Corrie fans were gobsmacked on Wednesday (November 6) when a Weatherfield legend was shockingly resurrected to save his other half.
Peter Ash, who plays Paul Foreman, made a bombshell comeback to the cobbles, despite viewers thinking he'd kicked the bucket from motor neurone disease. In an episode that tugged at the heartstrings, Paul's nearest and dearest gathered at The Rovers Return for a send-off that saw his ashes launched into the heavens.
But Billy Mayhew, played by Daniel Brocklebank, was too cut up to watch the touching video homage. After hitting the whisky hard, he blurted out a raw confession to the crowd.
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Standing before his mates in the boozer, the sozzled vicar blasted: "This is a circus, it has nothing to do with Paul," reports Lancs Live.
Billy then killed the TV and spilled his guts: "It's a farce. He's already gone, and I didn't even get to say goodbye to him and now I don't even have any of his ashes."
Trying to give Billy a shoulder to cry on, Bernie Winter, portrayed by Jane Hazlegrove, told her son-in-law to ditch the guilt over his bond with Paul. But instead of feeling comforted, Billy chose to drop a bombshell on everyone at the Rovers, cranking up the tension.
In a raw reveal to the gathered spectators, Billy owned up: "Hear that Todd? Some loving husband."
He divulged with sharp honesty: "I tried to kiss Todd on the day of Paul's funeral. That's what kind of loving husband I am."
While Bernie shed tears, Dolly-Rose Campbell's character Gemma Winter unleashed her ire at Todd Grimshaw, portrayed by Gareth Pierce, as Billy made his lonesome departure from the watering hole to go and snag more booze. Distraught mum Bernie later popped over for a chinwag with Todd and got wind of the grim sagas that had been gnawing at Billy.
Anxious for Billy's well-being after twigging he was sloshed and solo, Bernie prodded Todd to follow his gut feeling that Billy was in peril, sparking their mission to find him. Billy, alone and despondent, found solace in a drink and reflected fondly to tunes that Paul was partial to, appreciating snaps while ignoring calls from Todd until his mobile died.
In the heart-wrenching scene, viewers saw Billy begin to lose consciousness just as an unexpected face rocked up.
Yielding a shock twist, Paul rocked up and laid into Billy: "Get up you lazy a**e," and roused him with: "Come on Billy, wakey wakey. You can't stay here all night. You'll freeze to death. Come on, get up Billy boy. Get up." Can Paul's desperate rallying get Billy back on his feet before the bitter chill takes its toll?
Corrie enthusiasts were gobsmacked to witness Paul's return to Weatherfield, with one viewer tweeting: "Paul's come back as an angel #Corrie."
Another was left utterly stunned, posting: "Billy hallucinating Paul," and yet another fan piped up with the comment: "Paul's back!"
One more viewer chimed in with a hint of worry: "Billy is seeing Paul? Oh no is this a big mental health storyline like Belle's voices in Emmerdale?"
But will Paul's ethereal appearance be enough to pull Billy out of his icy pit?
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