Carla Corner – 16th December 2012

Cheated and broken-hearted.

No, not Carla … US.

Desperate, we were. Desperate for her and Michelle’s big reunion clinch, but it was Sean (the gay man: significant?) who was the lucky recipient of the Connor arms around him and the Connor lips on his face on Monday. The only proper hug we got to see between them was when Carla left again.

If you looked carefully, you could just see her arm on Michelle’s shoulder at one point (when she was talking to Rob in the office), but we didn’t see the actual reunion, although I reckon it would have come the second after the camera cut-away here (as that would have been their first moment alone).

Look at her face. If Carla Connor looked at you like that, you’d be expecting a kiss (at the very least) to follow, wouldn’t you?

Even though we were on the edge of our seats we didn’t get another clinch until Friday (we never got to see them in Michelles’ flat), and if you looked closely (as I’m sure we all did), it looked for a millisecond as if it was going to be a proper full-on kiss, but the Connor lips sadly ended up on Michelle’s cheek.

Gutted doesn’t even come close to the disappointment we felt, does it, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, she’s now gone and left us again! I haven’t seen any spoilers so don’t know what’s happening, but I just hope it’s not going to be too long before she’s back.

“You’re not talking about going for good, are you?” Michelle asked.

“I am, baby. I’m sorry,” Carla replied sadly.

You couldn’t blame her though, I guess? “I can do without it. I can do without ANY of it,” she admitted to Michelle after Peter had told her she had to go and pick Simon up from school.

She’d looked unhappy from the moment she stepped out of the taxi, and within seconds it was already pretty-much back to how it had been before they left, with her needs being totally ignored as everything revolved around Peter.

Being a Barlow’s enough to turn anyone to drink

Carla’s not a family-type person, and even seeing her sat at Ken and Deirdre’s table looked and felt wrong. She could never be a part of a family unit like that – unlike Leanne, who’s such a great mother to Simon and just looks and ‘feels’ to be a part of the Barlow clan.

Now that Peter’s staying though, we all know where that one’s heading, but what of Carla? She said that being back was bad for her for so many reasons – not least the drinking.

If I was stuck in a situation like that I’D drink too, but if she was with someone who REALLY loved her and who didn’t have an ex-wife and young child in the same street then it could (and would) be a whole different story, wouldn’t it?

To be honest: Carla looked tired and drawn all week. The poor woman’s got troubles in her private life which – no matter how good an actor you are – can’t help but show in your face … either that, or she’s just been deliberately going without makeup and a good night’s sleep in order to make it all look more realistic. Either way; she’s had nothing but heartache from men and deserves a proper relationship and a bit of real happiness now.

More than ‘Just Good Friends’?

Come on Corrie. We need her to arrive back a second time and for Michelle to be her rock while she comes to terms with seeing Peter with Leanne and for them to both realise and accept that their feelings for each other are actually more than just friendship.

This could be one of Coronation Street’s biggest storylines ever: with two older women becoming the first-ever ‘proper’ professional lesbian Soap couple. Look how Michelle was looking at Carla with pride and adoration as she tore Rob to shreds. That’s love, that is!

Sophie and Sian’s was a ground-breaking storyline for them (and I know we’ve got Sophie’s new inter-racial lesbian relationship coming up next year), but this is something totally different.

It’s a lot easier for younger viewers to relate to Sophie – as ‘lipstick lesbianism’ (and showing a lot of affection towards your female friends) is now considered perfectly normal to that generation, but a growing percentage of ‘older’ women are leaving heterosexual relationships to begin new lives with female partners.

Give us Carchelle for Christmas!

Emmerdale have got Misery Ali and Ruby, but it’s not the same thing at all. Putting Michelle and Carla together would be SUCH a coup for Corrie.

All we can do is hope that ‘the powers that be’ see the potential and give us #Carchelle fans what we’re so desperate for …

Let’s hope it’s not too long before we see her back on the cobbles again, aye?

PS

* When Rob accused her (in front of a client) of either suffering from jet-lag – or having drunk too many duty frees, did you hear that lovely little “Ooh,” she did? Worth a second look on ITV Player (Mon, 8.30)!

* It wasn’t nice to see her fall in the playground, was it? Great acting, and if you’re not already on Twitter and following @MrsConnorsLegs then you really should be. I don’t know who’s behind it, but they’ve got a sense of humour worthy of the lady herself.

*(If it turned out to be Alison King herself behind it I wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprised. Go and have a read and you’ll see what I mean!)

* If this is your first visit to Carla Corner then if you’ve got half an hour to spare, go right back to the very first week to see how it all came about. This whole page only ever started because I’d started to notice how tactile (the normally cold and aloof) Carla was towards Michelle.

* As if getting Carla back hasn’t been excitement enough; here’s a lovely little compilation video Twitter’s @AlisonKingFansx put together of all Carla’s best bits from last week and has kindly allowed me to use: CLICK HERE TO VIEW

PPS

If you love the thought of Carla and Michelle getting together then you might like to put my novel ‘Just Good Friends?’ on your Christmas list.

It’s the story of close friends Ruth and Helen, whose drunken kiss leads to a whole lot more and is available as a paperback on Amazon and to download on all eReader formats (and at a new, low price of only £2.99!)

Right. That’s it for now. There’s more on Carla/Peter’s return in this week’s Corrie Corner, and the next Carla Corner will be on the Sunday following the week she makes her next return. Let’s hope it’s soon, aye? In the meantime – unlike poor Carla – I hope you all have a Very Happy Christmas.