Coronation Street Blog: Alison King interview: Will Carla accept Peter's proposal?

How has Carla been feeling since that fateful night with Adam?

She feels terrible, guilty, angry, stupid, it was a ridiculous mistake in the heat of the moment. She was angry with Peter, he had refused to come to the hotel with her. They had said some terrible things to each other and she did what Carla always does, she pressed the self destruct button. No one could ever do as much damage to Carla as she does to herself. She regretted it the moment it was over, they both did.

She immediately confessed to Peter that she had slept with someone, why did she lie about who it was?

It is one thing for her to confess to doing something stupid with someone she would never meet again but she knows it would destroy Peter if he knew it was Adam. He already has to deal with the fact that when they weren't together she had a fling with Daniel. She is consumed with guilt because by that time he was seriously ill as a result of the drinking, but she didn’t know and she feels that she should have realised something was going on. She confessed because he was paranoid and starting to blame himself and she didn’t want that. Because he knew something, she had to think on her feet. She couldn’t outright lie because he knew something had happened.

Was she surprised where forgave her?

She was grateful to be given a second chance. She wants to be there to help him through this. She feels partly responsible for how ill he is and the fact that he carried on drinking. She believes him when he says that they can start again and she can’t believe her luck really.

Is she confident that she can keep this secret from Peter?

She and Adam both have a lot to lose so she has no reason to think that the truth will come out. They vow to keep the secret and they are the only ones who know about it. But Carla’s secrets have a habit of coming out when she least expects them to.

How does she feel when he proposes?

She is absolutely delighted, she can’t believe it. The mistake with Adam, and Peter’s illness, probably made her realise how much she had to lose and this now means that Peter has genuinely forgiven her and they can start planning their future together.

She hasn’t counted in Daniel finding out though?

No, Daniel finding out could really ruin everything for her and Peter. It is complicated though because Daniel feels loyalty to both Adam and Peter. If he tells Peter then his relationship with Adam is destroyed and if keeps it quiet he is being disloyal to Peter. That is tricky for Daniel but better for Carla because she can probably persuade him to keep quiet. This situation has the potential to blow the whole family apart.

Do you think Peter and Carla could survive this betrayal if the truth came out?

They have both made terrible mistakes before and forgiven each other but this is another level of betrayal. Peter was at his lowest ebb, back drinking and becoming seriously ill as a result and Carla slept with his nephew. It would take something huge to reunite them if he were to find out, also I can’t imagine the Barlows would be very forgiving towards her or Adam.

You have been in the show now for 14 years, how does it feel to be at the centre of such a big story for the 60th anniversary?

When you consider that Bill Roache has been in the show since day one and is still at the heart of the action it is a real honour to be involved in a huge storyline for the Barlows. I am very lucky to be working with such great actors and particularly at the moment we all feel very blessed to be working at all.

Glenda Young

Author of gritty, family saga novels with Headline