Coronation Street will air another twist in Summer Spellman’s surrogacy storyline as one of her three father figures risks going back to prison.
In upcoming scenes, Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) fears he might have killed Mike Hargrave (Tom Lorcan) in a physical confrontation.
Paul gets protective of Summer (Harriet Bibby) after Mike harasses her following a kidnapping ordeal.
Next week, Mike holds Summer captive, keeping her away from the bag where she keeps her insulin. When she collapses, Mike and Esther (Vanessa Hehir) bring her to the hospital under a false name.
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Luckily, Aggie Bailey (Lorna Laidlaw) is on shift and alerts Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank), Paul and Todd Grimshaw (Garrett Pierce), who all rush to the hospital and learn the truth about Summer’s miscarriage.
Later on, Mike becomes persistent when he insists on talking to Summer while she’s at the hospital. Caught by Paul and Todd, he flees.
“When Mike comes back into the hospital to try to speak to Summer again, that’s the moment where Paul snaps and decides to go after him. He just snaps and lets his anger get the best of him,” Ash told RadioTimes.com and other press.
Summer’s two dads follow Mike, with things quickly going awry, resulting in an angered Paul pushing him. Paul watches in horror as Mike hits his head, terrified this might land him in prison once again.
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“Yeah, Paul’s really worried to be honest – he even says I didn’t mean to knock him out, it was just a flash of anger,” the actor explained.
“It came at the moment where Mike insinuates that Paul’s feelings for Summer could be almost inappropriate, and obviously because Paul had to deal with the grooming he suffered from when he grew up, that really makes him see red.
“Paul just snaps and that’s the moment where he pushes him. But when he realises he’s gone too far, it’s terrifying, because that could be him back in prison and his life nearly over.”
Given their rivalry over Billy’s affection and past disagreements, Ash isn’t sure Todd would cover for Paul should the worst case scenario materialise.
“Things are smoother now than they used to be,” Ash offered, adding: “Todd was the reason Paul and Billy broke up so things haven’t been easy, but the fact that the three of them all still care for Summer and take on the ‘dad role’ has helped smooth things over and there are maybe less hard feelings.
“But the last thing I think he’d expect is for Todd to cover for him. A year or so ago Todd would happily have pushed him under the bus.”
Is Mike dead? And will Paul admit to what happened?
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