Coronation Street’s Alison King reveals why Carla and Peter don’t survive in ‘gut-wrenching’ end

Oh, we are not ready (Picture: ITV)

We’ve known it was coming, and yet we are still not ready for Carla Connor (Alison King) and Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) to split up in Coronation Street.

The couple will end their relationship ahead of Peter’s exit, which will occur in what is described as a ‘heartbreaking’ Boxing Day episode.

Following Stephen Reid’s (Todd Boyce) death, which happened when Peter drove his car into him, things between Carla and her husband started to change.

‘They’re a little off kilter’, Alison King explained.

‘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 he is going through something he can be quite irrational and he’s telling her, quite irrationally sometimes, that she doesn’t pay him attention, doesn’t give heed to what he wants. He says it’s all about what she wants, which is kind of dumbfounding to her at that point, because she’s trying to juggle so many balls and put her life back together after the money’s gone. So it’s a case of them not communicating properly.’

Agreeing that Stephen’s death was a big turning point for Carla and Peter’s relationship, Alison reflected on what’s changed between the two characters.

‘She doesn’t know whether she wants to do what he wants to do. He wants to do something else but he wants to do it with her. But I don’t think she can. I think it’s probably the first time where she’s felt that it jars with her’, she sighed.

Peter’s exit looms (Picture: ITV)

‘I think it’s probably the first time she’s seen that she can’t be his life raft. With everything she’s been through, I think she’s still quite strong and she kind of knows herself better than ever. And so I think in the past, it’s been good for them, support wise. But we’ve seen that when they’re at their worst together, it can be quite damaging. Maybe this is the first time she has realised she can’t do that going forward. She’s capable of living on her own and needs to be happy.’

With Carla’s focus on Underworld, she soon realises Peter would benefit from a life away from Weatherfield entirely.

‘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’, Alison told us.

‘It is the first time in a while that anything has taken his mind off what has been going on. Obviously, he asks her to go with him and she flat out says no, because she’s trying to get the factory back up and running. And I think the realisation comes from him that she’s fighting for the business and they want different things. She’s realising that she can’t. She’s quite happy to carry on on her own and starts to feel sad.

Carla realises her and Peter want different things from their lives (Picture: ITV)

‘And it’s a slow sinking feeling that she realises that maybe it is time for them to do their own things, we had that and it was wonderful but maybe that is over. She isn’t aware that he is talking to Tim and is starting to think he should stay with her.’

As reality starts to hit Carla, she decides to support Peter at his next AA meeting. There, he opens up to the people within the group, and it’s what Peter says that completely knocks Carla.

‘It is gut wrenching when he opens up and says he feels like he is not living a life. It really brings home what she has been thinking that even with her by his side he is not living a full life, he doesn’t feel like it’s enough for him. She is so sad about that but then starts to think outside the box and puts him completely first and starts to think about what she should do.

Peter has been struggling ever since Stephen’s death (Picture: ITV)

‘She needs him to want to own it. Tell her the truth. And think about what’s best for him alone.’

And so, once Peter and Carla accept that they are better off apart, he packs his bags and prepares to leave.

These scenes will air on Boxing Day, within an episode that focuses entirely on what Carla and Peter have been through over the years.

‘We’re filming solidly together for two days’, Alison teased.

‘There was a lot to learn. But aside from that it was amazing, but it was so emotional, I did not need any tearstick 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.

Carla’s happy little life is about to change (Picture: ITV)

‘Even though it doesn’t go into specific details of all their past, it shows what they’re like, as a couple. It was really nice to have that much time on them because people seem to enjoy them just having a conversation. It was something to get our teeth into with all the emotions and it was a real journey. It was really, really lovely to do those scenes.’

‘Peter and Carla have just got brilliant chemistry and we’ve got brilliant chemistry, we trust each other’, she added.

‘And so it just works. And you know, they really get each other and can go through anything and then there are the softer moments, they understand each other so much. They have kind of grown together such a lot. So I think the viewers can see that. It’s just their chemistry and the way they’re both perfectly imperfect people, but together, they kind of make sense. And I think, you know, that’s what everybody wants to have.’

In an interesting twist, just as Peter leaves, Carla will come face to face with a family member she’s never met.

Bobby (Jack Carroll), her nephew.

Teasing this new dynamic, Alison said: ‘She’s not over Peter just like that. But what it does with Bobby coming into this scenario is snap her out of going into the doldrums and going all reflective. She is trying to be quite cut and dry about, you know, I’ve done this, I’ve made this decision, I’ve helped Peter make this decision along the way to leave.

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‘But in the factory people are walking on eggshells around her and she doesn’t want that, it was going to be tough so Bobby arriving has kind of snapped her out of that because he’s so much trouble. Him coming in and creating havoc a little bit, and her having to support him in lots of different ways stops any self indulgence.

‘So that’s been amazing.’

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We are absolutely not ready for this.