With devoted husband Roy at her side Hayley prepares to bring her suffering to an end before the treatment for cancer renders her incapable of doing so.
Determined not to implicate Roy in her suicide Hayley has planned everything and even his last minute pleas for her to change her mind do not soften her resolve.
When Anna Windass, Fiz Stape and Carla Connor arrive at the flat they find a devastated Roy struggling to come to terms with the death of his soulmate.
Ever since Hayley told Roy of her plans to take her death into her own hands the nation has been divided by her decision and the storyline has also reignited the Right to Die debate.
And in coming weeks the two sides of the debate will be shown on the soap as Roy struggles to deal with the fact that Hayley took her own life against his wishes. Fiz will also voice her dismay at the decision when she discovers the truth.
Coronation Street Producer Stuart Blackburn explained the decision to explore this difficult and controversial issue.
Coronation Street Producer Stuart Blackburn said: “Hayley has been through such a lot in her life and is very concerned about losing control as the disease progresses.
“The palliative care Hayley receives is superb but she is scared and fears that pain relief could cause confusion and a loss of clarity. She feels taking control is the right thing for her to do.
She is concerned that she might regress back to being her former male self, Harold. She has already had one such nightmare. So she came to the decision that she wanted to die in peace, to die with her clarity of thought still intact and most of all to die as Hayley - the identity she has spent her whole life fighting to be.
“Once she knew that she has a very short time left to live she set about getting her life in order so that she could take control of her final moments before the illness renders her incapable of doing so.
“This is a very sensitive issue and we will be exploring the effects of her decision on husband Roy who has a huge emotional and moral dilemma over her choice to die this way.
“Not everyone will feel Hayley’s decision is the right one and we fully respect this, for that reason we will be exploring both sides of the debate on screen.”
Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh said that she could understand Hayley’s decision: “I’m a member of the British Humanist Association so I have quite strong views in favour of it, obviously with all the constraints that have to be carefully laid out to make sure it’s not abused. I think everybody who is in favour of that bill will be at pains to say that as it is so easily exploited and misused in the wrong hands. When you see the cases that have gone through, it’s hard not to be in favour of it. When you see people whose minds are extremely keen and alert but whose bodies have gone, it’s heart breaking. I wouldn’t want to live in that pain and anguish, or see my family and friends go through it. I’ve always really understood Hayley’s decision.”
Hayley’s final episodes will transmit on ITV at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on Monday January 20th. Behind the scenes footage of her final scenes and an interview with Julie can be seen on www.itv.com/corrie at 9pm
See also: A very special screening, Hayley's farewell
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8 comments:
The only observation I'd make about comparing these scenes to Hilda opening Stan's glasses case is I believe some/many of Jean/Hilda's tears were for actor Bernard Youens, Stan, who had died.
This episode is a classic before it even airs, thanks to the quality of the actors involved (the sky is blue, day follows night, one plus one is two, DN & JH deliver). I'll miss Hayley as much as anyone. I'm also glad this story will continue with the impact on Roy, his struggles with Hayley's absence and her decision.
God help Sylvia if she ever shows her face again after abandoning Roy when he so needed support.
Well acted by both actors on this one. One question unrelated - Fiz Stape? Is she still Stape? I figured she would go back to Brown, especially after what John did to her.
The other death that ranks with this one I think would be Alma's. The 20th will come to soon.
abbyk I don't think Silvia will be back. I think the actress found it too physically taxing to stay in the role.
Sad that Becky and Sylvia aren't able to come back but such is the way when actresses have to deal with other things in their lives. Part of me just wants it to be over already but only because it is a truly painful storyline. I think Fiz's daughter is called Hope Stape so I suppose Fiz didn't change her name to keep them the same? However, it is odd that she wouldn't have changed both their names as soon as.
Newfy Pearl, I'd fully expect Sylvia to have a new face if the character returned. I'd also hope the character would be treated like a pariah for abandoning her son at such a time.
Even though KK isn't available, still wish someone (Steve, even Fiz or Liz) would call Becky. One sided conversations can be well written and engaging.
I agree abbyk, a Christmas card from Becky is not enough, she could have been in touch with phone calls and skype, even if we didn't actually see it, it would be nice to know they had been in touch.
The problem with Sylvia's disappearance is more difficult, I don't know what else they could have done apart from recasting but would that have worked, would the majority of the corrie fans accept that.
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