Dying Coronation Street legend makes huge decision about ending his life in powerful scenes

Dying Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) made a huge decision about ending his life in incredibly powerful Coronation Street scenes this week.

In a special episode that followed a day in Paul’s life, he woke up from a nightmare to find that his speech had deteriorated significantly, due to his motor neurone disease.

Paul was diagnosed with MND last year, and as he began to lose control of his muscles, he made the decision that he wanted to choose when he would die.

Husband Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) took a lot of convincing, but eventually agreed to help Paul end his life when he chose to.

They agreed that Paul would signal when the time had come by playing Oh Happy Day – the song they’d played at their wedding.

Having been told that it was no longer safe for Paul to use the stairlift in and out of the flat, Billy organised a final special day away from the flat, before they ended up stuck inside for a few weeks.

Throughout the day, Paul and Billy visited the church they’d got married in, before heading to the Rovers for a drink with friends.

Paul was pleased that he had Billy their to translate for him when he struggled to speak, but it soon became clear that Billy couldn’t understand everything he was saying.

When Billy believed that Paul had asked for him to take him to the loo, Paul grew upset, revealing that he’d actually been trying to tell Billy that he loved him.

It was then that Paul made the decision that he wanted to end his life today, something that Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) was quick to pick up on.

Billy, however, had no idea, as he took Paul over to see Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell) and the kids.

There, Paul told Gemma she was a great mum and that he loved her, before saying goodbye to the quads.

As they approached the flat, they bumped into Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby), who was heading on a night out.

When Paul offered to pay for her to stay in a hotel, she initially declined, but soon accepted when she wrongfully believed that Paul wanted a night of passion alone with Billy.

Back up in the flat, Todd said an emotional goodbye, having realised exactly what Paul intended to do.

After he’d gone, Billy suggested putting off Bernie Winter’s (Jane Hazlegrove) visit until after she got back from her trip to Blackpool, but Paul insisted that she come now.

She soon arrived with a bunch of cheap VHS tapes in tow, before offering to clean the entire flat.

Once she’d finished, Paul thanked her for everything she’d done and told her he loved her, before she headed off to Blackpool.

It didn’t take Billy long to start complaining about where she’d put things during their tidy up, but he was stopped in his tracks when he heard Paul playing Oh Happy Day.

Billy was completely devastated, and argued that he believed that Paul was making a panicked decision because he was worried about not being able to leave the flat. He urged him to give it a few days, insisting that he thought they’d had a happy day.

While Billy shouted, viewers were given an insight into Paul’s thoughts, where he explained that he had had a good day, and asked why a good day couldn’t be his last.

Using his tablet, Paul reminded Billy that he had promised to let him choose, before explaining that he never wanted to be forgotten, but that he wanted Billy to be able to move on with someone else once he was gone.

Heartbroken Billy left the room in tears, and Paul grew frustrated that the machine hadn’t explained things the way he’d wanted to, and that he couldn’t go after Billy to comfort him.

When Billy returned, he agreed to go along with Paul’s wishes, but admitted that he was worried because he knew that once Paul was gone, he would do anything to have another hour with him.

As Billy prepared himself, Paul told him that he’d have to lie about when he died, explaining that before midnight would make it Chesney Brown’s (Sam Aston) birthday.

To compromise, Billy suggested they wait until after midnight, and Paul agreed.

During their final hours, they imagined what it would have been like to go on holiday together, and Paul allowed Billy to recite a bible verse that meant a lot to him.

However, just after midnight, they were disturbed by Chesney, who revealed that they needed somewhere for Joseph and the quads to stay while they took Carys to hospital after a fall.

Paul agreed that the kids could stay in the flat, but admitted to Billy that he thought Joseph was scared of him now, as he’d refused to hug him earlier.

Fortunately, Joseph made an effort to try and understand what Paul was going through, and the pair soon had a heart to heart, which ended in Joseph hugging his uncle.

The next morning, Chesney came to collect the children, and Paul waved them off by saving that he’d see them later.

Once they’d gone, Billy was quick to ask if ‘see you later’ meant that he’d changed his mind.

Paul insisted that he hadn’t, but that he didn’t want to do it today, giving him and Billy more time together.

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