Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) needs to escape from his reality in Coronation Street soon, but he does that by getting drunk in a bar and chatting to a former love interest called Zac.
Following his MND diagnosis, Paul has received support from many of his friends and family. They are all desperate to help and do what they can and in upcoming episodes, Bernie (Jane Hazlegrove) and Gemma (Dolly-Rose Campbell) decide to put on a chilli eating competition as a fundraiser.
The aim is to raise money so the family are able to buy Paul some equipment to aid his motor neurone disease and when the event draws to a close, Bernie counts up the cash – £800!
Back at the flat, however, things descend into chaos when Bernie and Billy (Daniel Brocklebank) get into an argument. They each have contrasting points about crystal therapy and religion which bothers Paul, as Peter Ash explained:
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‘He’s got the pair of them clashing over their beliefs and it all gets a bit much. He feels they are both trying to force their own belief onto him, and Paul doesn’t want any of it. There’s a bit of a heated argument where he snaps and tells them just leave him alone, he can do without this. He then heads off and goes AWOL for the night.’
It’s there where Paul meets Zac, and it’s the former love interest not knowing anything about Paul’s life now that helps him switch off:
‘This lad doesn’t know anything about the current things going on with Paul’, Peter said.
‘There’s a big part of Paul that just one wants a normal night, where the conversation isn’t always about the MND and the fact that he’s dying, and people are treading on eggshells. So, he ends up reconnecting with this lad and he starts to actually enjoy himself because his mind is not on his illness. He feels this is what it used to be like with nobody being awkward around him.
‘He just doesn’t want to deal with it’, Peter added, reflecting on how Paul feels in the aftermath.
‘He lies and says that he slept on a mate’s sofa as he had too much to drink – I mean, that bit is true, at least! But he can barely look Billy in the eye, and Bernie picks up on that. Paul just doesn’t want to think about it, but at some point, he’s going to have to because they’re going to find out that the money’s gone!
‘He just realises how much he’s messed up after everything that Billy’s done for him and is doing for him. He comes clean and he basically says, “I messed up and I don’t know why you’re with me as I don’t deserve you”.’
In the middle of such an emotional storyline, what will this do to Billy and Paul’s future together?
‘It’s definitely a big moment’, Peter said.
‘He puts it on the line knowing that Billy could very rightly just walk out the door after that. There are certain lines that can’t be crossed, and this could be one of them. It’s a horrible situation.’
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