Underworld is facing its biggest financial crisis yet, leaving Carla Connor-Swain desperate to save her business empire. As the pressure mounts and the factory’s future hangs in the balance, Corrie star Alison King reveals how Carla is secretly struggling to cope, her friction with Lisa, and why a surprise intervention from Idris leaves the businesswoman completely fuming.
In the lead-up to the upcoming drama at the factory, things haven’t been going well for Carla. How stressed is she feeling about Underworld losing money?
She’s trying her absolute best to keep a lid on how stressed she is so she doesn’t panic everyone. But with inflation, everything is tight. The orders haven’t been coming in, and they haven’t been winning the contracts they wanted. She’s keeping it under her hat, but they are really struggling.
Has this financial strain been building up alongside everything happening with Betsy? Has Carla taken her typical approach of trying to stay strong and deal with it all herself?
Yes, she has. She’s been trying to be strong and deal with it on her own, but she’s had a lot coming at her. I think she’s taken her eye off the game a bit and hasn’t been as invested. We also haven’t had the full team together, Sarah’s been awaiting her trial. There’s been a lot of turmoil for everyone.
How supportive has Lisa been during this time? At one point, Lisa mentions that they could survive on her wage alone, that’s not something Carla would ever want, is it?
Lisa is very literal, so she says things coming from a place of love, but it really rubs Carla the wrong way. Carla is learning to deal with that and understand what Lisa actually means, but she hated the thought of that. The factory is a huge part of Carla’s identity, it’s everything to her. It’s that or nothing. She lives very much in the present, and that fight-or-flight mode keeps her going.
How does Carla react when Idris overhears her conversation and suggests rebranding to save the factory? How annoyed was she by his intervention?
Idris instantly rubbed her up the wrong way. Just the fact that he chimed in as if he knew anything about her, the way he speaks to her, and how he carries himself, everything about him annoys her right from the off. It was very abrupt, and there was almost literal hatred there from the start.
Things look like they might turn around when Carla and Michael head to a hotel meeting with a potential major client. Is Carla confident she can pull the business back from the brink?
Yes, because everything is on track if she can get this massive order out. That would tide them over into the next contract, and they’d be fine. This new client is someone she’s been wanting to work with for ages, and she knows anyone in the industry would vouch for Underworld’s track record. She’s really looking forward to working with him.
Do you think her initial negative reaction to Idris meant she underestimated him, considering he manages to scupper that deal?
Well, she doesn’t know she’s underestimated him yet because she doesn’t realize he was behind it. Carla fights fire with fire and isn’t frightened of someone like him, but she underestimates just how nasty and manipulative he can be. Her instincts about bad people are usually spot on, but at the moment, he doesn’t scare her because she doesn’t know what lengths he will go to.
She faces a heartbreaking situation when she has to cancel the Christmas bonus. How tough is that for Carla?
She loves her workforce, they mean everything to her. They’re like her children, especially after giving her the most beautiful wedding. So having to let them down, especially financially right before Christmas, is absolutely devastating for her. She’s completely gutted.
The battle for Underworld continues. However, after seeing off multiple sabotages, we don’t fancy the chances of anyone versus Carla! (Pictures: ITV)
Then disaster strikes, putting the business in jeopardy. Is there a lot of guilt when she admits to Lisa that the insurance might not pay out.
She’s devastated. She keeps it to herself for as long as she can before having to confess that the insurance won’t cover it. She simply overlooked it because her head was full with everything else, Sarah, Betsy, and keeping things running. Given past trauma like the roof collapse, it’s a massive trigger for her. At this point, she genuinely thinks it was just a terrible, tragic accident.
As Idris continues to offer a way out, could Carla ever see herself running the business with someone else, or even walking away?
Running it with someone else wouldn’t be her first choice, but if it’s her only option to keep everyone above water, she’d do it. What’s driving her to save it is the panic of having no plan B, not wanting to play second fiddle to Lisa, and feeling a massive responsibility toward her staff and being a role model for Betsy. But she does not want Idris involved at any cost.
You usually play Carla as a strong, formidable businesswoman. Do you enjoy showing this more vulnerable side to her?
It’s great. Bringing vulnerable Carla out of the box reminds everyone of who she really is. Every time she goes through a crisis like this, she comes back a bit more understanding and empathetic toward others, even if she still loses her temper along the way!
Is there anything you would like to see Carla do if she lost the factory?
Her default seems to be helping Roy in the cafe, I would love that, she could live the dream running a cafe. But she likes the day to day cut and thrust of running the factory so it might not keep her satisfied for too long. She isn’t ready to slow down.
Catch up on ITVX, and for classic visits to Corrie, these episodes air weekdays on ITV3 as well as on YouTube. Corrie airs at 8.30pm on ITV1