Richard Hawley expected to spend his time on ‘Coronation Street’ having "a few pints" and enjoying a quiet life.
The 62-year-old actor’s character Johnny Connor has been involved in an emotional storyline which saw his on-screen son Aidan – played by Shayne Ward – take his own life, and it’s a far cry from how he saw things going on the cobbles.
He said: "It has been an immense privilege, I only came to ‘Coronation Street’ thinking I would have a few pints and sort out strikes down the factory.
"This is probably the biggest storyline of my life, professionally. I’m very proud of it and I think the whole building is very proud of it and I know that everybody went above and beyond, the extra mile, because it’s personal to many, many people."
Aidan’s suicide and the impact it has on his family is a focal point of the ITV soap at the moment, and Richard has opened up about the "positive impact" the plot has had on people.
He added: "We knew it would have a strong, positive impact but the scale of it has been off the scale; people sharing stories, people saying that they have talked to someone because of this storyline.
"The scale of that has slightly shocked me; it has been incredibly moving and it needs to be because the storyline will all move on at some point but we want this moment to have a lasting effect."
Emotional scenes of Aidan’s funeral will air next week, and Richard thinks they will spark a reaction with the viewers.
He explained: "Within that day, [Johnny] suddenly realises just how wrong he had interpreted their whole relationship, signs that had been missed from when Aidan was a kid that he hasn’t seen it.
"With a shove and a push at certain moments it could all have been so different and now he can see the truth he spends the day wishing it would be different.
"That’s an enormous revelation to him and I hope to the audience as well."
Richard Hawley expected quiet Corrie run
