Coronation Street actor Peter Ash has said it felt “more poignant” to portray his character living with motor neurone disease (MND) after meeting the late Rob Burrow.
Former England rugby league international Burrow died on June 2 at the age of 41 after a lengthy battle with the disease.
The ITV soap dedicated a special episode last Friday to the player, who was diagnosed with MND in 2019 and visited the Coronation Street set in 2023.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning on Tuesday, Ash said: “I’m very lucky that Rob and (his wife) Lindsey came into the studio probably over a year ago now, in the early days of the storyline.
“And it was lovely to meet them – what a beautiful family. (It was) sad obviously to see what it had taken from him at that point already.
“And just lovely to hear that they were so happy that we were doing this storyline.
“Really lovely to meet them, and it made all the scenes we did from that point a bit more poignant after that.”
The dedicated episode saw Ash’s character, Paul Foreman, being taken on a day out by his husband, Billy Mayhew, played by Daniel Brocklebank, to visit the church where they married and enjoy time with family and friends.
Viewers were also able to hear Paul’s innermost thoughts, in a voiceover from Ash, after he wakes from a dream to discover his speech has drastically deteriorated.
We're going to need a few days to recover after that episode. What a rollercoaster 😭❤️
Stream the full episode of Paul and Billy's Happy Day now👇https://t.co/DnXlIrdNGm
For support and advice please visit https://t.co/W35MEI9xnr#Corrie pic.twitter.com/glyZnlSbfl
— Coronation Street (@itvcorrie) July 26, 2024
MND can have an effect on speech and is an uncommon condition affecting the brain and nerves, causing weakness that gets worse over time, according to the NHS website.
Ash said the positive response to Friday’s episode has been “way above and beyond anything” they had ever expected.
He added: “I think from the moment we were told we’re going to be given this two-hander episode we knew it was going to be special, we knew that it was going to be hard-hitting and really emotional, but really excited to be part of it and raise awareness of this horrible disease.”
The actor said taking on the storyline had been a “double-edged sword” because he felt “really honoured” to be trusted with the subject but he also knew it would mean his eventual exit from the show as there is no cure for MND.
Ash confirmed they have filmed his funeral scene but said he does not feel he will fully process that the storyline has come to an end until he watches his final scenes on air.
