Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank shares personal connection to Paul's exit story

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Coronation Street spoilers follow.

Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank has spoken about Paul Foreman's upcoming exit storyline for the first time.

The ITV soap has announced that Paul will be diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) next month following the recent troubles he has experienced with his hand.

Daniel's character Billy Mayhew, who recently reunited with Paul, initially stays in the dark over his partner's diagnosis. Paul chooses to keep the news to himself, not wanting his family and friends to treat him differently.

As there is currently no cure for MND, Corrie bosses have confirmed that the story will ultimately lead to Paul's death.

In real life, Daniel has worked alongside the MND Association for the past 20 years. He recently spoke to Digital Spy and other media about his involvement in the storyline.

How did your off-screen work with the MND Association come about?

"I've been an ambassador for the MND Association for the past couple of years, but I'd been working with them as a patron before that for the last 20 years.

"20 years ago, my grandfather was diagnosed with MND and subsequently died from it, so this is a subject that I've lived through in my own life alongside the rest of my family.

"Because I've been working with the MND Association for so long, I've met a lot of other people who have been living with MND and it's something that's really close to my heart. I've been helping to fundraise for them for many years."

How did you feel when Coronation Street first told you about this storyline?

"When I first got the phone call from [Coronation Street's assistant producer] Verity MacLeod, I was out walking my dogs. It's always a bit of a heart-in-throat moment when one of the producers phones you and you wonder: 'What on earth is this about?'

"Verity told me what the storyline was going to be. They'd had no idea of my history with MND or with the Association, so it was a bit of a shock.

"I'm not going to lie - my legs went a little bit weak, because I suppose it just brings back memories of that time. I did wonder whether this could potentially be quite triggering in a lot of ways.

"Obviously Billy's knowledge of MND is very different to my own, but I'm hoping I might be able to bring some of my personal experience into the playing of this storyline, having been someone in real life who did help to care for someone with MND."

ITV

After time to think about the news, were you pleased that Coronation Street is exploring this topic?

"Yes, absolutely. Obviously I was well aware of how much publicity this would give MND and the MND Association. It's extremely sad to know that eventually we'll have to lose Peter [Ash, who plays Paul], because I love working with him.

"But for the illness, for the MND Association, for my grandfather and all of the people that I've met and known over the past 20 years who have suffered with the illness, it's - in a strange way - a really lovely way to be able to commemorate them and their stories.

"Hopefully we can raise awareness and get us to a point where we can fund enough research, where we at least find something to slow MND down and hopefully ultimately cure it."

How do your family feel about you exploring this on screen?

"It's only been very recently that I've spoken to them, because obviously we have to keep our mouths shut about what's coming up in the show.

"But I did speak to my mum - it was mum's dad who had MND. My mum has a brother and a sister, so I've spoken to all three of them and asked how much of our family's journey they're happy for me to disclose.

"All three of them are very happy for me to talk about everything, really. In the larger scheme of things it will hopefully raise awareness and raise money, which will hopefully generate research that hopefully means people won't have to go through what we went through."

Is there added pressure when it comes to exploring a story that's so close to your heart?

"I think the only pressure for me really is to see how triggering it's going to be. I won't have any trouble accessing emotion to play it. Billy's quite an emotional character anyway.

"Obviously we want to portray it with as much sensitivity and realism as we can. I don't think that's going to be any problem for me at all, because I'm stepping into something that I literally need to do no research on.

"In some ways, it actually takes the pressure off because I know I'm portraying something that I've lived through and have experienced in real life. I guess the only pressure will be trying not to burst into tears."

ITV

Do you think soaps are a good platform to explore an issue like this?

"Yes, I think obviously the point of our show is entertainment, but we have a huge opportunity and ability to educate as well. A show like ours, because we're in people's living rooms for three hours a week, will evoke questions and conversations within family groups - including people who may not know what MND is.

"When my grandfather was first diagnosed, we'd never heard of it and we didn't know what it was.

"With things like the Ice Bucket Challenge, awareness has grown - certainly in the 20 years since my grandfather died. But again, this is going to reach a new audience so hopefully it will increase awareness and discussion."

How do you think Billy will cope when Paul eventually confides in him?

"Obviously Billy is an archdeacon and he was a vicar, so his job is very much about pastoral care. On a personal level, he's obviously going to be absolutely devastated that his partner has been given this diagnosis. But then I think his job skills will also help him to be a support for Paul.

"I did film a scene recently where Billy talks about having a parishioner in his community who is also suffering from MND, so this isn't the first time that Billy will have come into contact with somebody who has the illness. I think in that scene, Billy says that he's trying to find a support group for it. So in that respect, Billy will be able to help with the practical side of things.

"I think Billy will also want to show a strength and maybe he will leave his own personal emotions on the quieter side, because he won't want to make it about him when it's all about Paul.

"Grief affects people in different ways. I think if somebody is given a diagnosis that is terminal, people often start to grieve before they've lost someone.

"But with Billy being a vicar, we've seen him deal with death many times through my years of playing him - Sinead's death, Kylie's death, and all these other characters he's either buried or given some kind of support to during an illness.

"Billy will be able to offer that to Paul, but obviously he'll be dealing with his own grief as well."

Has your personal experience meant that you can help Peter on set?

"Not help him, but maybe shed some light on my personal experience of MND. It not only affects people physically but also emotionally. That's not just the shock of having it, but it can also affect people's emotions. People can become very giggly in inappropriate moments or become very emotional or angry.

"We had a scene recently and we were discussing why Paul gets so emotional at this certain point. I said that it might not be the fact that Paul is still reeling from the diagnosis, it could be from the fact that the MND is actually affecting his emotions.

"That was something I experienced with my grandfather. I was very, very close to him and I'd never seen him cry. He was actually only diagnosed a week before he died. We had pretty much two years of his symptoms progressing.

"One thing we did notice was that he became a much more emotional person and he'd never been like that at all. Now in retrospect that was because of the MND, but we didn't know it was MND at the time. On set, I've been able to throw little things like that in."

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.

Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage

Coronation Street has been working on Paul's storyline with support from the MND Association, which focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for people affected by motor neurone disease.

The charity's helpline MND Connect (0808 802 6262) is available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, and 7pm to 10.30pm. Calls are free.