Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Billy Mayhew has been visited by his late husband Paul in powerful Coronation Street scenes.
The former vicar has been struggling since Paul’s death earlier this year. He recently started to numb his pain with alcohol and even made a romantic pass at ex-boyfriend Todd Grimshaw in a moment of despair.
The final straw came earlier this week when Billy was tricked by one of Paul’s dodgy former friends, Wayne. Billy left Wayne alone in his flat, only to discover later that the man had stolen Paul’s ashes and Summer’s laptop.
Friday’s (November 8) episode saw Billy risking death by drinking alone in a dark alley on a cold night in Weatherfield. As he veered between consciousness and unconsciousness, Billy started to see a vision of Paul.
This ghostly version of Paul acted as a conscience for Billy, begging him to return home before he caught hypothermia.
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“I’m serious, Billy, if you don’t get up now, you’ll never get up,” Paul warned.
Billy confessed to Paul that he felt life wasn’t worth living without him, especially after he’d tried to kiss Todd. The ghost of Paul was forgiving, telling Billy he already knew about the kiss and didn’t care.
Viewers would then see Billy start to lose consciousness. The ghostly Paul began to weep as he begged Billy not to let his life “end like this”.
Luckily for the grief-stricken Billy, Bernie was out searching for her son-in-law and found him on the verge of death.
Bernie and Dev wrapped Billy up in warm blankets until paramedics arrived. Billy was ultimately saved, though Summer and Todd were still worried about the depths of Billy’s grief.
The episode ultimately ended on a hopeful note as Billy told Bernie about his vision of Paul. Bernie revealed Paul had also come to her in a dream and encouraged her to go find Billy.
“I know it must have been a dream, but it felt so real,” Billy told her. “I’ve never had a dream like that, before. Ever.”
Bernie corrected him: “No, mine was a dream. Yours was an apparition.”
The pair were able to find some peace, realising that Paul must have been trying to help them move on because he was in a better place.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage
If you identify with the themes in this article, the NHS has resources available to help with grief counselling and other support in the UK. In the US, the CDC also has resources available for those grieving.
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