“He’s not all bad.”
Coronation Street‘s Carl Webster has been causing trouble on the street ever since his arrival last year. From having an affair with his brother’s wife to letting his biological mother go to prison for his crimes, there isn’t much further he can sink.
Most recently, Carl was caught tampering with the brakes on Kevin’s car by Tyrone Dobbs. But when Tyrone accidentally knocked the car jack, Carl was crushed under the vehicle’s weight, and ended up in hospital with serious injuries.
The incident was dubbed a “big wake-up call” by Jonathan Howard, who plays Carl on the ITV soap, and the actor teased that it will stir some change in the character, sharing: “[It’s] time to really look at his life and question the actions that he’s taken.”
“And whether or not he really wants to go down that road, knowing that his mum [Debbie] is not always going to be around. He does sort of use this as an opportunity to try and turn over a new leaf,” he added.
The actor also addressed the possibility of a redemption arc for Carl, which “we’ve had glimpses of” in the past. However, he confirmed that there are still plenty of schemes on the horizon after his “resolve” is broken.
In Tuesday’s (16 June) episode, a furious Kevin discovers that Carl tried to sabotage his brakes, and wastes no time in confronting him – with a wrench in hand. The situation escalates as Carl pulls out a gun and points it at the mechanic – with a shot later being fired.
Despite the showdown (and Carl’s shady history), Howard insists that Carl is “not all bad”, explaining: “I don’t think he’s got the darkness of a Theo [Silverton] or previous supervillains on Corrie, where they have gone to the extreme of murdering someone.
“I don’t think Carl is a killer. He’s a dodgy guy. He wants to make money as quickly as he can. He wants flashy things. He wants nice women, nice men. He wants power and he’s going to do what he can to get that.”
“I hope that we’re still going to keep the cheekiness of Carl, because it’s so much fun to play,” he added. “But it will be interesting to see if he goes on this redemptive arc. How far will he go and are there going to be some banana skins on the way? I’m sure there will be.”
