As Mason Radcliffe, Luca Toolan has had one of the most harrowing and dramatic Coronation Street exits in recent memory.
However, the young star has admitted the last scene he actually filmed on the ITV soap was much less dramatic than his character’s final moments.
Corrie fans saw Mason meet a tragic end during Monday’s episode when he was stabbed with a zombie knife by his brothers Matty and Logan (Séamus McGoff and Harry Lowbridge) while protecting Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne), who had intervened to help his former bully.
While Abi Webster (Sally Carman) tried her best to save his life, Mason later died from his injuries in hospital.
Discussing his last day on set, Luca revealed that due to the way the soap films out of sequence, his final scene was ‘anticlimatic’.
He explained: ‘The last scene I did was a small speaking scene with Tim about getting some sticky toffee pudding. It didn’t feel like my final scene because it was the most anticlimactic conversation for my very, very last scene.
‘I wanted to finish and go to Nando’s with Liam [McCheyne, who plays Dylan] for my last meal at Corrie but he wasn’t replying back to me, I remember thinking, “Come on mate, this is my last day and one of my best buds on the show isn’t even replying!” Then when I finished, Kate Brooks [the soap’s producer] came down with Liam and Sydney [Martin, who plays Betsy Swain] to surprise me.
‘I felt really appreciated, which was a lovely, lovely moment.’
Luca described filming Mason’s stabbing as ‘exhausting but amazing’, admitting he was ‘honoured’ to take on such a hard-hitting storyline.
‘I was so focused and a storyline like this is what you crave as an actor,’ he said. ‘I love the long days and working my butt off and even filming outside in the cold. Every single day I would wake up and be absolutely buzzing to go to work.
‘The full crew were so supportive and created an environment that you could put yourself in that emotional headspace and get on with it. It was an amazing experience filming those scenes.’
Luca explained that he found out Mason would be killed off in the harrowing plot back in February/March last year, and initially felt ‘a mixture of emotions’.
He continued: ‘I was sad that Mason was going to die and that means I would be leaving, but equally I was really excited and honoured to be part of this storyline because it’s an incredibly important issue that needs to be tackled.
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‘I feel so privileged to have had this opportunity to start my professional career at Coronation Street and what a great time I’ve had.’
Looking to the future, the 19-year-old star added: ‘I love acting so much and I really hope I’ll continue doing it. I’ve seriously learned so much from Corrie and I’m so grateful to everyone involved there.
‘As for my future, I’m not sure what it holds but the saying I like to say is: “I’m aiming for the stars and if I miss, I’ll hit the moon.”’
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Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 or stream first from 7am on ITVX.
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