The episode will see Ash’s character, Paul Foreman, who has the disease, spend his last day out with husband Billy Mayhew, played by Daniel Brocklebank, as his condition worsens, leaving him unable to use the stairlift to get in and out of his home. It will be dedicated to the memory of rugby star Rob Burrow, who died in June after being diagnosed with MND in 2019 and visited the Coronation Street set in 2023. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Ash said Burrow’s visit helped him to “learn a lot” for the role, and added that he was “grateful” to the late Leeds Rhinos star and MND charities for trusting him.
He said: “There was quite a lot of pressure, especially when it’s something that real people live with in their life, so we just wanted to get that right really, and be sure that we portray it correctly.” Ash was joined on the show by Brocklebank, who revealed that his grandfather died from MND 20 years ago. Brocklebank said: “The research department, the writers, they’ve done an incredible job.
“Having lived in a very similar experience in real life, it’s given me, and both of us, a real confidence in knowing that we are getting it right, that we are portraying this correctly. “Because it’s important – you’re telling real people’s stories. “I think one of the main difficulties (of caring for someone with MND) is getting the housing adaptions sorted in time.
“So, people needing a stairlift, for example...
by the time that stairlift and the fu.