Carla Connor (also Gordon, Barlow and Tilsley) is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Alison King. She made her first appearance on screen during the episode airing on 1 December 2006. Carla has been referred to as "the new Elsie Tanner". This was King's second role in the soap as she previously played Mrs. Fanshaw for one episode in 2004. King was off-screen from February 2009 until October 2009 due to her maternity leave. In May 2012, King announced she would be temporarily departing, her departure scenes aired on 16 July 2012 and her return scenes aired on 10 December 2012 On 1 May 2015, it was reported that King would take a sabbatical for "creative reasons" at some point in 2016. On 8 January 2016, it was confirmed that instead of taking a sabbat