Idris Nazir (Junade Khan) wants to expand his empire in Coronation Street, and if ruining Carla Connor-Swain’s (Alison King) business is the way to achieve it, then so be it.
‘Idris instantly rubbed her up the wrong way,’ Alison said, speaking about the instant emnity between the two business people.
‘Just the fact that he chimed in as if he knew anything about her, the way he speaks to her, and how he carries himself, everything about him annoys her right from the off.’
While Carla is usually someone that other street residents should be wary of crossing, you could easily see the same of Idris.
From the jump, it’s been apparent that Idris has a moral dipstick that’s a drop short of bone dry: he’ll use violence, intimidation and a whole host of underhanded tricks to get what he wants, and anybody who gets in his way he’ll handle ruthlessly.
With his plan to snatch the Bistro back scuppered by Leanne Battersby’s (Jane Danson) remaining humanity, Idris has turned his attention to the factory, which is struggling and vulnerable to a hostile takeover.
‘She’s trying her absolute best to keep a lid on how stressed she is so she doesn’t panic everyone, but with inflation, everything is tight – the orders haven’t been coming in, and they haven’t been winning the contracts they wanted – she’s keeping it under her hat, but they are really struggling,’ Alison explains.
‘She’s been trying to be strong and deal with it on her own, but she’s had a lot coming at her and I think she’s taken her eye off the game a bit and hasn’t been as invested, there’s been a lot of turmoil for everyone.’
After their initial clash this week, Idris spies Carla readying herself for a meeting with a potential new client next week and takes his opportunity to intervene.
‘That would tide them over into the next contract, and they’d be fine,’ Alison said of the deal she’s looking to strike.
‘This new client is someone she’s been wanting to work with for ages, and she knows anyone in the industry would vouch for Underworld’s track record, she’s really looking forward to working with him.’
With the deal scuppered, Carla is forced into a brutal situation: cancelling her beloved staff’s Christmas bonus.
‘She loves her workforce, they mean everything to her, they’re like her children, especially after giving her the most beautiful wedding, so having to let them down, especially financially right before Christmas, is absolutely devastating for her, she’s completely gutted.’
And it isn’t long until Idris enlists his young protégé Brody Michaelis (Ryan Mulvey), handing him a lighter and sending him off to Underworld having stole foster-mum Sally Metcalfe’s (Sally Dynevor) factory keys.
The results are devastating for Carla: ‘She’s devastated,’ Alison admits.
‘She keeps it to herself for as long as she can before having to confess that the insurance won’t cover it, and given past trauma like the roof collapse, it’s a massive trigger for her.
‘At this point, she genuinely thinks it was just a terrible, tragic accident.’
One positive of seeing Carla on the brink of losing it all? Alison gets to flex her always-impressive acting muscles and show more facets of her usually hard-faced character: ‘Bringing vulnerable Carla out of the box reminds everyone of who she really is,’ she said.
‘Every time she goes through a crisis like this, she comes back a bit more understanding and empathetic toward others, even if she still loses her temper along the way!’
So, has Idris got Carla exactly where he wants her? Or has he just made the kind of enemy that nightmares are made of?
It looks like the gloves are coming off!