'Coronation Street' will have a standalone episode focused on Carla Connor's breakdown.
Alison King
Alison King's on-screen alter ego will see her mental health deteriorate next year after the roof of the Underworld collapses and kills another cobbles character.
New boss Iain MacLeod told Radio Times: "This will trigger a massive story for Carla because it impacts massively on her mental health. She feels correctly that everybody is out to get her and she spirals off into a slightly delusional state.
"We're doing something a little bit stylised, like the Ashley story I did at 'Emmerdale', but it won't be quite as extreme as that. It's a standalone episode that will be both mental heath focused and Carla focused. It will also be the reveal to the audience of who is behind the factory roof collapsing.
"I'd hesitate to put a diagnosis on what it is affecting Carla, but the factory collapse has lots of unexpected offshoots into areas that give our amazing cast a chance to show off their acting chops."
The producer also explained he hasn't decided the specifics of the episode yet because he doesn't want to deviate too far from the overall feel of 'Corrie'.
He explained: "We're inside Carla's head, but I'm still unsure about how far we explore what's real and what's not real.
"Other soaps have gone right off the deep end of that to very good effect, but Corrie is a different beast and I think you mess with the parameters of Corrie's genre to your peril. We'll be careful with it.
"The touchstone for me was Gary Windass's PTSD meltdown around the time of the tram crash. It was more exaggerated things that were happening rather than hallucinatory."
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