Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank has shared that viewers will see 'real tears' on-screen as Billy Mayhew discovers the truth about Paul Foreman's Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis.
Last month, fans of the ITV soap saw Paul receive the devastating news that he has the fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, after initially thinking he had a prolonged injury from accidentally being knocked down by Carla Connor in the Underworld van.
Since getting his diagnosis, Paul kept the news from his loved ones, only confiding in his friend and former flatmate Dee-Dee Bailey and went to desperate measures to try and fix his money woes without being able to work and promising to help his twin sister Gemma Winter pay for her dream wedding.
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Now, with the wedding just around the corner, Billy is set to find out the devastating truth about his partner. Viewers will see in scenes to air on Friday night (May 26) that Billy heads into the courthouse and Paul is horrified to see him there. The magistrate addresses Paul and tells him that in light of his serious medical condition, MND, he’ll receive a suspended sentence, leaving Billy in shock.
The storyline is one close to Daniel's heart as he has had his own personal experience of MND, a disease which attacks the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work. MND does not usually affect the senses such as sight, sound and feeling but it can leave people locked in a failing body, unable to move, talk and eventually breathe.
The 43-year-old's grandfather died of MND after being diagnosed just a week before his death, and the star previously shared how his own experiences of the disease will directly translate into his acting. "Twenty years ago my grandfather was diagnosed with MND and subsequently died from it so this is a subject I have lived through in my own life as have the rest of my family," Dan, who is an MND ambassador, told the Manchester Evening News and other press.
"It's a subject that's really close to my heart. I have been helping to fundraise for them [the MND Association] for years and so when I first got the phone call from Verity [MacLeod, Corrie's executive producer] I was out walking me dogs and it's always a heart-in-throat moment when one of the producers phones you and you think, 'What on earth is this about?'
"They told me what the storyline was going to be but they had no idea of my history with MND or with the association, so it was a bit of a shock." He added: "I'm not going to lie, my legs went a little bit weak because I suppose it just brings back memories of that time.
"And I did wonder if this could potentially be quite triggering in a lot of ways... Billy's knowledge of MND is a lot different to my knowledge but I’m hoping I might be able to bring some of my personal experience into the playing of this storyline, having been somebody who did in real life help to care for somebody with MND."
Now, in a fresh interview with the MEN and other outlets, Dan has shared how his family are feeling about the storyline at the moment, with more emotional scenes to come. "It's dredging up quite a bit of stuff," he said. "It's been 21 years since my grandfather died. We've sort of put all of that to bed in some respects but I think...
"There's a scene we filmed a couple of weeks ago and obviously Paul's physical debilitation is very visible and ti very much reminded me where we're telling the show family's what going on and I very much remember that in our family and it the scene, Paul gets up and walks out of the room and I remember my grandfather doing the same thing and all of us sat together not being able to really comprehend what we were going to have to face as a family.
"And when Paul gets up and leaves the room, I just burst into tears. It totally worked in the scene for Billy, thank God, but there are definitely going to be points where it is triggering."
Sharing a conversation he had with his mum after she saw him in a BBC Breakfast film with Peter Ash and Rob Burrow, the former professional rugby league player who disclosed in December 2019 that he had been diagnosed with MND, during a visit to the soap's set with his wife Lindsay, Dan said: "She was like, 'This is going to be really hard to watch Not just watch because it's Corrie but having to watch you go through what we've already been through.'
"So in some respects, it may be cathartic but it's going to be hard for them [his family] to watch it. I think they're pleased that it's me, weirdly. It's very strange this story has landed on my lap but it's going to be a hard watch for sure."
Giving a hint at what viewers can expect to see in the coming months, Dan said: "I think it's going to be a really lovely blend. There's going to be some really nice moments. Billy and Paul are really ticking things off bucket lists of adventures together and trying to find happiness in every moment that they can.
"Obviously, inevitably, there will be difficulties along the way but I think there's going to be some really fun moments as well so it's not going to be all doom and gloom and woe is us." He added: "It's all about balance. Even in the bleakest of moments, there is a huge amount of humour to be had and I'm sure we'll find it.
"It's exhausting crying for 12 hours a day. It's knackering and then you've got to come home and look at your lines for the next day which is again 12 hours of crying so if you can find moments where you can find little lightnesses within the dialogue, the scenes, the staging of it, whatever... we have such a giggle at work anyway. Its a joyous place to work and I can't believe I get paid for it sometimes."
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