Coronation Street star Daniel Brocklebank got “weak legs” after tragic storyline

Daniel Brocklebank admitted he was “weak in the legs” after learning about his “Coronation Street” heartbreaking storyline.

The 44-year-old actor, who plays Billy Mayhew in the ITV soap, admitted he was touched when he read that his character would be involved in a storyline about motor neurone disease (MND) after his grandfather died from the disease 22 years ago.

During an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain, he said: “I was walking the dogs when the phone rang. We don't often get unsolicited calls from our bosses. So when I answered the phone, Verity, our assistant producer, said: 'We just want to tell you what's happening with the plot.' Billy and Paul [Foreman] will get married.'

“I just thought, 'Oh, that's really nice!' but she said Paul was going to be diagnosed with motor neurone disease and my legs were getting a little weak because it's been so prominent in my life for the past two decades.”

Daniel admitted the planned storyline came as “quite a surprise” as producers were unaware that he had lost his grandfather to the disease. However, the soap star added that his relative “might have been sitting on a cloud somewhere orchestrating the whole thing”.

He explained: “I can't help but think my grandfather had something to do with this. He's sitting on a cloud somewhere, orchestrating the whole thing. It feels strangely beautiful to remember him and the many other people with MND I've met over the years and to tell their stories so publicly.”

Daniel had previously spoken to the Daily Mirror newspaper about MND, calling it “one of the cruelest diseases.”

He said: “It is one of the cruelest diseases I have ever seen and watching my grandfather literally physically deteriorate before our eyes was one of the worst things I have ever endured.”

“This is one of the most important roles I've had to play in my 30-year career – I've never played anything so close to home before. There are already similarities in scenes that bring back sad memories and when Billy cries, my tears are very easy to find.”