Heart torn:
Lucas Kempton, a new Coronation Street character, is set to tear at the heart of Carla Connor and rock the foundations of her relationship with Peter Barlow. James Rampton reports.
Is Coro’s new man the one for Carla Connor?
Actor Glen Wallace is delighted to have landed a major new role on Coronation Street. But there is one person who is even more thrilled than he is – his mum.
Wallace, who plays Lucas Kempton, whose arrival on the cobbles threatens Carla and Peter’s relationship, says that, “My mum couldn’t wait till I started on Coronation Street. She texted me the night before my first episode went out and said, ‘You’ve made an old woman very happy’.”
The actor jokes that his mum will be texting him so often during each episode that he will have to turn off his phone.
Talking to TV Guide, Wallace goes on to underline that his mother is particularly happy he is beginning on the show now because it provides a welcome distraction in the midst of the appalling pandemic currently gripping the UK.
“Coronation Street offers that bit of normality in a very abnormal time. As soon as you hear that theme tune, you can relax for half an hour because you know everything is going to be OK.
“You have got your friends with you, and you can sit back and watch their lives. So yes, my mum is really looking forward to that.”
Lucas has come to the cobbles because he is an old flame of Carla’s and is desperate to be reunited with her. In the process, he undermines the stability of the relationship between Carla (Alison King) and Peter (Chris Gascoyne), the couple known as “The Burton and Taylor of Weatherfield”.
Wallace, 44, who hails from Ballymena in Northern Ireland, explains that when Lucas and Carla first met in Devon several years ago, “They had an instant connection. Lucas looks upon them as soulmates.”
The actor, a familiar face from British soaps with long-running roles in
Hollyoaks, EastEnders and River City, carries on that, “Lucas is a very successful businessman. He is very alpha male, very front foot, very proactive. “His move up to Manchester to meet Carla is very divisive, but not with malicious undertones. “It’s simply the case that Lucas is no longer willing to miss out on life’s opportunities, and he sees Carla as one of life’s opportunities that he is definitely not going to let go again.” That aspect of the story, Wallace adds, is very topical. “Lucas now wants to make the most of life. I think that will resonate with a lot of people during the pandemic. In lockdown, we have all been given a lot of time to sit and assess what’s important in life.” One of the main reasons why Lucas is convinced that he and Carla should be together is because they have a shared experience of living with addicts.
Lucas’ girlfriend Lucy died of a drugs overdose, and Peter has a constant battle with alcoholism.
Wallace reflects that, “There are many parallels between Carla’s relationship with Peter and Lucas’ relationship with Lucy.
“Lucas has gone through being that caring partner and looking after someone who is addicted.
“He thinks he’s wasted his life and really doesn’t want Carla to do the same. He thinks she deserves more than Peter.
“Lucas is saying to her, ‘I’ve been there. I know what it’s like. I can recognise the signals. I can help you. I don’t want you to do what I did.’
“Lucas can see a real future with Carla and he doesn’t want to take no for an answer. He thinks, ‘I’m not going to let this go’.”
So is Lucas offering to rescue Carla and change her life for the better?
“I think that Carla is maybe too much of an alpha female to be rescued,” Wallace smiles.
“But in life and in Coronation Street, we all want to be loved and Lucas thinks he can give Carla that. He’s not messing around.”
Wallace closes by emphasising how happy he is to have landed the role of Lucas.
“To get a job on Coronation Street in any year is fantastic. But to get it after the year we’ve just had is a lovely light at the end of the tunnel for me.”
Before he goes, Wallace pauses to consider which character he would most like to work with on the cobbles.
“I wouldn’t mind a wee pint with Ken in the Rovers,” he says.
“I don’t know if he would welcome me with the amount of trouble I may or may not be about to cause between Carla and Peter. But I think Ken would have some great stories.”