Coronation Street spoilers – Paul Foreman and Billy Mayhew are left utterly bereft by an unexpected but heartbreaking loss

Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) and Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) are told some devastating news in Coronation Street soon.

A few weeks ago in the ITV soap, Paul opened up to Billy about the prospect of ending his life when the time comes.

Paul said he doesn’t want to reach a point where he feels like a ‘hostage inside his own body’ and believes assisted dying is the best approach for the final part of his life.

Yesterday, Paul faced another upsetting reminder that his motor neurone disease is slowly taking over his entire body when he realised his speech was slurring during an evening at the pub.

The development prompted Paul to tell Gemma (Dolly-Rose Campbell) that he wants to pre record a message for Billy to play after his death, but when Summer (Harriet Bibby) and Billy walked in and overheard it, they were left fearing the worst.

Coming up, the bad news keeps coming for beloved Paul.

During a meeting with a speech therapist, Paul and Bernie (Jane Hazelgrove) learn that it might be time for him to start using a feeding tube in case he chokes on solid food.

At home, as Billy dishes up a family roast, Paul is given a bowl of pureed food to eat.

Towards the end of the week, the couple pop by the pub to retrieve Paul’s laptop. However, due to the robbery happening the night before, they discover the device – with the voice recordings on – was stolen by the burglars.

But if Paul and Billy aren’t able to get the laptop back, where will that leave Paul and his need to leave messages to his loved ones before he dies?