Coronation Street has won a major award for its tragic Paul Foreman storyline.

The character (played by Peter Ash) passed away last year after previously being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

The emotional scenes in September saw husband Billy unable to see Paul in his final moments after he was rushed to hospital due to his health deteriorating.

Coronation Street has now won Best Soap/Continuing Drama at the Broadcast Awards after an episode focusing on the MND storyline was submitted as its entry.

Judges called a scene where Paul plays ‘Oh, Happy Day!’ to signal he wants to end his life as “deeply moving”.

There was also praise for the “creative approach to a much-misunderstood topic” and the “sensitive handling of a difficult subject” as viewers were shown Paul’s inner voice to illustrate that people with MND are the same person on the inside.

Broadcast also praised the show’s “ambition to push soap into ever more sophisticated, original and modern territory”, highlighting its expanding digital reach and its commitment to diversity, with a fifth of the past year’s episodes directed by a person from a protected minority group.

Other shortlisted soaps in the category were Casualty, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Waterloo Road.

This isn’t the only major award that the MND storyline has won in recent months, after it earned Best Storyline at the Inside Soap Awards in September, while Peter won Best Actor and Best Partnership with Daniel Broacklebank, who plays Billy.

Speaking to  ahead of his exit, Peter said he felt “so proud to have been part of this storyline, that’s managed to raise awareness for such a cruel disease”.

“I’m just eternally grateful to be part of that.”