Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street star Peter Ash has spoken to Digital Spy about the on-screen rows over his character Paul Foreman’s funeral.
Paul’s loved ones have been at odds over the past few weeks, unable to agree on how best to celebrate his life.
The popular character passed away in early September after an 18-month storyline which focused on his journey living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
Since Paul died, his husband Billy Mayhew has carefully planned a traditional church service.
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This went down badly with Paul’s mum Bernie Winter, who argued that her son wasn’t religious and suggested the unconventional idea of a rave instead. Billy stuck to his original idea and argued that religion became more important to Paul in the final months of his life.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy on the red carpet at the Inside Soap Awards on Monday night (September 30), Peter told us what his character would have really wanted.
Peter told us: “Do you know what? He’d like a bit of both! Old Paul, absolutely, rave all day long.
“But since marrying Billy and finding his faith, I think he’d like both sides of it. So it’s like: why can’t we have both?”
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Turning to co-star Daniel Brocklebank, who plays Billy, he laughed: “Stop arguing with Bernie and do both!”
Fortunately, this week’s episodes see Paul’s loved ones do exactly that. Billy leads the main church service in Wednesday’s episode, and the street rave takes place on Friday.
Paul and Billy’s storyline was one of the big winners at last night’s Inside Soap Awards ceremony, which took place in London.
Peter triumphed in the Best Actor category, while he also won Best Partnership alongside Daniel.
Paul’s journey living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) was also named Best Storyline.
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.