26 July 2024 Association News

Paul is in the foreground of the shot restricted to the sofa looking at his communication aid screen. Billy and Todd are in the kitchen in the background making food.

The issues people living with motor neurone disease (MND) face around accessible housing have been highlighted on screen and in print this week, thanks to the work of Coronation Street actors Peter Ash and Dan Brocklebank.  

Peter and Dan’s powerful letter to the editors of 500 publications across England, Wales and Northern Ireland was prompted by issues raised in Wednesday’s (24 July) episode of Coronation Street. 

Viewers saw Paul, played by Peter, being told by his Occupational Therapist that it was no longer safe for him to use the stairlift in his flat because of the progression of his condition – meaning Paul has to make the heartbreaking decision of leaving the home he loves, or losing his ability to go outdoors.  

Although Paul’s experiences on the soap are fictional, they are experienced by thousands of people living with MND. Anna Barrow, from Manchester, is one of them.  

“I fell at home while waiting for a stair lift to be fitted. I was confined to the downstairs and had no access to a shower or our bed. We ended up having to pay ourselves to get it fitted in time, but that money had come from our savings that we were going to use to adapt other areas of the house. I am not working now, and my husband has also had to give up work to look after me. The whole situation is worrying and frustrating.” 

Anna Barrow, who is living with MND 

As well as highlighting Anna’s shocking experiences, Dan and Peter’s letter calls for local councils to do more for people with MND, and for the UK Government to scrap means testing for housing adaptations and ensure everyone has access to housing which meets their needs.  

The pair were also able to raise the issue of accessible housing on Monday’s edition of BBC Breakfast, as they previewed a special episode of Coronation Street which will air on Friday 26 July. The one-hour special is devoted entirely to a day-in-the-life of Paul, and is dedicated to late Association patron and rugby league legend Rob Burrow CBE, who died in June.  

Coronation Street character Paul Foreman was diagnosed with MND last year after experiencing some difficulties with his grip in his hand. Since then, Peter has sympathetically portrayed Paul’s increasing physical disabilities, the loss of his voice, the financial hardships and the social difficulties he’s faced. Meanwhile, Association ambassador Dan Brocklebank, who features in the soap as Paul’s husband Billy, has demonstrated the enormous challenges faced by unpaid carers.   

Read more about the MND storyline on Coronation Street.