Coronation Street’s controversial male suicide storyline which will see the death of Aidan Connor (played by Shayne Ward) is set to air this week.
The poignant moment will greatly affect Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) – Aidan’s former girlfriend and the mother of his new born baby.
In tonight’s instalment of the long-running ITV soap, Aidan will appear at Eva’s cottage where he will admit he still loves her before returning to Weatherfield.
Sadly, when Eva arrives in the Street the next day to try to make things work with him she is devastated to discover that he has taken his own life.
Catherine, 34, admitted she felt raw emotion filming Eva breaking down after she found out about Aidan’s death.
“The scene asked for Eva to cry,” she explained, “But I didn’t have to try.”
She added: “I replayed all the scenes we had ever played together in my head, all the wedding scenes, the lovely moments between Eva and Aidan and the tears just flowed.
“I enjoyed working with Shayne so much and I had all those memories to draw on.”
The actress went on to tell Metro: “The scenes were incredibly tough to film, because it felt very real.
“Shayne’s final scenes on his last day of filming were just the two of us out on location at the cottage and it was very emotional. We were both wiped out afterwards.”
News of the male suicide plot divided viewers when Coronation Street boss Kate Oates, 39, announced the show’s plan last week.
However, Catherine defended her decision to broadcast the episode, saying: “I am 100 per cent behind this storyline and I understand why the programme wanted to do it with Aidan.
“Aidan is so loved and it appears everything is going well for him and on the surface he is happy. I believe this is what happens and it can be very hard to spot the signs someone is struggling.”
She continued: “I am so proud to be involved in the storyline and honoured that Kate Oates put her trust in Shayne and I and the rest of the Connor family to tell this story.”
Both Catherine and Shayne, 33, are leaving the show this spring, after seven-years and three-years, respectively.
Reminiscing on her time spent with Shayne, Catherine said: “We clicked from day one, and we have just been inseparable ever since, so personally I’m gutted that we’re no longer working together.
“Whenever we had down time we just had a giggle. He is like my brother and he is such a team player, and no one has a bad word to say about him.”
Coronation Street continues tonight on ITV at 7.30pm and 8.30pm.
For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123 or visit a local Samaritans branch.
