Coronation Street reveals Summer’s role in tragic death aftermath
"There's a lot of explosive stuff."
Coronation Street star Harriet Bibby has revealed what’s ahead for her character Summer Spellman following the tragic death of Paul Foreman.
Summer tragically lost one of her three dads this week as Paul passed away in hospital, following his emotional journey living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) over the past 18 months.
Upcoming scenes will see Summer caught in the middle of family tensions, as Billy Mayhew and Bernie Winter clash bitterly over Paul’s funeral.
While Billy is keen to carry out a traditional service, Bernie wants a more unconventional memorial which better reflects her son’s personality.
Speaking about the storyline, Harriet explained: “Summer is quite a mature young woman anyway. She often has taken on a more parental role with all three of her dads a lot of the time. That definitely does come out again following Paul’s death.
“It’s something we spoke about when we were filming – the hierarchy of grief. It’s unspoken, but a lot of the time Summer might think: ‘I can’t let this boil over just now because Billy needs me’. We see that unfold with every character that’s affected by Paul’s death.
“We see Summer and Asha’s friendship link back together again. Asha is someone Summer feels she can confide in. There’s a lot of explosive stuff happening in our family after Paul’s passing – and having that person that’s just out of the loop a little bit helps Summer.”
On Billy and Bernie’s feud, Harriet continued: “Summer is definitely the person in the middle who can see both sides. She tries to reason with both parties and try to think about what Paul would want.
“Eventually she becomes a voice of reason. She tries to tell them off a little bit and re-focus the energy.”
Summer is also in an awkward predicament as one of the few characters who knows the truth about Billy’s final farewell to Paul over the phone.
When Billy was unable to make it to the hospital in time, he shared some last words with Paul in a phone call. Although Paul had already passed away, Bernie let Billy believe otherwise to give him the closure he needed.
Harriet added: “I think Summer feels quite conflicted about Bernie’s lie. Bernie did that for the right reasons. She wanted to give Billy the goodbye that he wasn’t going to get, which is why in the moment, Gemma and Summer didn’t say anything. They thought ‘okay, let him say goodbye’.
“Afterwards we’ll see everyone feel guilty and conflicted over whether it was the right decision. They’re feeling a million different emotions at once. You’re grieving yourself, you’re worried about the people around you, and then you’ve got that guilty conscience while wondering whether it was the right decision or not.”
