'I am honoured': Shayne Ward opens up about Aidan Connor's suicide

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Coronation Street will address the topical issue of male suicide when character Aidan Connor takes his own life.

In a devastating hour-long episode on May 9, Johnny Connor will discover his son’s body at his Victoria Street flat after he fails to turn up to work at the local factory.

A secret battle with depression will result in these tragic circumstances, after Aidan is unable to recover from his mental health issues.

Actor Shayne Ward, who plays Aidan in the soap, has spoke out about the significance of his storyline, and how important it is for a high profile show like Coronation Street to address the issue.

"I am honoured to have been trusted with a storyline like this, it shows the confidence that Kate and the team had in me to be able to play it."

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He continued, "When you get given a storyline like this it is a decision that is not taken lightly, I have played it with as much honesty and truth as I could.

"I am very proud of what I have done in my three years on the show and on this storyline in particular.

"Aidan is an ‘everyman’ figure, he is someone men can identify with, which is important in telling this story.

"We hope that anyone who recognises something of themselves in Aidan, will realise they can, and really should, talk about how they’re feeling."

Coronation Street bosses were keen to handle the issue sensitively, and no element of the suicide will be shown on screen.

Coronation Street boss Kate Oates recently revealed that, after discussions with various mental health charities, Shayne pitched his own ideas for how Aidan's final scene should be written.

She told Metro.co.uk, "The final scene in which we see Aidan is entirely of Shayne’s creation. Originally we were just going to see Aidan at the pub with his family.

"Life’s going on around him and he’s just completely dis-engaged.

"But Shayne instinctively said: “That feels really wrong to me. I think I need another moment and Aidan needs it too”. So we added a final scene of him breaking down at the flat.

"Now when I watch these episodes, they wouldn’t feel complete without it."

 

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Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren worked on the woman&home brand for four years before going freelance. Before woman&home Lauren worked across a variety of women's lifestyle titles, including GoodTo, Woman's Own, and Woman magazine. After starting out working for a local paper in Yorkshire, her journalism career took her to Bristol where she hunted out stories for national papers and magazines at Medavia news agency, before landing a job in London working as a lifestyle assistant.


A big fan of adventure, Lauren is also a keen travel writer and loves sharing tips on where to find the best places to eat, drink, and be merry off the beaten track. Lauren has written a series of travel guides for London hotels and loves sharing her insights into a destination's cultural and culinary offerings. If you need a recommendation on any UK destination, she's more than happy to help. At the weekend, you'll usually find her hanging out with her pet cat (or anyone else's pet she can get her hands on), escaping to the countryside, or devouring a good book.