Chris Gascoyne found filming Carla Connor’s special ‘Coronation Street’ episode "very intense".
The 51-year-old actor plays Peter Barlow – the partner of Carla, played by Alison King – in the ITV soap, which this week has been building up to a special episode detailing Carla’s struggle with her mental health, as she believes she can speak to three dead characters – Hayley Cropper (Julie Hesmondhalgh), Rana Habeeb (Bhavna Limbachia), and Aidan Connor (Shayne Ward).
The special episode will air on Friday (31.05.19) and will be partly told from Carla’s point of view as she concerns her loved ones by rushing to the top of the Victoria Street fire escape in a fragile state, and Chris has said the scenes were difficult to film.
He said: "They were very, very intense. Ali has been amazing and has been very aware of the fact that people are going through this in real life. She has really felt that responsibility. We are all mindful of that when we portray something so serious and real.
"It is important to get it right."
Chris says Peter is left feeling "terrified" when Carla disappears, and he found it "heartbreaking" to play out the scenes in which he finds her on the fire escape.
He added: "He is terrified. He feels like he has let her down and knowing what a fragile state she was in, he genuinely fears for her safety.
"They are desperate to find her before she comes to harm.
"It is heartbreaking to watch and Peter is desperate to get to her and help her, but he is worried that if they scare her she could fall. He has to make a decision about what to do for the best."
And the actor says Peter will "be there" for Carla as she recovers, and thinks they’ll be able to tackle "anything else that is thrown at them".
He said: "Carla is very, very poorly and it is going to take a long time for her to recover, but Peter will be there for her.
"They have had their ups and downs over the years but this experience has bonded them together and Peter will want to be there for her. They need each other.
"It will be interesting to see if this changes the dynamic of their relationship moving forwards. This is the most difficult thing they have gone through and if they can deal with this, you have to think they could deal with anything else that is thrown at them."
Chris Gascoyne ‘intense’ Coronation Street scenes
