Coronation Street star Tony Hirst has revealed that he hopes his character Paul Kershaw and his girlfriend Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) have a happy future together.

As we saw in last night’s episode, Paul asked Eileen to attend his wife Lesley’s funeral with him, which didn’t go down well with Lesley’s sister Yvonne, but feisty Eileen put the woman firmly in her place after enduring her sniping throughout the service.

And when Eileen and Paul headed back to the Street, Paul revealed that he loves Eileen and wants them to live together.

And while the nation heaved a collective sigh of relief for the upturn in unlucky-in-love Eileen’s fate, David and Kylie Platt – who are played by Jack P Shepherd and Paula Lane – were less than pleased for the couple as it means that Eileen is no longer selling her house. They of course had set their hearts on buying it…

However, while speaking to Digital Spy about his character and storylines, Tony – who’s formerly starred in Hollyoaks, Holby City and The Ghost Squad – said, “I think they both genuinely love each other, and they’ve been through a hell of a lot.

“I think that’s going to forge them closer together rather than blow them apart.

“I just hope they have the time to realise what initially attracted them to each other, which was a sense of humour, fun, and compassion.

“There hasn’t been a great deal of that because the circumstances haven’t allowed it, but I like to think that they’ll re-discover that side of their relationship.”

However, when asked how long Tony expected to remain on the cast list at Corrie, he said, “I don’t know and I don’t actually think they know yet.

“But I’m here for a while and I’m not going anywhere just yet.

“I think the writers want to explore what happens with Paul and Eileen and I’m really excited about that.

“It’s very fluid, though – I don’t think you can ever say that you’ll be here for a certain amount of time.

“I do know that I’m really passionate about the show and I hope that the writers find a life for Paul and Eileen.”

Aww I hope things turn out for them, do you? It’d be nice to see Eileen having some luck with men for a change!