My problem with Carla Connor

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2016, reposted to this blog with permission.)

It took me a very long time to feel anything approaching empathy towards Carla Connor. And I'm still not sure I like the character much at all.  I know. Shoot me now.  I do think Alison King is doing a great job as an actress playing Carla and that's why I've voted for her in the National TV Awards.  

I've also voted for Shayne Ward, as Aidan Connor, who's nominated for Best Newcomer.  I'm quite enjoying Aidan, he's the first of a kind on Corrie, a metrosexual, a new man, all posh shirts and highlighter pens. I bet he smells of expensive aftershave too.  Before I leave the National TV Awards - have you voted yet? - I've also voted for Coronation Street to win Best Serial Drama.  I've voted because I love Coronation Street, but not because I  believe they deserve to win ... not this year.  Which brings me back to Carla.

Or rather, to those who keep the show ticking over with Carla in it.  My problem is this ... we've already invested enormous emotional energy in will Carla live / will Carla die / will Tracy kill her / will Tracy save her.  Over and over, we've had it.
 

We had it with the bus crash.
 

We had it with the fire at Victoria Court.  

And now we're going to have it again with the break-in at the Bistro.

I do understand the appeal of Carla Connor.  I know how popular she is and I do enjoy watching her in the same way I enjoy watching most of the others. But when we're constantly having car-crash-Connor pushed in our faces as she reels from boozer to bloke, from casino to cobbles, then it makes us stop caring what happens to her next.  One minute she's an alcoholic, then she's not. The next minute she's a gambling addict, then she's not. Other Coronation Street characters exist. I want to see them. I wan to see Carla interact more with them, and not just with Roy. 

Again, I know I won't be popular for saying this, but if I don't get it off my chest I'll just explode... I've never liked Carla and Roy together. Their friendship, to me, feels forced.  Coronation Street recently admitted they only put Carla together with Roy to soften her up as she wasn't doing well in viewer polls.

Let's just hope that Carla Connor is given much more interesting storylines and less of the crash-bang-whallop.



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