Coronation Street star Alison King, who portrays Carla Connor in the ITV soap, opened up about filming her tearful co-star Chris Gascoyne’s final scenes as Peter Barlow
Coronation Street icon Alison King admitted she “filled up with emotion” when she filmed her co-star Chris Gascoyne’s final scenes. The actress portrays Carla Connor in the ITV soap, while Chris played her on-screen husband Peter Barlow.
Alison, 51, and Chris, 56, were at the centre of some heartbreaking scenes over the festive period in 2023, as Peter emotionally decided to leave Coronation Street behind for good. The couple’s love story had played out on-screen for well over a decade, becoming one of soapland’s most iconic pairings. Peter and Carla married for the second time in 2021 and despite plenty of rocky moments, the duo’s romance remained strong, but ultimately came to an end last year.
“We’re filming solidly together for two days,” Alison said at the time of filming Chris’ exit scenes. “There was a lot to learn. But aside from that, it was amazing, but it was so emotional, I did not need any tear stick for those scenes. There was no way of knowing what would happen because every time we did it I literally filled up with emotion and started crying at different times in every scene.”
She continued: “Just seeing a different look from Chris would set me off because he’s so wonderful at the Meisner technique, which involves an actor reacting to another actor’s performance and behaviour, he’s so reactive. That’s why I’ve loved working with him so much, it’s always about the reaction. We can do things 1000 different ways in each take. And he’s so brilliant every single time, it was just a different journey, and you’re absolutely spent, and it’s such a roller coaster of emotions.”
In Peter and Carla’s final scenes, the couple reflected on their time together, which actress Alison said was “lovely”. She explained: “Even though it doesn’t go into specific details of all their past, it shows what they’re like as a couple. It was really nice to have that much time on them because people seem to enjoy them just having a conversation. It was something to get our teeth into with all the emotions, and it was a real journey. It was really, really lovely to do those scenes.”
In the wake of Peter’s exit from the cobbles, Carla has thrown herself into work and most recently her love life has began to heat up again. The Underworld boss has formed a close connection with DS Lisa Swain, and while it seemed like the duo were just good pals at first, they’ve shared a number of close moments causing fans to wonder if romance is on the cards.
