{"id":33061,"date":"2023-05-22T01:01:20","date_gmt":"2023-05-21T23:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1831274"},"modified":"2023-05-22T10:47:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T08:47:00","slug":"coronation-streets-gemma-will-be-devastated-over-pauls-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/coronation-streets-gemma-will-be-devastated-over-pauls-diagnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronation Street\u2019s Gemma will be \u201cdevastated\u201d over Paul\u2019s diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul has spared her from the truth before her big day. <\/p>

By Laura Denby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 22 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Dolly-Rose Campbell has shared how she thinks her Coronation Street<\/a> alter ego, Gemma Winter, will react to the heartbreaking revelation that her brother Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Paul has been keeping his illness a secret, wanting to shield Gemma and their loved ones from the distress ahead of her upcoming wedding to Chesney Brown (Sam Aston). But as Paul\u2019s symptoms grow more and more noticeable, it can surely only be a matter of weeks before Gemma finds out.<\/p>\n

Speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other press about how Gemma may cope, Campbell explains: \u201cObviously, she\u2019s going to be completely devastated, because Paul\u2019s been there her whole life. They\u2019re not just brother and sister, they\u2019re twins; so they\u2019ve been together their whole lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think her approach would be to stay strong, they are a bit of an \u2018out there\u2019 family, but at the heart they do love each other and stick together, and they want what\u2019s best for each other. So I\u2019m sure they will, they\u2019ll look after him in their way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the wedding, Gemma and Paul have an almighty falling-out, putting their bond at risk. \u201cIn the build-up to the wedding, Paul becomes quite distant, quite moody. Gemma can\u2019t understand why he\u2019s acting like that, and why he isn\u2019t as excited as she is.<\/p>\n

\""Dolly-Rose\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Dolly-Rose Campbell as Gemma Winter in Coronation Street.<\/span><\/figcaption> ITV<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cIt gets to a point where he blows up at her and tells her that nobody cares about the wedding, and he\u2019s sick of her and he\u2019s sick of the wedding. And it really, really hurts her feelings because it\u2019s something she\u2019s looked forward to for years and years. So she\u2019s quite angry at him and tells him not to bother coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if wedding fever is the reason that Gemma hasn\u2019t noticed that Paul is suffering, or whether the chaos of life is responsible, the actress says: \u201cI think it\u2019s a bit of both. Paul\u2019s very stubborn, and he wants everything to be his way. He doesn\u2019t want to be seen as weak, he doesn\u2019t want to offload it all on the family. So he is doing a good job of hiding it.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut on top of that, Gemma\u2019s life is so hectic with her family, and her work, and all her worries, that I don\u2019t think it is just the wedding as to why she wouldn\u2019t notice. Her life in general is so busy, so noticing even things right in front of her she probably struggles with.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have to wait and see whether Paul and Gemma can make amends in time for the nuptials, but nevertheless, there\u2019s a wedding to prepare for. And Campbell reveals the inspiration behind her character\u2019s dress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had big, big ideas for what I wanted for Gemma\u2019s dress, and discussing it with the costume department, the thing that kept coming up was \u2018where are we gonna get something like that from?\u2019 And I knew of this designer, Liquorice Black [a drag queen who has worked on Ru Paul\u2019s Drag Race].<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just blown away by the dress. It\u2019s an absolute work of art, the detail that\u2019s gone into it, it\u2019s just beyond anything I ever imagined. It was comfortable; it actually was, compared to a lot of Gemma\u2019s other costumes, because it was made to fit me from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n

For information and support on all aspects of motor neurone disease, visit the\u00a0MND Association\u2019s website<\/a>\u00a0or call the charity on 0808 802 6262.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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