Carla Connor
Carla Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Alison King. She made her first appearance on screen during the episode airing on 1 December 2006 and introduced as the wife of Paul Connor. This was King's second role in the soap as she previously played Mrs. Fanshaw for one episode in 2004. King appeared in her 1,000th episode as Carla on 22 May 2015. Carla has been referred to as "the new Elsie Tanner".
King was off-screen from February 2009 until October 2009 due to her maternity leave. King later took a 6-month break in May 2012 and was offscreen from 16 July to 10 December. King quit the role in 2015 and her final scenes aired on 26 May 2016. The following year, producer Kate Oates reintroduced Carla and she returned on-screen on 22 December 2017.
Carla has had relationships with Liam Connor, Trevor Dean and Frank Foster, and has been married five times to Paul, Tony Gordon, Peter Barlow and Nick Tilsley. Her storylines include being kidnapped in her factory by Tony and escaping when the building explodes, battling alcoholism, drink driving and running over Stella Price, being raped by Frank, attempting suicide, becoming a suspect in Frank's murder, an affair and marriage with Peter, learning that Peter has been having an affair with Tina McIntyre, suffering a miscarriage because of the stress, escaping a fire at her flat started by her arch-enemy Tracy Barlow, coping when people blame her for starting the fire, developing a gambling addiction, learning that family friend Johnny Connor is actually her biological father, being blackmailed by Tracy and later trying to kill her which leads to two car crashes on the street, suffering from kidney failure and undergoing a kidney transplant with her half-brother Aidan Connor, dealing with Aidan's suicide, a feud with Alya Nazir over the ownership of the Underworld factory, attempting to frame Abi Franklin for arson, and becoming a public enemy through her workaholism which leads to the factory roof fatally collapsing and her subsequent psychotic episode. After re-marrying Peter, he leaves for a new life, and Carla begins a same-sex relationship with Lisa Swain.
Casting and development
On 20 September 2006, it was reported that the former Dream Team actress Alison King had been cast as Carla Connor. A Coronation Street spokeswoman said of the new addition, "she will make quite an impact. The phrase 'dosh doesn’t make you posh' was made for Carla. She's a WAG on the cobbles, beautiful but tough and ambitious". King had briefly appeared on the Manchester soap in 2004, as a housewife named Mrs. Fanshaw, who slept with Jason Grimshaw. She later joked "I was Mrs Fanshaw – or Fanny. What a nightmare!" Metro also incorrectly reported she had previously played a character called Milly Webster in 1982, a part that was played by another actress with the same name. She said that she initially found the role difficult, as she "was uncomfortable playing a constant bitch at first. I'm getting into it now but I'm not as nasty or as cocky as Carla. She's horrible to anyone she perceives to be a rival. I couldn't be like that." In November 2010, she admitted her character "annoys the hell" out of her, saying "I would never be her mate in a million years! Carla's a nightmare and annoys the hell out of me. She's the type of person who creates drama wherever she goes, and I'm not like that at all. Plus, she'd probably try to steal my fella!" She has also said she hates the voice she chose for the character.In 2010, she talked of how long she would stay at Coronation Street, and that she had no worries for her career afterwards, saying "I'll have done four years in Coronation Street in October but because I had more or less a year out it still feels very fresh. I'm certainly in no rush to get out of it. I'm really lucky to be in this job. But I had a great career before I came into the show – 11 years working non-stop. Hopefully I wouldn't be too scared to do a few more silly action films if I could get them under my belt. I'll know when it's time to go but I'm not there yet." In January 2012, she said she would not leave soon, and would play Carla until "I get bored of her." In July 2013, King spoke of her future on Coronation Street, saying "I don't know whether I'll be here forever – I'd love to have a go at different things, like an action drama or love story. But as long as I'm happy in the role and the producers will have me, I'll be staying put for now." In October 2014, she said "I'm happy so long as I'm happy and I'm getting good storylines."File:Kym Marsh 2015.jpg|thumb|193x193px|Kym Marsh portrayed Michelle Connor, who was Carla's best friend.
Backstory
Carla is stated to have been born on 3 January 1975 in Manchester. She was born into a world of alcohol and drugs, which Sharon sold from Carla's pram. Sharon had plenty of boyfriends and, a few years after Carla was born, she gave birth to her second child, Rob. She went on to marry George, who mistreated Carla and Rob and was hated by them. Carla's best friends growing up were Michelle, Paul and Liam Connor who lived in the nicer part of the estate. Carla later married Paul in 1999 and left her family. Rob was later sent to Strangeways prison for armed robbery in 2004. Carla's family also used to know the Kerrigans as they were part of the Connor family. The Kerrigans included Tom who later appeared on the street.Underworld siege
In March 2010, it was reported that Carla's husband Tony Gordon portrayed by Gray O'Brien would escape from prison resulting in Carla being put in grave danger. Robbie Sloan, portrayed by Vicar of Dibley star James Fleet who is Tony's cellmate and has been bribed to aid the escape. According to The Sun newspaper: "Robbie is freed from jail – having been due for release – and meets Carla under the pretence that he is a trader who wants to buy lingerie cheaply. Having arranged a further meeting with Carla on the planned jailbreak day, he returns to visit jail and creates a diversion by sparking a fight with another inmate. As wardens attempt to break up the altercation, Tony feigns a heart attack and is transported to the hospital for treatment. However, Robbie is waiting for the ambulance and threatens the guards at gunpoint before securing Tony's escape."In April 2010, it was revealed that Tony was to hold Carla and Hayley Cropper captive at Underworld after escaping from prison. Lured into the factory alone by Robbie's businessman façade, Carla was bound and gagged in a desolate Underworld with Hayley Cropper, who had also been lured to the factory. Tony arrives at the factory, and eventually lets Hayley go free before setting the building on fire. In subsequent scenes, viewers saw Carla untie herself, grab Tony's gun and fire a shot which wounds him. While Carla manages to escape the burning factory, Tony dies in the blaze. Police later examine his body and assume that the bullet killed him. It was later reported that Carla was to be wrongly charged with murder in the storyline following this Carla is later released, however, this never happened.
Relationships
Peter Barlow
In July 2010, The Sun newspaper reported that an upcoming storyline would see Carla face a drinking problem after King was pictured filming a visit to alcoholics anonymous. An insider told the paper: "She sees Peter Barlow at the meeting and backs out, pretending she is meant to be in a Spanish class next door."In July 2011, it was reported that Carla will drunkenly drive her car into the bookies, injuring Stella in the process. This was the result of further rejections from Peter. A source told The Sun: "Carla's drinking is out of control again, it's a cry for help – and for love". The show's producer, Phil Collinson recently teased a storyline seeing Carla's feelings for Peter to arise once again. Collinson said: "I have to say, it's one of the biggest stories that we've told on Corrie for many years. She's going to have a pretty rough time across the autumn."
In September 2010, it was reported that Carla would fall for Peter. It was reported that the pair apparently grow closer as Peter helps Carla overcome her boozing and comes to her aid when she is arrested for drink driving. A source said: "Carla is feeling vulnerable and Peter is there," a source told the paper. "They soon become more than friends. He's stunned when she tells him she hasn't felt like this about anyone since Liam." Carla's best friend Leanne who is in a relationship with Peter would tell Carla that she is in love with her ex-husband Nick Tilsley, "This storyline will really put the cat among the pigeons," the source added.
Alison King later told Inside Soap that she wants Carla's friendship with Peter to develop even further as he helps her to battle alcohol addiction. King said: "I think she should definitely gets her claws into Peter. They've got a nice friendship and some good banter going on. They're equals, and I think it's the first time Carla's felt that way with someone since Liam died. They could be a great coupling – but it would turn into a nightmare if they both fell off the wagon."
Upon Carla’s return in December 2017, the pair became infatuated with each other once again and they later got back together in 2019 after he supported her through her psychotic episode. In May 2020, it was revealed that Carla has a secret that will bring conflict between the pair. Speaking about what’s to come for Carla, producer Iain MacLeod teased: "It pertains to when she went missing during her mental health crisis. We wanted to visit that when she is back on an even keel psychologically. We saw glimpses – with the hotel – it was an interesting development to reveal something we didn’t know previously." He stated that "Peter will seemingly discover said secret, which will inevitably bring with it more conflict for the two" Iain said: "Peter and Carla and the Burton and Taylor of the cobbles – at their best at their most explosive. They have big, heartrending challenges to overcome. What he discovers is a hard thing to swallow but ultimately he will be all the more proud of her and love her all the more. But they have a rocky road ahead."