Carla Connor has suffered her fair share of heartache over the years and has come out fighting but the death of Rana on her factory premises has taken a toll on her mental health.
Carla’s strong, assertive and headstrong but in the months since the Underworld roof collapse, which Carla blames herself for, we’ve seen her vulnerable, alone and facing a breakdown.
The stress, trauma and grief of the tragedy have all contributed to Carla’s illness and as she battles psychosis her friends and family find themselves powerless to help her.
In recent weeks viewers have seen Carla’s behaviour growing increasingly erratic as she believes the world is turning against her and she has to get away from the street.
In this heartbreaking installment of Coronation Street viewers will follow Carla as she suffers a severe psychotic episode, ending up on the Victoria street fire escape, believing she is talking to Hayley, Rana and Aidan.
Elements of the episode will be shown from Carla’s point of view as her desperation reaches new heights.
Can Peter rescue her and get her the help she needs?
Coronation Street’s research and story team have worked closely with the charity Mind to ensure Carla’s illness has been portrayed as accurately and realistically as possible.
Julia Lamb, who runs Mind’s Media Advisory Service, said: “It’s refreshing to see Coronation Street explore how traumatic events can lead to psychosis, one of a number of mental health problems which are frequently misunderstood and misrepresented.”
“Carla is a well-established, feisty character and her story shows how incredibly vulnerable people experiencing psychosis can be. When we worked with Coronation Street to develop her story, it was particularly important not to give Carla generic symptoms but to show it affects her individual character. For example, not looking after her appearance or even her diet the way she usually would.”
“As well as providing feedback on each script, we also worked with Kerry who met with actress Ali King to talk through how she felt and behaved when she experienced psychosis after a trauma. The result is a realistic storyline and a fantastic performance from Ali too.”
Glenda Young
Author: Belle of the Back Streets
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