartbreaking news that it is highly likely that he has MND; later that month, the diagnosis is confirmed.
Paul struggles to accept the diagnosis and keeps it a secret from Billy and his family, sharing it only with his flatmate Dee Dee Bailey. Before finally telling his loved ones, the plot will follow Paul’s experience with the illness.
Peter Ash, who plays Paul Foreman, recently discussed the plot and acknowledged that Paul’s world is “turned upside down.”
He said to the press, including Express.co.uk: “Paul learns that they will be testing for MND, a condition he is not particularly familiar with.
“He has to inquire, and the consultant responds by describing these symptoms if it is MND. I believe that at that point, he just goes into shock.
“In his own mind, Paul is not looking positive on it at all, he thinks he has got it, he hasn’t been told he has definitely got it, and he has been told they are testing for it.
“But in Paul’s head as far as he is concerned that is what it is and it makes sense, then he’s actually like ‘yeah this isn’t just a normal injury this is something else going on’. When it sinks in a bit it turns his own world upside down.”
Peter Ash also spoke on how felt about the storyline and explained: “Paul is completely blindsided by the diagnosis and he decides to keep it from his family and friends as he tries to come to terms with the news.
“I knew very little about MND before embarking on the storyline and I am hugely grateful to the MND Association for all their help and support. For any actor playing a role which examines a real-life issue or condition, there comes a huge sense of responsibility and we are aware that some people watching this storyline are experiencing it in reality, it is their life.
“Education and awareness are very significant. Even in the brief time I have been involved in this plot, I have already learned a great deal. By sharing his experience, Paul hopes to raise awareness of the disease’s symptoms and what it’s like to live with MND.
Despite recent instances of well-known people discussing their experiences with the condition, producer Iain Macleod stated that many people may have heard of motor neuron disease but may not be very familiar with it.
“A show like Coronation Street is ideally positioned to depict the day-to-day reality of living with an illness that gradually and steadily erodes the physical attributes that you may take for granted, forever altering the way you interact with the world around you.
“At first, Paul – who as a builder, relies entirely on his physicality for his livelihood – will massively go off the rails in a misplaced bid to ensure he isn’t a burden on his loved ones. But in the end, they will be the ones to put him back together emotionally.
“We are committed to portraying in a long-term, sensitive way the effects of this condition on Paul and his family and friends, not shying away from the sometimes painful reality of what his life will be like.
“We have been privileged to work with the Motor Neurone Disease Association – including talking to people who have the condition and their families – to ensure we do justice to people’s real-life experiences.”
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