🚨 THE ALTAR OF DECEPTION: A BRUTAL LAST-MINUTE TWIST IN CARLA AND LISA’S WEDDING JUST CHANGED THE GAME FOREVER! 💍😱⚡
Coronation Street airs Carla Connor and Lisa Swain’s long-awaited wedding scenes next week – but the occasion doesn’t go exactly as the happy couple had originally planned!
In the run-up to the ceremony, Swarla are horrified to learn that the Chariot Square Hotel’s function room has flooded, which means that their nuptials will have to be postponed. Or will they?
On the day they were due to tie the knot, Lisa tricks Carla by making out that they’re heading to the hotel for a slap-up meal to make up for the disappointment. Carla is stunned as Lisa reveals a wedding arch in a quiet corner, allowing them to exchange their vows after all.
Later, there’s another surprise when Carla heads into the factory to deal with an alarm going off. Once inside, she discovers that it’s another ruse and Underworld has been kitted out for their wedding reception, with friends and family ready to celebrate with them.
Here, Alison King and Vicky Myers – who play Carla and Lisa – tease the big episode…
Alison: “Carla feels absolutely devastated, or as she might put it, ‘well narked’. This is supposed to be the best day of her life and now it’s all ruined. She is not happy and it’s everybody’s fault, even though it’s not. She throws her toys out of the pram. She’s really angry.”
Vicky: “Lisa is a bit more pragmatic about it. Obviously she’s devastated, but that presents itself in a completely different way. Part of the reason why it works between them is because while there are some similarities, a lot of the time they react to things very differently. I think that’s part of Lisa’s job as well, she’s like a fixer.”
What does Lisa decide to do?
Vicky: “It’s something that Ryan says, which Carla had said to him. It’s basically about how Carla just wants to marry Lisa. Any hour, any venue will do! And that sets something off in Lisa. She realises: ‘Well, we don’t need all of this big fuss’. Which Carla didn’t particularly want anyway. It was more about the intimacy between the two of them. So Ryan and Lisa try to set some wheels in motion and recover the day.”
Carla is not known for liking surprises, so how does she react?
Alison: “She hates surprises but she likes this one! She is pleased because I think by the end of it, she just wants to do it. She loves that side of Lisa that can fix things and will let her take a step back, because Peter Barlow wasn’t very good at things like that. So it’s quite nice to have somebody that has foresight and does nice things for her, takes on the mental load.”
Lisa has also been married before, so does she want this wedding to be different?
Vicky: “Very much so. I think it’s the age that she is, the job that she does, the life that she’s had, and including when her dead ex-wife came back! All of that means she just wants to get it done.
“But it’s not just a case of wanting it done, she wants to be married to this woman who she’s fallen madly in love with, who feels like home to her. The complete antithesis of the relationship she’d had before. It’s not just about the wedding day, it’s about the marriage itself and she can’t wait to start that.”
Carla’s had several big weddings before. Were you glad this time that it was something different?
Alison: “Yes. I was relieved it wasn’t [a big wedding], no big dress for Carla this time. The surprise reception at Underworld is Carla’s favourite bit. She likes to feel that even though she shouts at everybody, they still love her – all the workforce.
“And she likes that – she likes being part of it, because she’s always, always been left out in the whole Connor clan. She was always the one that had the mickey taken out of her. So she likes to be part of something. Those factory workers are Carla’s family. It is her safe place.”
Is Lisa nervous about surprising Carla in this way?
Vicky: “Very much so. And also because she’s got Sally on the case. Sally is a pivotal part of it because it really is a last-minute attempt to pull this ceremony together for everybody they know and love. How could they possibly manage to organise that in such a short space of time? There is a lot for Lisa to be nervous about, but the most important thing to her is to get married to Carla.”
The wedding goes really well, but at the end of the day, there’s a terrible scream as the new murder mystery plot begins! How did you feel when you found out the day wouldn’t be entirely drama free?
Alison: “I thought: ‘Haha, great! Now that’s drama’. That’s how it has to be. I’m just glad it wasn’t our drama and that the wedding happened and they had their day!”
Vicky: “They think the scream is a fox and just carry on watching the fireworks, so it just ends nicely. They are oblivious but it’s a great hook.
“And also it’s a trial for them at the start of married life as Betsy is the one who found the body, so they have got something difficult to deal with from day one of married life. As a family, after what they have been through, I think they feel very equipped now to be able to deal with things as a team.”
How did having Connie affect their relationship?
Vicky: “As a viewer of the show, that’s something that’s been fundamental in its 65-year history. It’s about family. It’s about community. It’s about those quiet moments, those conversations. And blended families, dysfunctional families, so I think it is important for us to get the opportunity to see this family making it work.
“You look at modern-day families now, and the pressures that are put on working families, sharing the childcare, trying to work it out, navigating through that, but actually talking about it. Also the tiredness that kicks in – I think that was really important to show, but I also liked the comedy of it as well.”
Was it important to discuss that Carla had once lost a baby?
Alison: “Yeah, it was nice to touch on that because we have not really discussed it much. It was important to bring that up when Connie came into their lives. Of course, Lisa had never heard about that. It was good for her to know and also see how Carla came to be like she is about certain things. I think Carla came on leaps and bounds through looking after that baby, she really enjoyed having her in their lives and we enjoyed having her around.”
Vicky: “The Connie storyline did give us some of that. They have that space so they can deal with things in their own ways, because as we said, they react very, very differently, and their backgrounds are very, very different. But the core is that they love each other, and as we’ve seen, their different vulnerabilities and strengths show in very different ways as well.
“I think that showed a side of Carla that perhaps Lisa hadn’t really seen a great deal of, and if anything, it’s galvanised them, it’s made them stronger. Because in that vulnerability shows that trust and that loyalty.”
Would you like them to have a quieter time moving forward?
Alison: “I like the domesticity about it. I like those quiet conversations, the daily routine. I love the comedy and the scenes with Ryan and with Betsy. I’d like more of that. But it may not last long. They love to torture us!”
Can you sum up why the two characters love each other?
Vicky: “I think there’s so much. There was something instantly between the two of them. Lisa respects Carla. She respects her as a businesswoman, as a woman in general, and the loyalty she has to her family and friends.
“Even on the first conversation that they had, Carla was interested in Lisa’s own daughter. She listened to Lisa and she will always. She has always listened to Lisa, even when Lisa didn’t listen to her.
“I think there’s that quote: ‘If you’ve got a friend like Carla Connor, you know you’re doing alright’. They trust each other and they talk. They talk through everything, even if it takes time to get there. They’ve got similarities, they enjoy things, they enjoy a drink. They look out for each other and they will stand by each other.”
Alison: “Carla loves Lisa Swain because she’s like sweet and sour. And she sees that side in herself as well, so she likes the vulnerable side and the fact that Lisa has shown that to her.
“Obviously when they met, they were both at loggerheads. I think for Carla, it’s a lot of respect. And also, Lisa was a huge turning point for her. The fact that she liked her like that is everything, really. It was the person, not the gender – that didn’t come into it. They don’t need each other. They chose to be together.”
Vicky: “Soaps are extremely powerful mediums and this wedding is a significant event to celebrate. The power of this storyline, centring on two women falling in love, despite surrounding circumstances and becoming each other’s safe space, can spark essential conversations.
“It’s particularly impactful that this happens during Lesbian Visibility Week. This relationship promotes understanding and change, especially considering the persistent issue of homophobia and the current gradual retraction of rights despite past progress.
“To champion this couple, their family unit, and their commitment by having them marry on Coronation Street is an honour and a truly beautiful, history-making moment.
“Their sexuality doesn’t define them, but they are proud of who they are. They offer crucial visibility by confidently showing public affection, and their life is not kept behind closed doors. Their frequent presence on screen holds the power to prompt lasting change.”