Coronation Street star Alison King reveals why she turned down Strictly Come Dancing

Coronation Street star Alison King thinks Corrie should be renamed – and here’s her wacky suggestion!

Alison King, who's about to return to Corrie as Carla Connor, has said spending time with daughter Daisy took priority

Coronation Street star Alison King has revealed that she turned down the chance to appear in Strictly Come Dancing during her break from the ITV soap.

The actress left the cobbles last year, in a storyline which saw Carla depart Weatherfield after a disastrous wedding to Nick Tilsley. She’ll be back on screens on 22^nd December, when Carla’s half brother Aidan asks her to save the Underworld factory.

Said Alison: “I was offered a few of the celeb shows, such as Strictly Come Dancing, but I just didn’t fancy it. My main aim was to spend time with (eight year old daughter) Daisy. You don’t get any awards for being a good parent, but it is the most important job in the world.”

Coronation Street Carla Connor played by Alison King

Alison King is about to return as Carla in Corrie

The 44 year old adds that during her time away, she filmed a role in the second series of Sky One comedy, Sick Note.

“I play Chief Superintendent Christine Henchy. She has her hair all rolled up and I wear a very austere Chief Superintendent outfit. She is quite posh, so completely different to Carla, and it was great to work on a comedy.”

And she’s hinted that she’d be up for playing the character again if a third series was commissioned – which could rule out a permanent return for her as Carla.

"There is room for her (Christine) to return in series three, which would be great," says Alison. "It was fantastic to work with Rupert Grint, and I also got to do some scenes with Lindsay Lohan, who was really lovely."

Alison Slade has over 20 years of experience as a TV journalist and has spent the vast majority of that time as Soap Editor of TV Times magazine. She is passionate about the ability of soaps to change the world by presenting important, issue-based stories about real people in a relatable way. There are few soap actors that she hasn’t interviewed over the years, and her expertise in the genre means she has been called upon as a judge numerous times for The British Soap Awards and the BAFTA TV Awards.

When she is not writing about soaps, watching soaps, or interviewing people who are in soaps, she loves going to the theatre, taking a long walk or pottering about at home, obsessing over Farrow and Ball paint.