“Billy & Paul will try to find all the joy they can”
CORRIE’S DANIEL BROCKLEBANK AND PETER ASH SHARE AN UPDATE ON THEIR CHALLENGING STORYLINE…
It’s Soap Law No 1 that no happy couple can be happy for long. So even while fans of Corrie’s Billy and Paul celebrated their recent reunion, we knew not to take that joy for granted. And sure enough, we were soon rocked by a shock storyline that’s seen Paul diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
For some weeks we’ve watched Paul struggle on with only the support of his friend Dee-Dee, but now
Billy knows the truth about why his partner’s been acting strangely, the emotions have only deepened as the pair resolve to face the future – however limited that might be.
We sat down with actors Daniel Brocklebank and Peter Ash, who play Billy and Paul, to discuss the intense and moving storyline that will eventually spell the end of their on-screen partnership…
Hi, guys. So… Coronation Street viewers have just watched the heartbreaking episode in which Billy and Paul first discuss the diagnosis. What’s it like filming scenes like that?
Daniel Heartbreaking is exactly the word for it. Pete and I were welling up, even as we first read through the script. Sometimes you are free to make choices about how you play a scene, and sometimes a script just grabs you and you literally can’t choose to do anything else other than how it’s making you feel in that moment.
It’s bloody exhausting crying for 12 hours a day, but even working on the bleakest material, there’s a huge amount of humour to be had. It’s a joyous place to work. I can’t believe I get paid for it. Peter It’s certainly been an emotional atmosphere. Jane Hazlegrove, who plays Bernie, said she was waiting behind the set to come on, and just listening to the scene was making her emotional. Of course, in that scene Bernie didn’t know yet, so Jane had to close her ears and think of something else!
This whole storyline is very personal for you, Daniel, as your grandfather died from the disease just over 20 years ago….
Daniel I’ve been working with the MND Association for a very long time. Obviously I’m very sad to see Peter leaving, but thrilled that we are highlighting MND, and showing somebody’s journey through the illness. There was a scene we filmed a couple of weeks ago where Paul gets up and walks out the room and I remember my grandfather doing the same thing. And all of us just sat together, not being able to really comprehend what we were going to have to face as a family. When Paul got up and left the room, I just burst into tears. It’s very strange that this storyline has landed in my lap.