Coronation Street star Jane Hazlegrove has shared how her own personal loss is impacting her time on the cobbles as her character also prepares for tragedy. The actress is much-loved for playing Bernie Winter in the ITV soap and has now revealed she has been struggling with the loss of her father while filming her current emotional storyline.
Jane is currently part of the Motor Neurone Disease storyline the soap is tackling after her on-screen son Paul Foreman, played by Peter Ash, was diagnosed with the devastating disease. Paul discovered the heartbreaking news that he has the fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, in scenes aired in April.
But the former builder, who only discovered anything was wrong after he was accidentally knocked over by Carla Connor in her Underworld van when she had been unknowingly drugged with LSD by Stephen Reid, kept the news from his loved ones, only confiding in his friend and former flatmate Dee-Dee Bailey.
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However, the news came spilling out on his sister Gemma Winter's wedding day after his partner Billy Mayhew only made the discovery himself when he headed to court to find out Paul had been stealing cars to fix his money woes, only to have his case quashed due to his life-limiting diagnosis.
There were then emotional scenes when Paul tearfully confessed he was dying to his sister and his mum after his unusually quiet and resistive behaviour caught their attention. The news has since spread to more of his loved ones and the rest of the street as they rally together to try to help him in whatever way they can.
And fans of the ITV soap have already shown how 'gutted' they are due to the fact there isn’t a cure for MND right now, this storyline will mark Peter's exit from the show, as Paul will die from the disease.
Speaking about finding out about the MND storyline, Jane told Inside Soap: "I was very upset [when I found out about the storyline] as I adore Peter Ash [who plays Paul Foreman] so I was gutted as this meant he would be going. My Corrie family are a tight unit. I'm so lucky to work with them all."
She then shared how her emotions had also been heightened as her own dad died, adding to the publication: "I lost my dad recently, so I know what this kind of grief is like. It has been very emotional."
It comes after co-star Daniel Brocklebnak detailed the real 'grief' on set as the Motor Neurone Disease storyline unfolds. He shared how the emotions seen on screen have been 'real', despite them knowing what they're doing isn't. "Knowing that Pete's time in the show is now coming to an end, there is a deep sadness in that," the actor told the Manchester Evening News and other press.
"I mean, Jane Hazlegrove, who plays Bernie, Jane can't keep her eyes dry at all. She sees Pete limping onto the set and she's welling up. We're grieving Peter leaving rather than Pete, thankfully, not dying but the emotions are genuine."
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