Coronation Street’s Peter Ash on Paul’s tragic death twist and which soap he’d like to do next

“It’s heartbreaking Billy doesn’t quite make in time to say his goodbyes,” begins Peter Ash who plays Paul, speaking to RadioTimes.com about his tearjerking farewell. “But I hope people get the reality that we’re trying to show, that it’s not always like the movies and that not all your loved ones will be there when it happens. There’s never a ‘perfect’ time. I think there’s going to be a lot of sadness from the audience, but that’s real life.”

The ending to this long-running storyline has pulled no emotional punches, as has been the case throughout. Paul, a healthy, vibrant young man in his 30s with his whole life ahead of him, was diagnosed with MND 18 months ago. The incurable disease attacks the nervous system that makes the muscles work, with particular impact on speech, movement and breathing.

Inspired by the high-profile real life story of late rugby star Rob Burrow, who died of MND in June aged 41, Corrie have shone a light on a disease rarely explored in continuing drama, taking advantage of the format by showing Paul’s physical decline in real time. As the public were moved by the support of Burrow’s wife Lindsey and his family, Paul was surrounded by a protective network who cared for him as the symptoms worsened and life became more difficult, including errant mum Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) who was there when her son slipped away.

“I’m glad Bernie was with him,” says Ash. “I love that her and Paul manage to really connect and smooth over all the aggro they’ve had in the past before the end. He might not get that last moment with Billy but we did have some beautiful goodbyes from Bernie, Paul’s foster daughter Summer and his twin sister Gemma. Even though Paul couldn’t speak by that point it was hard for me not to react as it was so emotional.

“Now Paul’s gone I think there’s bound to be more friction between Billy and Bernie,” speculates the actor. “They love each other but naturally clash as they are very different. Paul kept the peace but without him there it might get worse. Billy is lumbered with Paul’s family now – he’s got Bernie, Gemma and the quads to deal with. He took the vows!”

Being at the centre of one of soap’s biggest storylines of 2024 wasn’t the plan when Ash was cast back in 2018. He was originally only intended to be in a handful of episodes as the cellmate of David Platt, who was in prison for assault. Producers were impressed and the character was introduced as a regular six months later, which was a huge surprise to Ash.

“I honestly had no idea it would become what it did, it was just three episodes and that was it. The character was quite fun, a little cheeky I suppose, but he was in prison so I thought we won’t see him again!”

As was the case with David Neilson as Roy Cropper and Katherine Kelly as Becky McDonald, who started out as guest roles, Corrie spotted potential in Ash’s edgy but empathetic performance as a short-fused tough guy with a soft centre and an edge of eccentricity – all of which would be explained by his eventual backstory.

Apollo and twin sibling Gemini, to give them their full names, were the spawn of bonkers Bernadine, a free-spirited raver who never grew up and struggled with parenthood, forcing her kids to fend for themselves for much of their childhood which left Paul vulnerable to abuse from one of his mother’s lovers as a teenager. It took a long time for the family to achieve closure over their past trauma, but eventually the wounds began to heal as Bernie vowed never to let her kids down again.

“When they offered to bring me back as a regular, and as Gemma’s long-lost twin and Billy’s new love interest, I couldn’t believe it. Paul got released from prison and came to the street looking for his old pal David. It’s all thanks to David Platt breaking the law that I got here!”

Ash has been acting from a young age, and admits a part on Corrie was always something he aimed for, as it is for many northern actors.

“I’ve watched it all my life, I remember being allowed to stay up to watch it in my pyjamas but when the theme music came on at the end that meant it was time for bed. This was the late '80s/early '90s era with Reg Holdsworth, Curly and Raquel, when Sarah Lancashire was first in it. For anyone from the north, especially if you’re a Mancunian, Corrie is absolutely one of the dream acting jobs. I still can’t quite believe I’ve done six years, especially after thinking it was just those few episodes.”

Growing up on the outskirts of Manchester, Ash always enjoyed performing and his first taste of treading the boards was as a rat in Dick Whittington at his local amateur theatre group’s pantomime. “I was only about four or five, it was so much fun! I worked my way up doing shows every year and getting slightly bigger parts.

“It probably wasn’t until high school where I realised acting was something I could do as a career, I had a great drama teacher who inspired me. From that point I thought maybe I should try and give it a shot. I went to Oldham Theatre Workshop for a little while, where lots of other Corrie actors have come through.

“I managed to get an agent after college and started auditioning, and at 18 was about to go to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. One of my early auditions, perhaps my third or fourth, was for Footballers’ Wives and they offered it to me – I didn’t know what to do, take the job or go to drama school? I rang the school and they very graciously encouraged me to take the job as that’s what it’s all about, so I did!”

Ash’s first professional job in 2003 just happened to be on one of the most high-profile TV shows of the time, playing rising soccer star Darius Fry in ITV’s gloriously heightened guilty pleasure. He stayed for three years, making Footballers’ Wives essentially his training ground in place of drama school.

“It was a great learning experience,” he recalls. “To be thrown into that crazy world and be on a real floor, you saw how it’s done and all comes together. It was an amazing cast, I learnt a lot from the likes of Gary Lucy and Zoe Lucker, they were all lovely. And Ben Price played Conrad Gates, the Beckham-type character, before he went on to be Nick Tilsley! Ben and I have known each other years but never got to do loads together on Corrie, strangely. Although we did share a dressing room!”

Ash acknowledges his Corrie experience has been more than simply playing a part. Acutely aware of the responsibility that comes with tackling such a difficult subject has led Ash to become part of the MND community and engage with charities and support groups, which was important to both him and co-star Daniel Brocklebank, who plays Billy.

“Dan has a very personal connection to this as his grandfather had MND, and early on in researching the storyline he invited me to a fundraiser. I met some great people and it’s gone from there, I’ve done as many fundraisers as I can and am very glad to have become a patron of the Mel Evans Foundation, after being asked by his partner Lynne. The way the community support each other is incredible. They’ve got me forever now!”

It's been a challenging 18 months, though modest Ash brushes aside praise for the physical and emotional demands of the story as Paul’s symptoms deteriorated, rightly pointing out he could leave it at work at the end of a day’s filming. “We always kept in mind that we’re lucky we get to walk away from this and switch off, for people living with MND that’s their reality 24/7.” Nevertheless, he agrees losing Paul feels like losing a friend and is prepared for a period of grieving for the character, and the last six years.

After some well-earned time off, and a stint back in his panto roots in Oldham this Christmas, Ash is open to whatever opportunity comes his way next. He’s not ruling out another soap, especially one where he has a family connection…

“My cousin Will Ash plays Caleb on Emmerdale, and I’ve never actually done a job with him yet which is bizarre. Every actor I meet seems to have worked with him because he’s done so much. And Emmerdale is a cracking show, it’s like Corrie’s sister programme isn’t it? Maybe I could play a long-lost relative of Caleb’s – never say never!”

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