Carla Connor-Swain (Alison King) has been through a lot in her 20 year tenure on Coronation Street.
Only a year after she arrived, her husband, Paul Connor (Sean Gallagher) died in a catastrophic car crash, before she started an affair with her brother-in-law, Liam Connor (Rob James-Collier), who was eventually murdered by her next husband, Tony Gordon (Gray O’Brien).
As their relationship collapsed, he attempted to blow up Underworld with them both inside, though Carla managed to escape while he perished. She moved on with Frank Foster (Andrew Lancel), who subsequently raped her when she cancelled their wedding, realising she was in love with Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne). Frank was eventually murdered by his own mother.
Perhaps her most harrowing – and critically lauded – storyline came after the collapse of the Underworld roof, claiming the life of Rana Habeeb (Bhavna Limbachia). She began to suffered serious paranoia and hallucinations, believing Rana was still alive and stalking her, before beginning to imagine conversations with her lost loved ones.
The story climaxed with her suffering a psychotic episode, leading to inpatient treatment in a mental health facility. Carla recovered from her ordeal with the help of her closest friend and surrogate father-figure, Roy Cropper (David Neilson).
Fast-forward to today, Carla has recovered from her symptoms of psychosis, but another Weatherfield resident is suffering immensely with his rapidly deteriorating mental health.
Sam Blakeman’s (Jude Riordan) discovery of Megan Walsh’s (Beth Nixon) vile grooming and sexual abuse of Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale) led the paedophile to wage a campaign of terror against him in an attempt to silence him.
Though he eventually revealed the truth to step-mum, Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), the damage was evidently done, and Sam hasn’t been himself ever since, suffering with hallucinations of Will terrorising him, threatening him and attempting to convince him that he was all alone.
Sam later began to hallucinate a sinister, insidious version of Roy, insisting that he should trust nothing and no one, while telling him that enemies are everywhere.
Sam has previously shared a close friendship with Roy, something Ben feels his character is grateful for: ‘What Roy and Sam have is very particular to them, and what Roy and Nick have is very different.
‘Roy is never going to meet Nick in the same way as he meets Sam. And Nick realises that Sam needs something from Roy, but he’s completely unaware of how Sam’s seen that relationship with the imaginary Roy.
‘Roy also wouldn’t necessarily venture so effusively that things are going wrong. He might say, ‘I’m not sure he’s quite right, Nick.’
Next week sees Sam finally break as his hallucinations bleed into the real world.
At the urging of ‘Roy’, Sam attempts to confront Will, though he’s terrified when ‘Roy’ tells him that Will will try to kill him.
Fleeing to the safety of the café, inside Roy’s Rolls, Sam sees two distinct versions of Roy: his real-life friend, and the twisted incarnation that his mind has created.
As his dad, Nick Tilsley (Ben Price), other step-mum, Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor), Leanne and Roy’s niece, Nina Lucas (Mollie Gallagher) plead with Sam to let them in, he’s terrified further.
Of the worry that Nick, Toyah and Leanne have failed to pick up on Sam’s struggles, Ben said: ‘He is splitting their time between two houses, they might be picking up on different things.
‘When Leanne and I were together, for instance, we were both seeing the same things. Now, Nick isn’t seeing the whole picture.
‘I think it’s also important to distinguish that while Leanne and Toyah are sisters, Nick’s relationship is different with Toyah than it is with Leanne.
‘Nick and Leanne have a long, long history, especially around the children—Oliver, Simon, and now Sam. With Toyah, although she’s absolutely brilliant and she’s a counsellor and can see those things, Nick feels more hesitant
about talking about it so much. He’s aware he’s essentially the only parent now, really.’
Speaking on this being the point at which Nick realises how bad things have gotten, Ben said: ‘I think what happens for Nick is that the situation suddenly bridges the gap into becoming a bit dangerous.
‘Sam has never been dangerous before. Nick sees a part in Sam that he’s never seen before. He’s not letting Nick in, and then he locks himself up and gets aggressive to Roy.
‘Those moments, when Sam is showing something so different from how he has been, is the bit when Nick thinks, ‘Oh, he’s in real trouble.’
Later, Carla discovers him in the precinct, completely and utterly distressed and overwhelmed.
She attempts to comfort him while covertly having called Nick, but her attempts are thwarted when Sam runs again on Nick’s approach.
With her previous experience in the topic, Carla breaks to Nick that she suspects Sam is in the grips of psychosis.
Of her assumption, Ben says: ‘Carla and Nick have a history, but with Carla, it’s a moment of currency for Nick. Carla isn’t usually like that; she’s very full of brusqueness. If Carla is saying it, and Carla has seen it and gone through it, there’s a moment where I think Nick knows Carla enough to go, ‘She’s seen something properly.’
‘What’s so good about a character like Carla is that, because of what she’s been through, she’s very black and white.’
On Nick’s head space, Ben said: ‘He’s gone from, ‘Oh, I just think it’s teenage angst,’ to, ‘He’s got psychosis. He’s really not well. He’s got to go to a hospital. He needs professional treatment.’
‘That’s a big leap. Nick slightly rejects a lot from people. I think he feels slightly, either, is it his fault? Or is he on his own? He feels a bit unsure of himself and who’s around him.’
Does Ben think the parenting trio can help Sam?
‘Yes, I do. I have loved that they’ve kept Leanne in the loop. I think that is very good because it feels real and very true to the stories before, as she stayed strong with Simon.’
