Coronation Street fans were left fearing for Paul Foreman after he was knocked down by Carla Connor in the Underworld van after she was secretly drugged with LSD by serial killer Stephen Reid. Paul was knocked unconscious and taken to the hospital but was soon back home with his arm in a sling.
Things appeared to be going well for the builder, played by Peter Ash, as he soon got his arm support taken away. However, it still appeared that something wasn't right. In the Rovers with Billy Mayhew, following their reconciliation, and flatmate Dee-Dee Bailey, Paul went to pick up a set of darts but he struggled to collect them.
Eventually, he got hold of them. But, seconds later, he ended up throwing a dart in completely the wrong direction and it landed right into Evelyn Plummer's new hat - and she wasn't thrilled. Later, viewers of the ITV soap saw him eager to return to work to help sister Gemma Winter with her mounting bills.
However, despite struggling to tie his shoelaces, it it wasn't long before viewers saw Paul using a saw and, had boss Ed Bailey not walked in, he would have probably chopped his thumb off - much to both his and Paul's horror. Following a trip to the doctors, Paul was told he had a bruised nerve in his arm and it could be months before he'll regain the ability to properly use his hand.
Dee-Dee has now encouraged a worried Paul to sue for loss of earnings, despite Carla's husband Pater Barlow, having learned that Carla was not insured to drive the van, already offering Paul an outright settlement of £15,000.
So, with Paul back at the forefront of the latest Corrie scenes, we thought we'd take a look at the real life of the actor behind him, Peter Ash.
His character started regularly appearing in the Salford-based soap in January 2019, when he arrived in Weatherfield looking for his sister, Gemma. But that wasn't the character's first appearance. Paul was actually first introduced to Corrie viewers when he shared a prison cell with David Platt back in May 2018.
Neither was it the actor's first big role. Peter Ash appeared in Footballers' Wives as soon as he finished his A-Levels aged 17, playing Darius Fry between 2003 and 2006, alongside fellow Corrie star Ben Price, who plays Nick Tilsley, as Conrad Gates.
The Manchester-born actor also appeared in ITV crime drama Blue Murder in 2003, before he landed a six-episode role in Casualty later that year. Viewers may have also seen him appear in The Royal, The Street and White Van Man - as well as four episodes of Hollyoaks as Harley Frater's acquaintance Ron.
In between his TV roles, like many jobbing actors, Peter has had to get a day job. He previously told the Mirror: "In between Footballers’ Wives and Corrie I was what you’d call a jobbing actor really. I had some amazing acting jobs, but they were here and there spread out. In between I was doing day jobs like bar work, working in call centres.
"Most of the time as an actor you are out of work. That is why I feel so lucky now to be involved in this show. It is regular work and it is the first time in my life I have done regular acting work for over a year. But you have to do other stuff in between to pay the bills. I was a driver for a while, picking up cars, driving them around the country.
"You do anything and everything - but you also have to find something flexible so that you can go for auditions, and then if you get a job you might need a few weeks off for filming. So it is hard, as there aren’t many jobs where you can do that."
Away from his work life, Manchester-born Peter lives with his girlfriend Amy, a student nurse, and their son, Ayden. Peter keeps his son out of the spotlight but does regularly post images alongside Amy. Back in November, Peter shared a couple of selfies with Amy on Instagram, writing: "4 years ago we had our first date in this same pub! Love you, @amypabbyshambo."
One of the last posts he shared of Ayden was on his 12th birthday in July 2021 when he shared a snap of him opening up cards and presents and said: "My boy turns 12 today! Enjoying his big day very much. And I'm quite chuffed that I managed to acquire him an ever-elusive PS5!"
In the same year, Peter suffered a heartbreaking family loss. Sharing a picture of an order of service on social media, he wrote: "A sad week. It was my beautiful grandmother's funeral on Friday and we said goodbye to an amazing lady. She was so loved by many and will be missed. Rest in peace."
Peter isn't the only actor in his family. His cousin is William Ash who starred in Corrie as Spike aged 10 and most famously played Chris Mead in Waterloo Road. More recently he'll be known to soap fans as Emmerdale's Caleb after he arrived in the village as Cain Dingle's long-lost brother at Christmas. It has since emerged he has something to hide - and is on a mission to bring Home Farm down.
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