Peter Ash has confirmed his latest role will be in a brand new play following his exit from in September. The actor was known for playing Paul Foreman, who battled motor neuron disease (MND).
The ITV star has announced that he is set to swap the small screen for the stage as he attended the first day of rehearsals of Peter James’ new play, Picture You Dead.
Snapping a photo of the script, he posted on to his 66.4K followers and added the caption: “First day of rehearsals!
The play, which is being performed in Swindon, is the seventh Peter James book to be brought to life on the stage. It’s a whole world away from the Cobbles for Peter Ash, where he played heartbreaking scenes as Paul’s MND symptoms worsened.
In September, viewers were left in tears when Peter’s character Paul struggled to breathe and was rushed to hospital. However, he died before his husband Billy could reach him.
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Peter’s performance was met with critical acclaim and landed him a NTA for Serial Drama Performance. Accepting the award, Peter said at the time: “I feel really honoured to have been part of the MND storyline. Thank you very much.”
The actor may have put his days firmly behind him, but his old job continues to be in the spotlight due to a spate of recent dismissals.
The soap opera has recently seen a number of cast members depart the programme and their Head of Production is also set to leave the Cobbles for rival show, Hollyoaks.
Having been a stalwart at ITV’s since 2011, Lee Rayner initially joined as an assistant director, then stepped up as production manager in 2013, before ascending to the role of Head of Production in 2021.
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Now, Rayner is making a significant career move from ITV to , taking his talents to Hollyoaks. Broadcast magazine has revealed that Lee will succeed Colette Chard, who is departing to work on a children’s drama produced by Lime Pictures, the same company behind Hollyoaks.
According to The Sun, financial strains are reportedly at the heart of the issue, with insiders citing a significant budget crunch as the reason behind the exits.
” is on its knees financially and bosses are being forced to make hard decisions” an insider disclosed, pointing to skyrocketing TV production costs and a dwindling advertising market.
“The cast are not happy but ITV have no choice but to slash costs,” added the source.
However, despite the current concerns, another insider assured The Mirror of promising prospects for the beloved soap, stating, “Fans can ignore any idea that within a decade the soap will be gone, because it’s in no way on the brink of collapse.”
Express Online have previously contacted ITV for comment.