While it doesn’t make her the most married Weatherfield resident, Carla Connor will be seen tying the knot for the sixth time this week in Coronation Street.
The fan-favourite character, played by Alison King, will officially mark 20 years since she arrived in Weatherfield, but it wasn’t the actress’ first stint on-screen. After studying drama at Groby Community College and working for four years as a dental nurse, Alison landed a role in the now-cancelled soap, Brookside.
She appeared in one episode of the Channel 4 show in 1998 as a character named Helen. She has also previously appeared in Coronation Street in a different role as Mrs Fanshaw in 2004 and later appeared as Lynda Block in the Sky One drama series Dream Team before she eventually joined Corrie in her more familiar role as Carla two years later.
And it would be fair to say that Carla hasn’t had much luck over those two decades when it comes to matters of the heart. That being said, things appear to be looking up as during Thursday’s (April 23) episode of the ITV soap, Carla will marry Lisa Swain in what has already been described as a ‘beautiful’ wedding day.
But as it has already been pointed out on-screen, this isn’t Carla’s first rodeo as the Underworld factory boss has been married five times before – twice to the same person. Ahead of marrying the love of her life, we have taken a look back at Carla previous marriages before she walks down the aisle once again.
Paul Connor
Carla was married to Paul when she arrived in Weatherfield(Image: ITV)
Back in 1999, before their move to Weatherfield, Carla married her first husband, Paul Connor. Carla was initially introduced to the cobbles as Paul’s wife after he had bought Danny Baldwin’s majority share of Underworld.
Making her grand entrance, she gatecrashed the staff’s Christmas party, carrying a bottle of wine in each hand after walking out of a different party.
Their marriage was a rocky one, but things eventually came to a halt when Carla found out Paul had been using prostitutes. She decided to divorce him and Paul blamed Leanne Battersby, who he had hired as a prostitute from an escort agency, for the split.
Tony Gordon
Carla went through with her wedding to Tony after Liam’s death(Image: ITV)
In the wake of Paul’s death, Carla grew close to Tony Gordon, who she had met in 2007. Her brother-in-law, Liam Connor, greatly disaproved of their relationship, mainly down to the jealousy he felt, even progressing his relationship with Maria Sutherland to make her jealous.
Eventually, Carla recognised her true feelings for Liam, but by then it was too late and in 2008, Tony ended up proposing to her, which she accepted. But, ahead of the big day, Carla reignited her affair with Liam.
However, Liam was killed on Tony’s stag-do in a hit-and-run. Despite her devastation, Carla went through with her wedding to Tony, not knowing he was behind Liam’s death, having hired somebody to run him over.
Eventually, Tony confessed to murdering Liam and he was sent to prison. However, in 2010, He escaped and returned to Weatherfield, taking Carla, Maria and Hayley Cropper hostage at Underworld, which eventually ended in Tony losing his life.
Peter Barlow
(Image: ITV)
After a few failed romances, Carla fell for Peter when he was married to Leanne Battersby, with the pair embarking on an affair behind her back. It came as Carla was seen leaning on the recovering alcoholic, having turned to alcohol herself following her ordeal with Tony.
They ended up walking down the aisle in 2013 But, Peter couldn’t help himself and ended up cheating on Carla with Tina McIntyre while she was working as his son, Simon Barlow’s, nanny. Their affair began on the wedding day and it wasn’t until 2014 that the truth came to light after Carla found out she was pregnant, and the pair ended up in the frame for Tina’s subsequent murder.
The stress led to Carla, whose brother, Rob Donovan, was actually responsible for Tina’s death, to lose the baby and her relationship with Peter was left in tatters before he left for Portsmouth.
Nick Tilsley
Nick and Carla married in 2016(Image: manchester Evening News)
It was in 2016 that Carla next walked down the aisle, this time marrying Nick Tilsley. She proposed, and he accepted, the previous year. But their big day was ruined by Tracy Barlow, who exposed Carla’s secret one-night stand with Robert Preston.
Fans will recall thatin early 2016, Carla discovered that Johnny Connor was actually her dad, making Aidan and Kate her half-siblings and also meaning that when she married Paul Connor, he was actually her cousin. She turned to drink and ended up having a boozy one-night-stand with Robert Preston.
Despite the confession on their wedding day, Carla and Nick married, but Nick instantly regretted it due to the betrayal and ongoing blackmail drama, leading to an immediate separation and he eventually annulled the union. Afterwards, Carla moved to Devon for a brief period before returning to the cobbles in 2017.
Peter Barlow… again
Carla and Peter on their second wedding day(Image: ITV)
After both finding their way back to Weatherfield, Carla and Peter were drawn back together in 2020 during her hour of need. After Underworld’s dramatic roof collapse that killed Rana Habeeb on her wedding day, Carla had a full-on psychotic breakdown and ran away from the cobbles. She was eventually found living rough before being sectioned and Peter was there to help her through her recovery.
The 2021, the pair’s second wedding took place. It was a rushed and intimate affair as Peter faced a life-threatening liver illness. While things initially went well for the newlyweds, Carla and Peter’s relationship once again ended in divorce.
Their relationship became strained after Peter killed serial killer Stephen Reid in a hit-and-run in October 2023. Unable to deal with the guilt, Peter decided to leave Weatherfield to work on a boat, with Carla supporting his need to leave in emotional scenes aired on Boxing Day 2023.
Lisa Swain
Lisa and Carla tying the knot(Image: ITV)
While the saying doesn’t go ‘sixth time lucky’, it is very much believed that Carla has found her soulmate in Lisa. Speaking ahead of their wedding, Alison said: “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.
“But 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 kind of 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.”
