Coronation Street's Carla Connor-Swain is set to face "devastation and disaster" as villain Idris Nazir targets her business, Underworld. Actress Alison King, who has played Carla for 20 years, has teased the difficult times ahead for the character, whose livelihood is at risk.
With Underworld facing ruin, Idris goes out of his way to steal it from Carla, including by sabotaging her plans. While Carla's wife Lisa Connor-Swain will be there to support her, the pressure leads to tension between them.
Carla's Struggle to Keep Underworld Afloat
King explained that Carla is trying to hide how stressed she is to avoid panicking those around her. "She's trying her absolute best to keep a lid on how stressed she is so she doesn't panic everyone. But with inflation, everything is tight," the actress said.
The orders haven't been coming in, and the factory hasn't been winning the contracts it wanted. "She's keeping it under her hat, but they are really struggling," King added. "She's been trying to be strong and deal with it on her own, but she's had a lot coming at her. I think she's taken her eye off the game a bit and hasn't been as invested."
King also noted that the full team hasn't been together, with Sarah awaiting her trial. "There's been a lot of turmoil for everyone," she said.
Tension With Lisa and Conflict With Idris
Lisa's support leads to friction between the couple. "Lisa is very literal, so she says things coming from a place of love, but it really rubs Carla the wrong way," King explained. "Carla is learning to deal with that and understand what Lisa actually means, but she hated the thought of that. The factory is a huge part of Carla's identity, it's everything to her. It's that or nothing."
On Carla's immediate dislike of Idris, King said: "Idris instantly rubbed her up the wrong way. Just the fact that he chimed in as if he knew anything about her, the way he speaks to her, and how he carries himself, everything about him annoys her right from the off. It was very abrupt, and there was almost literal hatred there from the start."
"She doesn't know she's underestimated him yet because she doesn't realise he was behind [what happens]. Carla fights fire with fire and isn't frightened of someone like him, but she underestimates just how nasty and manipulative he can be," King added. "Her instincts about bad people are usually spot on, but at the moment, he doesn't scare her because she doesn't know what lengths he will go to."
A Devastating Setback Before Christmas
Carla hopes to salvage things by securing a massive order. "Everything is on track if she can get this massive order out. That would tide them over into the next contract, and they'd be fine," King said. "This new client is someone she's been wanting to work with for ages, and she knows anyone in the industry would vouch for Underworld's track record."
However, devastation strikes, and King described the impact on Carla. "She loves her workforce, they mean everything to her. They're like her children, especially after giving her the most beautiful wedding," she said. "So having to let them down, especially financially right before Christmas, is absolutely devastating for her. She's completely gutted. She's devastated. She keeps it to herself for as long as she can before having to confess that the insurance won't cover it."
King noted that Carla overlooked the insurance because her head was full with everything else, including Sarah, Betsy, and keeping things running. "Given past trauma like the roof collapse, it's a massive trigger for her. At this point, she genuinely thinks it was just a terrible, tragic accident," she said.
Carla's Fight to Save Her Business
Carla will not go down without a fight. "Running it with someone else wouldn't be her first choice, but if it's her only option to keep everyone above water, she'd do it," King said. "What's driving her to save it is the panic of having no plan B, not wanting to play second fiddle to Lisa, and feeling a massive responsibility toward her staff and being a role model for Betsy. But she does not want Idris involved at any cost."
King has enjoyed playing Carla's vulnerable side in the scenes. "Bringing vulnerable Carla out of the box reminds everyone of who she really is," she said. "Every time she goes through a crisis like this, she comes back a bit more understanding and empathetic toward others, even if she still loses her temper along the way!"
On Carla's future if Underworld does close, King added: "Her default seems to be helping Roy in the cafe, I would love that, she could live the dream running a cafe. But she likes the day to day cut and thrust of running the factory so it might not keep her satisfied for too long. She isn't ready to slow down."
Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
