DS Lisa Swain and Carla Connor barely had to even glance at each other before it became clear that their

chemistry off the charts and, since they formed a close friendship, Coronation Street fans have been

predicting – and hoping for – a romance between the characters.

It’s been joyous to see for actress Vicky Myers, who plays the fearsome detective, and she was clearly thrilled by how much viewers have taken her alter-ego to their hearts when she spoke to use during a Metro.co.uk interview.

‘It’s wonderful and genuinely heart-warming,’ she beamed. The messages and the letters that I’ve received, the friendship bracelets that people have taken the care and attention [to make].

‘Someone from Ireland, a young woman called Katie, made me a bracelet with ‘DS Swain’ on it. People have shared their stories and have also thanked me for representing a professional female in this iconic street who is part of the LGBTQ+ community, and that is something I’m hugely privileged to portray.

‘It’s an honour and not one that I take likely or frivolously – with that comes a responsibility and I’m well aware of that and hope I portray her with justice.’

There is clearly no question around that – the reception from Metro.co.uk readers and beyond was one of united joy when it was confirmed Corrie was keeping the very busy DS Swain around full-time.

One thing that was important to Vicky was seeing her character build bonds, as she reckons that friendship is what her troubled character needs given the barriers she has put up amid the tragedy of losing her partner in the line of police duty.

Step forward fellow icon, played by the inimitable Alison King. We saw Lisa open up for the first time in Carla’s confidence and they were scenes Vicky adored playing.

‘That was massive, when I read that episode where she opened up and became vulnerable in the car with Carla. It’s huge. It meant a great deal to me as well, to see that dynamic and how it’s affected the relationship between Lisa and her daughter Betsy.’

Amid that came the fan-backed ‘ship’ Swarla, with many viewers now rooting for a romance between the pair – not least of all Metro’s very own Maisie Spackman, who outlined the reasons she believes this would be a powerful direction.

I would have been doing you dirty if I didn’t bring it up – I was amazed that I was so restrained in waiting so long to pose the Swarla question.

‘Swarla! Isn’t it incredible? I love it!’ Vicky grinned.

So…might something happened? Vicky pondered the issue and reckons that whatever comes of it, it will have to be a slow process.

‘Well, I think for now, with everything that’s happening in the street, Lisa’s incredibly busy,’ she reasoned. I do feel that it would be really quite lovely for her to have a friend and be able to develop a friendship with somebody.

‘She doesn’t trust many people, for obvious reasons, and she’s fiercely protective of anybody coming into that family dynamic. I feel with Carla, they’re both vulnerable and she’s shared her experience in life with her bereavement of Liam and obviously [Lisa] knew about Peter because she was dealing with the Stephen storyline last year.’

She continued: ‘Also, she sees a lot of herself in Carla and respects her. She is feisty and strong – a powerhouse. She also has a big heart. Lisa has seen what her relationship is like with Roy and also with Bobby and Ryan, those that live with her.

‘Carla has offered a hand to [Lisa’s daughter] Betsy, to give her some work at the factory. Plus she drinks red wine! [laughs] I think it would be really nice to see their friendship develop, or just a friendship in general for Lisa. I think she needs that. Somebody to talk to instead of trying to do it all by herself.’

And speaking of Betsy, we recently met the troublesome teen – and it will pose another brand new and complex dynamic for Lisa.

Heaping praise on her new co-star Sydney Martin, Vicky told us that the relationship is very turbulent, but with a strong love at the centre of it.

It’s going to be chaos though, from the sounds of it – which is so very Corrie!

‘There’s a lot to unpack, there’s a lot of fear and angst, but there’s a lot of love, obviously, as they’re mother and daughter,’ the actress said.

‘But they’re petrified of losing each other, so with that, they clash. They’ve built up this protective wall, this mechanism. There’s so much there to explore and I really hope that we’re given the opportunity to do that.

‘Betsy’s headstrong, opinionated and intelligent and not remotely phased about voicing her opinions. But she’s also vulnerable and young, so Lisa is trying to juggle everything she can to put food on the table.

‘They’re both coming to terms with Lisa losing her beloved wife and Betsy losing her other mother. It’s tricky and complicated but I don’t think the apple falls far from the tree where they’re concerned, so they clash a lot.’

There’s also another clash somewhere down the horizon. The person responsible for jailing Roy Cropper (how could you!?), Lisa still needs to find out that it was actually Joel Deering (Calum Lill) who killed Lauren.

Vicky can’t wait for that to happen…and nor can we!

‘I could only begin to imagine how Lisa would feel about that what with Joel being in a similar profession, and a position of trust. That abuse of trust and power, targeting vulnerable women – including her own daughter – she would be fierce with that.

‘Not solely for the women he’s groomed but the women he’s abused full stop like Dee-Dee and Emily. There’s a whole host of women. I feel that female empowerment and the rise up from that, the unity it will bring, will be terrific. For him to get his comeuppance either individually or collectively.

‘I’m really looking forward to it which sounds ridiculous given the nature of the storyline, but with grooming, there are a lot of vulnerable young people who don’t necessarily realise that’s what it is.’

With Joel’s eventual downfall, the arrival of whirlwind Betsy and the growing bond with Carla, Lisa is going to be extremely busy – and that’s before we consider that there will probably be another 500 or so crimes to solve by the end of the year.

There will be plenty to keep us all gripped…