Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Paul Connor (Coronation Street)

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Duration
  
2006–2007

Classification
  
Former; regular

Brother
  
Liam Connor

Father
  
Liam Connor

Created by
  
Steve Frost

Sister
  
Michelle Connor

Portrayed by
  
Sean Gallagher

Creator
  
Steve November

Paul Connor (Coronation Street) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumbc

First appearance
  
Episode 6374 6 September 2006

Last appearance
  
Episode 6571 6 June 2007

Book appearances
  
Coronation Street: The Complete Saga

Similar
  
Liam Connor, Carla Connor, Vernon Tomlin, Teresa Bryant, Mark Redman

Paul Connor is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Sean Gallagher, the character arrives with the rest of his family as one of Michelle Connor's (Kym Marsh) two brothers, first appearing during an episode that aired on 6 September 2006. He is later killed off in June 2007, following the actor's decision to leave the cast after only nine months.

Contents

2006–07

The character comes to Coronation Street when his brother Liam (Rob James-Collier) contacts him concerning Adam Barlow's (Sam Robertson) intention to sell his share of Underworld. The two brothers are introduced as brothers of barmaid Michelle. After buying Adam's share of the factory, Paul spends money set aside for his wife, Carla's (Alison King) children's clothing business, causing a row between the couple. Paul stays in touch with a previous owner of the factory, Danny Baldwin, and tells him that Frankie (Debra Stephenson) and Jamie's (Rupert Hill) have split up and buys Danny's 60% share of Underworld.

When Michelle's son, Ryan (Ben Thompson), is arrested for joy-riding, Paul violently attacks him upon his return from the police station. This makes Carla suspect that Paul is keeping a dark secret from her. Liam later reveals that Paul was driving on the night that Michelle's late partner, Dean, died. Paul and Liam then moved Dean's body to the driver's seat to avoid arrest for drink driving. This leads to Michelle disowning both her brothers. Paul proves to be an accomplished schemer by covering up the death of Polish factory worker Kasia Barowicz (Irena Rodic). He claims that she had died in the day shift when she was actually working illegally at night.

Paul is shocked to discover that Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), Liam's girlfriend, is a prostitute, having hired her. He and Leanne agree to keep each other's secrets but Paul becomes frustrated, watching Liam and Leanne get closer. To protect his marriage, he tells Liam that Leanne is a gold-digger but Liam ignores him. Paul is also uncomfortable about Leanne and Carla going into business together, eventually revealing that she is also a prostitute. Carla later discovers that Paul is her client, ending their marriage, with Paul blaming Leanne. As revenge, Paul locks Leanne in the boot of his car. The car crashes into a lorry whilst he was on the phone to Liam, which made him lose concentration. Following this, he and Leanne are rushed to hospital. Whilst Leanne survives with only a broken rib, Paul dies of his injuries. Carla and Liam blame Leanne for her part in the accident and Paul is buried in Ireland.

Later in 2008, Liam, newlywed to Maria Sutherland (Samia Ghadie), names their stillborn baby son after Paul.

Paul is mentioned again in November 2009 when Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) plan to play golf at a high class golf club. However, Steve was a guest member with Paul at the time but since Paul died, Steve is no longer a guest member.

Casting

Prior to the characters arrival, a Coronation Street insider claimed that little was known about the Connor brothers, aside from the fact that they're in the rag trade and started out on the markets. The insider speculated that Paul and his brother are just on the right side of the law, though not out-and-out villainous. Upon their arrival, the brothers were planned to cause trouble for Danny Baldwin (Bradley Walsh).

Departure

Early in 2007, actor Sean Gallagher's resignation from the soap opera was revealed. Coronation Street scriptwriters planned for his character to be killed off. During an interview, Gallagher claimed that his role on the show was what he'd hoped for, though he would rather play a variety of roles. The actor agreed with executive producer Steve Frost to leave at the end of his contract. The character was originally planned to be killed in Underworld itself; however, this was not clear.

References

Paul Connor (Coronation Street) Wikipedia