Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) came to a final decision about the end of his life in
emotional Coronation Street scenes on Monday (July 29).
The character has been living with motor neurone disease since last year, and
during a special episode dedicated to the storyline last week, Paul decided he would end his life after his condition worsened.
This left his partner Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) heartbroken, as he faced a future without Paul.
However, Paul has now changed his mind, vowing to ‘let nature take its course’ after he was uplifted by visits from his family.
The latest episode of the ITV soap saw Paul originally planning to end his life later that night.
During the day, he was visited by Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) and sister Gemma Winter-Brown (Dolly-Rose Campbell) and her children, which brought him to the realisation he wanted to ‘go on living for as long as he can’.
In tear-jerking scenes, Paul asked Billy to read aloud a speech he had written on his tablet, which said: ‘There’s no hope and things are going to get worse. You’ll think you want to end it, but there’s always something to hang on for. So that’s what I want to do – keep hanging on.
‘My body is past its sell-by but inside, I feel light and free.
‘The little things in life bring me joy – Bryn resting his head on my shoulder, Cleo laughing, and Joesph telling me he loves me. I want to stay for family, friends, and then there’s you. I’ll never be ready to say goodbye to you.’
He continued: ‘I want to go on living for as long as I can, however I can. I’m going to let nature take its course.’
His words brought a relieved Billy to tears, as he shared an emotional embrace with Paul.