Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank has joked even he is 'astounded' by an attribute of his on-screen character. The actor joined the ITV soap in 2014 as Billy Mayhew and he is currently in the midst of what will be his biggest storyline to date as Billy supports his partner Paul Foreman.
In scenes to air on Friday (May 26), Billy will head to the courthouse, not knowing Paul, played by Peter Ash, resorted to stealing cars for Damon Hay's dodgy contact in a bid to fix his money woes following his Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis, which he is also keeping from his loved ones.
Speaking about why Billy headed to the court in the first place, Daniel told the Manchester Evening News and other press: "Well his behaviour was so shifty and Billy goes through his belongings which is, again, a very un-Billy-like thing to do and he finds a letter from the court with the date and time of the case.
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"So Billy turns up thinking, 'What have you done?' because Paul has obviously been a bit of a naughty boy, or has been in the past, and of course is hit with the news that not only has he been stealing cars, but that his sentence is being reduced due to his medical diagnosis of MND which Billy has absolute zero [clue about]."
On Billy finding out the truth about his partner's terminal diagnosis: "It's a massive shock. I think given your partner being diagnosed with something like that is hard at the best of times, finding out from... It was brilliantly written. It was very curt and cold delivered from a judge.
"There was no compassion or anything so Billy's hearing it as a bit of a car crash revelation from the judge and she played it brilliantly. And there's no dialogue in that scene either so the reaction is just Billy trying to take it in and get his head around it. So the scenes afterwards are the scenes where we were able to actually show that emotion between the two of us."
With Billy now in the know, it means that Daniel and Peter have been filming more emotional scenes as they come to terms with Paul's terminal diagnosis. But on the scenes in which Billy discovered the truth, Daniel told the Manchester Evening News and other press: "They were brutal [to film]. I came home exhausted after that day.
"Pete and I had done some filming that day with Rob Burrow which I think added to the intensity of filming them. Obviously having spent the afternoon with someone with advanced MND, and such a hero like Rob who has made such a huge impact on the MND community and MND association, I think it added to that day."
Next week, viewers will see Paul's twin Gemma Winter preparing for her wedding and after a fallout with Paul during the joint hen and stag night, Billy is left trying to persuade Paul to attend. After hearing from Joseph that Gemma has been crying, Paul apologises and all is forgiven.
In the church, the congregation watches as Paul (battling his symptoms) walks Gemma down the aisle in the jaw-dropping dress of her dreams. As the couple exchange vows to cheers from family and friends it looks like nothing can ruin their day. But how will Bernie react when she finds out that Linda secretly funded the wedding? In a bid to diffuse the situation, Paul makes a speech, but becoming emotional he hurries out, dragging his foot. Is Gemma about to face heartbreak on her wedding day?
Speaking about Billy being a burden with the secret at the wedding, Dan said: "It's about enjoying the moment and I think for Billy, seeing Pual walk Gemma down the aisle is hugely emotional and it's going to be one of those memories once Paul is gone. Everything is now [for Billy], 'I've got to log this because I don't know how much longer we're going to have together."
But on the secret side, the soap star added: "It's a big secret for Billy to keep and obviously, Billy's terrible at keeping secrets. For a vicar, he's awful at keeping secrets and I've been playing him now for getting on for nine years and I'm honestly astounded sometimes. I'm like 'Oh my God, why can't he keep his mouth shut? This is unreal. You're an archdeacon'.
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