‘Our last scenes were so emotional’
She might have got Underworld back on its feet, but it will be a sad Christmas for Carla as hubby Peter Barlow decides to leave the Coronation Street cobbles. Here, actress Alison King tells us that it led to real tears on set
Hi, Alison. How is Carla and Peter’s relationship as Christmas approaches?
They’re a little off kilter. She is worried about him. Obviously, after the accident, he’s been struggling with his mental health and at the same time Carla has been busy and concentrating a lot on the factory. But she has noticed a kind of sadness in him that she can’t quite buffer for once.
When does Carla start to realise that Peter may be better off away from Weatherfield?
peter starts getting the postcards and the messages from his mate on the boat asking him to go and join him. She starts to notice that he’s really excited. it is the first time in a while that anything has taken his mind off what has been going on. it’s a slow sinking feeling when Carla realises that maybe it is time for them to do their own things.
How does Carla feel when she finds out that Peter intends to meet the mother of his liver donor?
i think she’s amazed. i think she’s really pleased that peter’s taken this step forward and got in touch with her because she knows it’s such a big thing for him to do.
There are two great loves in Carla’s life – Peter and the factory. Is she going to have choose between the two?
i think she will have to choose. going and living on a boat sounds wonderful and free but that’s not for Carla. That’s not how she sees her life but it is what peter wants to do. For Carla, it would mean potentially throwing everything away for her to go and do that. if she went and came back what would be left for her here?
What was it like filming your final scenes with Chris Gascoyne, who plays Peter?
We were filming solidly together for two days. it was amazing, but it was so emotional, i did not need any tear stick for those scenes. There was no way of knowing what would happen because every time we did it i literally filled up with emotion and started crying at different times in every scene. Just seeing a different look from Chris would set me off.