ABI’S JAILHOUSE SHOCK

Sally Carman on her troubled Corrie character ending up back behind bars as her life spirals out of control

Abi Franklin’s life hits rock bottom in Coronation Street this week when she attempts to kill herself and ends up back in prison. The devastated mum – who’d beaten heroin addiction and landed a job as a mechanic – snaps with the stress of getting the sack and being separated from her six-year-old twins.

‘Abi’s heartbroken by her life unravelling,’ says Sally Carman, who plays her. ‘She dared to believe everything was getting back on track and when it falls apart she’s not strong enough to ride it out. Abi reacts in the way she knows best – going down a wormhole of self-destruction, trying to take her own life, and ending up back inside.’

Abi’s downward spiral began last month when her best friend Tracy McDonald set her up, wrongly believing Abi had cheated with her fiancé Steve. Tracy tampered with Michelle Connor’s car while Abi was servicing it, and when the vehicle was involved in a fatal crash, Abi was arrested.

When she punched her boss Kevin Webster for questioning her innocence, she revealed to Tracy that she’d decided to put her twins Lexi and Charlie, who’ve been in care, up for adoption.

This week she’s depressed and in turmoil, which is made worse by seeing the children playing happily at their foster home. ‘Abi decides they’d have a happier life without her and takes a drug overdose,’ says Sally.

Finding Abi unconscious, Tracy saves her life and admits she damaged the car, but it’s too little, too late, because Abi learns her drugs relapse means the twins will stay in care.

Abi’s son Seb is the cause of further misery. ‘Seb trashes Tracy’s flower shop but Abi takes the blame for him and is jailed for 16 weeks, so she’ll be there for Christmas,’ says Sally.

It’s not all bad news, though – Sally

is excited by the prospect of her character going back to prison. ‘Abi knows people inside.’ She’ll even help Sally Metcalfe, who’s on remand for fraud. ‘Another inmate wants to make Sally Metcalfe’s life difficult and Abi protects her.’

Being in Coronation Street is a dream come true for Rotherhamborn Sally, 43, who joined the show a year ago. ‘I remember watching Barbara Knox [Rita Tanner] and her storylines with Alan Bradley in the late 1980s. In one scene Rita broke down and I remember being mesmerised

and getting goose bumps. I decided then that I wanted to be an actor.’

However, Sally – who was previously married to fellow actor Ryan Pope, and is now reported to be dating co-star Joe Duttine, who plays Tim Metcalfe – had to bide her time to join Corrie, as she had no fewer than ten screen-tests before winning the role of Abi. But she says it’s all been worth it.

‘It’s been beyond my expectations. I feel completely at home here and everyone’s lovely – which I’ve never said about any previous jobs!’