Carla Connor has faced danger more than almost anyone else on Coronation Street. She’s been in fires, been kidnapped, been poisoned, and had a breakdown. She’s had more close calls than most characters have in their whole time on the show.
Speculation on social media suggests that she might get kidnapped soon, so here are five times Carla has nearly met her end on Corrie.
1. Held Hostage by Tony Gordon (2010)
Back in 2010, Coronation Street went HD as Underworld was the setting during Tony Gordon’s prison escape. After breaking out of prison, Tony returned to Weatherfield on a mission of revenge and took Carla and Hayley Cropper hostage inside Underworld – even Maria faced serious risk but walked out.
Tony tied them up, splashed petrol everywhere, and was going to blow up the factory with them in it. But, Carla talked Tony into letting Hayley go, and he pushed her out before setting the building on fire. Carla then fought to get out and made it just as the building exploded, taking Tony with it.
2. The Victoria Court Fire (2015)
That fire was vengeance. Jealous prompted Tracy Barlow to break into Carla’s flat and, in a fit of spite, she left a candle burning and walked away. Carla was caught in the flames and almost didnt make it out. The entire experience not only caused her physical distress but also a blow that it initiated her downward spiral into gambling.
3. The Breakdown & Tracy’s Confession (2015–16)
Tracy still was not finished making Carla’s life hell. The descent was driven by guilt regarding the fire and Tracy’s ongoing presence. This stress, along with her gambling problem and other traumatic experiences, overwhelmed her. The end of which had a distraught carla on the verge of a canyon and about to jump to end her life, until tracy finally managed to admit that she was the one who set fire.
4. The Factory Roof Tragedy (2019)
When the factory roof caved in, killing Rana Habeeb on her wedding day, Carla was absolutely destroyed by the guilt. Even though she wasn’t physically hurt in the actual collapse, the aftermath completely pushed her to the brink. Carla suffered hallucinations and paranoia, went missing, was found living rough, and ended up needing serious psychiatric care. It was one of Corrie’s most brutal and realistic storylines about mental illness.
Speaking of the Underworld collapse, Alison revealed, ‘This is just the start of it for Carla, and it will be interesting to see what sort of woman she is when she eventually comes out the other side.’
During an interview that was released around Carla’s psychosis storyline, Alison shared, ‘It shows with it happening to Carla that it can happen to anybody. Of course, she is just as likely to get it as anyone because she has been through so much. The brain is so fragile, and it has to snap at some point. For Carla, it needs to break to mend, to change her lifestyle in some ways, to understand yourself better.
I felt a real responsibility, especially after meeting that amazing lady who had been through so much. She is brave enough to go out there and talk about it.’
5. Dosed with LSD by Stephen Reid (2023)
Carla unwittingly ended up being a central target in Stephen Reid’s whole reign of terror when he started secretly spiking her coffee with LSD. Suddenly, she was dealing with symptoms that led her to believe her psychosis was returning. She had no idea her new symptoms were actually because someone was poisoning her, putting her right back in the same mental health hell she had barely survived a few years earlier.
We spoke with Alison ahead of Stephen’s exit, being told, ‘I like the way they’ve twisted this so Carla isn’t sure if it could be Rufus, Stephen, or even Sarah who has been drugging her. But she’s been onto Stephen from the start.’
Catch up on ITVX, and for classic visits to Corrie, these episodes air weekdays on ITV3 as well as on YouTube.