Shayne Ward has been praised by Coronation Street fans and his co-stars for his talented portrayal of Aidan Connor, and in particular, the emotional scenes that aired this week of Aidan's suicide. Shayne's fiancée Sophie Austin has paid tribute to her husband-to-be, saying she will "forever be in awe" of him and his acting. Taking to Instagram, the former Hollyoaks star shared a photo of Shayne and their two-year-old daughter Willow walking hand-in-hand.
"So here we are at the end of this long journey, one that I'm so, so proud of you for taking," wrote Sophie. "At first it was such a hard decision and road to face knowing how important this story was for us as a family and for so many others. You were scared as you wanted to do it justice!
Shayne's fiancée Sophie said she will "forever be in awe" of the actor
"Well you did my darling, you listened to stories/experiences, learnt, revisited your own memories and tragic loss and worked hard to make this story the truest it could be and to hopefully help others and get people talking. I will forever be in awe of you and your amazing talent as an actor. Thank you my love xx."
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The actor's final Corrie scenes aired earlier this week
On Monday night's double bill episode, viewers were left distraught after troubled factory worker Aidan takes his own life. His suicide was not shown on screen, something which made the impact even more powerful. Shayne's co-stars and fans were quick to praise the 33-year-old actor, with Catherine Tyldesley, who plays Aidan's ex-fiancée Eva Price, writing on Instagram: "Phenomenal performance from @shaynetward tonight. Darling it's been an absolute pleasure to work with you. Here's hoping that the work that yourself and our wonderful #corrie team have put into this week's episodes gets people talking and helps save lives."
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Shayne, who rose to fame after winning The X Factor, was clearly overcome by the support from fans, as he tweeted on Tuesday: "I'm completely overwhelmed by your tweets. I truly love you all. X."