Opinion: One for the Coronation Street history books – here’s why Paul Foreman’s passing was unforgettably heartbreaking

Tonight’s episode of Coronation Street (Monday, September 9), saw Paul Foreman pass away as his MND journey came to a SUPER EMOTIONAL end.

Corrie always portrays huge character deaths well, but this one was really one of the saddest we’ve seen.

Here’s exactly why we think that Paul Foreman’s death will go down as being one of the most memorable in soap history.

Coronation Street: Paul Foreman’s death
We knew it was coming but oh we so weren’t prepared for how emotional tonight’s episode was going to be.

Viewers have followed much-loved character Paul through the entirety on his MND journey. We’ve watched him first get diagnosed, struggle to process what this meant for his future, deteriorate each time his symptoms worsened, and now… we’ve watched his inevitable death.

Corrie ALREADY had us go on an emotional rollercoaster during Paul’s special ‘last day out’ episode the other month. And now, we’ve gone through 100 packs of tissues all over again with this one.

This evening, Billy woke up with a hangover and realised that he’d lost his phone. Heading off out to find it, Billy was unaware that Bernie and Summer were calling for an ambulance. Paul was struggling to breathe.

Kit eventually found Billy at Freshcos’ car park, giving us some hope that he’d make it to the hospital in time. But, no. In a cruel turn of events, a road blockage forced poor Billy to run his way to the hospital to see Paul before he died.

He never did make it there in time, delivering his last message to him over the phone. But… well, let’s talk about that ending. Because, we’re never going to get over it!

Billy looks panicked on the phone on CorrieCorrie's Paul with family
A moment for THAT ending
Okay, so we must admit that we were hoping that Paul’s storyline would be the only focus of the episode (other storylines could wait for just a moment, surely?), but THAT ending made up for this.

Pulling on our heartstrings, we were absolutely destroyed by the ending of tonight’s episode. Just to add to the pain of Paul’s time being up, Corrie had Billy miss his chance to say goodbye to his husband for one last time.

Yes, by the time Billy delivered his message to Paul over the phone… Paul had already passed away. Bernie and Summer didn’t have the heart to tell him, with Billy only realising that he was too late when he eventually arrived at the hospital. How cruel…

Credit to Peter Ash and Daniel Brocklebank
A moment must be given to applaud Peter Ash and Daniel Brocklebank’s absolute masterclass in acting.

Every moment of Paul’s storyline from beginning to end was sensitively portrayed in a way that was really believable. We were 100% invested. These stars gave us all an insight into what it’s like to live with and support someone suffering from MND, and we owe them a lot.

These two deserve lots of awards for this one because it takes some skill to have us all in absolute bits at 9pm on a Monday morning.

Billy and Paul dance on their happy day
Coronation Street Paul death: One to remember
Paul’s entire story has left a huge mark on us, with his death being something that we’ll all remember for years to come. When we think of the Corrie deaths that had us in tears, we’ll think of Hayley Cropper’s, Aidan Connor’s… and Paul Foreman’s name will certainly be up there too.

The aftermath of Paul’s death is something we’re intrigued to see play out. We can’t imagine the pain Gemma feels losing her twin. And, ours hearts are shattered for Billy, Summer, Bernie, Kit and the rest of Paul’s family. If one thing is for sure, we’re definitely not ready for Paul’s funeral!

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