Coronation Street Blog: Trouble in 2025 for Carla and Lisa? Interview With Corrie Producer Kate Brooks

Friday, 27 December 2024

Trouble in 2025 for Carla and Lisa? Interview With Corrie Producer Kate Brooks

With new producer Kate Brooks' name now appearing in the show's credits, we've entered a new era for Corrie.

I travelled to Coronation Street Studios in Manchester to hear all about Kate's vision for the show, and find out about her plans for characters and storylines going into 2025.

She had so much to share, I've divided her insights into six blogs.

Those not wishing to read any spoilers should look away now.

This piece reveals something which is going to cross the paths of Carla and Lisa, and cause problems. And that something comes in the form of Carla's brother Rob Donovan who, when we last saw him, had killed Tina McIntyre, played by Michelle Keegan.

"Obviously we last left Rob languishing in prison," says Kate, . "He made mistakes, let's say, but he comes back to the show and we think he might be a reformed character. We might think he's seen the error of his ways. We think that; whether that's the case or not, I don't know, but he definitely comes back and causes a lot of trouble for Carla and Lisa."

"I loved Rob, I love Rob and Carla, I love tapping into their past and their history together, and we really explore that through this story. But there's so many twists and turns along the way. It's really exciting. It's going to be eventful for Carla and Lisa, let's put it that way."

"Just when Carla and Lisa think it's safe to sit down and watch Netflix, Rob Donovan comes along and kind of scuppers all of that. So, big story for them. Big story for Rob. Lots of exciting stuff, lots of twists and turns. Big story for Betsy as well who is fabulous and will be right at the centre of that as well."

Asked if it will be a long-term return for Rob, Kate says, "It's a good stint, it's a good chunk. He killed Tina! But we can get over that. Michelle's fine, she's alright. It's really exciting and, as I say, what I like about this story as well in particular is that Carla and Lisa are finally together, they're finally united, people know about them, they're moving on with their lives, and then this drops on them and they're a bit like, how did that happen? Are we not just meant to be relaxing and enjoying being with eachother? So a real test for their relationship in the early stages, but a good test."

It sounds like Rob won't be the only returning character however, as Kate revealed, "There are other familiar faces coming back in 2025 which I will not disclose, but a few people will be returning to the street to cause their own form of chaos, shall we say. But the first up is Rob," with Marc Baylis reprising the role.