CORRIE DEATH SHOCK
Soap fave’s emotional final scenes
Coronation Street will feature a shocking exit for actor Shayne Ward next week when Aidan Connor takes his own life. Viewers know his character is leaving, but will watch devastating scenes when Aidan’s dad Johnny finds his son’s body in the bath.
Shayne drew on real-life experiences of suicide to play his last scenes.
The star, who admitted he cried when he watched them for the first time, said: “I think a lot of people know someone who has taken their own life.
“I’ve had people in my family attempt it and also someone in my family unfortunately took their own life. So for me, I just drew upon an honest truth and how I would feel in that situation.
“I knew if I did it with honesty and truth it would come across on screen. Everything you saw was from the heart, and also I was saying goodbye to Aidan, he has been my buddy for three years.”
Shayne, 33, and show bosses have worked with charities Samaritans and CALM to ensure the storyline is handled sensitively and realistically.
Coronation Street producer Kate Oates, who has come under fire for a number of controversial plots, said: “Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in this country. With 84 men taking their lives each week, we quite simply can’t afford to not talk about it.
“Aidan’s story, brilliantly tackled by Shayne, is designed to give people who hide feelings of desperation a chance to start a conversation, letting someone know what they’re going through.”
Viewers will last watch Aidan on screen on Monday, when he goes to see Eva at the cottage where she is living after giving birth to baby Susie, before he returns to a family party at the Rovers.
Aidan gives Eva back her engagement ring, they dance their intended first dance if they had got married, and he tells her he loves her. But he adds: “You are better off without me.”
His final scene will see him back at his flat, sobbing as he struggles to cope with pressures building up in his life.
The suicide will not be shown, but fans know Aidan has not seemed himself since being given complete ownership of the Underworld factory and starting to wonder if Susie is his child.
He has also been seen reading a mysterious letter which he has hidden from others, emphasising that there is often not just one reason for suicide.
Dad Johnny makes the terrible discovery at the start of an hour-long episode next Wednesday, after his son fails to turn up for work. He walks into his flat and, as you hear a tap dripping, sees a note from Aidan saying: “Don’t go in the bathroom, call the police.”
He then goes into the bathroom and can be heard crying and shouting. Johnny calls daughter Carla to the flat and when Roy asks her what has happened she says: “It’s Aidan, he’s killed himself.”
Aidan’s devastated family and friends will be shown in coming weeks trying to come to terms with the shock of their loss and beginning to question why they had not spotted any signs that he was struggling to cope. Samaritans boss Ruth Sutherland said: “We were pleased that Coronation Street invited us to work with them on Aidan’s storyline.
“Suicide is clearly a very sensitive topic and one that presents some distinct challenges for producers of soaps.
“Soaps can play an incredibly powerful role in increasing people’s awareness and understanding of difficult issues.
“Viewers will see the devastating impact of suicide and the effect that it has on families. It’s never the case that others would be better off without you.”
In 2014, character Hayley Cropper decided to end her life on her terms after treatment for cancer failed. The circumstances of this suicide are very different.
CALM chief Simon Gunning said: “Coronation Street is doing vital work in highlighting such an important issue.
“In the UK, three in every four suicides are male. The reasons for this are many and complex, but at CALM we focus on
It’s never the case that others would be better off without you
RUTH SUTHERLAND, SAMARITANS CHIEF
the cultural and societal aspects, including the pressures men face and how societal expectations can limit helpseeking when life gets tough.
“Working with Coronation Street has allowed us to engage a huge audience in the devastating effect of suicide, while providing a platform to highlight the help available for those in need of support.”
Asked how he felt when he found out how he was being written out, Shayne said: “I was heartbroken when I was first given the storyline, but it was going to be one of the biggest things I’ll ever do.
“I was scared and emotional but I’m proud. I was bawling watching it. I found it heartbreaking, it was everyone else’s performances too.”
He added: “I am very proud of what I have done in my three years on the show and on this storyline in particular.
“Aidan is an everyman figure, he is someone men can identify with, which is important in telling this story. We hope that anyone who recognises something of themselves in Aidan will realise they can and really should, talk about how they’re feeling.
“Talking could have brought him relief from what he was going through. This is what his loved ones would have wanted.
“Suicide is a very permanent response to what are usually temporary problems.”
Some critics have said plots involving child grooming, rape and baby death have made Corrie too depressing.
Outgoing show boss Kate said: “We have gone public with this now so people can decide whether they want to watch it or not. I don’t like spoilers a lot of the time, but this isn’t that kind of story.
“I would much rather people can say, ‘I am going to find it really hard, that is not for me’.
“However, I would hope that if people do feel it is something they want to see, [they can] learn about how they might be able to help somebody or think a bit deeper about the person next door.
“We could all do with thinking about these things a bit more.”
Next week’s episodes also show David Platt finally admitting to ex-girlfriend Shona Ramsay that he was raped by mechanic Josh Tucker. Aidan’s suicide persuades David to speak out and say he was close to ending his own life.
Shayne’s exit will be shown on ITV next Monday and Wednesday. If you are having problems or want someone to talk to anonymously, you can call the Samaritans 24 hours a day on 116 123.