Coronation Street actor Peter Ash says he feels a great responsibility to people living with motor neurone disease as the soap begins a storyline in which his character is diagnosed with the devastating condition.
In a first for the show, builder Paul Foreman (Ash) will be diagnosed with the terminal disease next month. He will be given a referral to a specialist in tonight's (Friday, March 24) episode, after weeks of speculation about what has been causing the much-loved character's clumsiness.
MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, attacking the nerves that control movement so muscles no longer work and currently it has no cure. Experts from the MND Association have been advising the soap's researchers, scriptwriters and actors since last autumn to ensure an “accurate portrayal”.
