Kel Allen has spoken out about her upcoming exit from Coronation Street in the wake of her character Laura Neelan’s shocking murder confession.
Last week, Gary Windass (Mikey North) told Laura he killed her ex-husband Rick (Greg Wood) in self-defence after it became clear that his body was close to being unearthed. Laura had spent the past few weeks trying to locate Rick to secure money for their daughter Kelly’s (Millie Gibson) future.
When the private investigator revealed that all angles pointed to Rick being dead and that Gary was the prime suspect, she confronted him – prompting his big admission.
In order to ensure Rick could be declared dead, and therefore his assets can be released to Kelly, Laura insisted on reporting Gary to the police.
But upon hearing her daughter’s affection for Gary and Maria (Samia Longchambon), who have treated her like family, Laura took the blame and was arrested.
While viewers wait to find out what happens next, star Kel Allen has revealed what is going through Laura’s mind right now. “It is a massive shock to her, she can’t believe that Rick’s dead,” she says of Gary’s revelation.
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“She hadn’t even considered that as an option, so she’s grieving for the loss of a man that she had already lost but now she knows he is dead and it is Kelly’s dad, how is she going to break the news to her?”
“And she is so angry. But you’ve then also got the fact that she had planned her daughter’s future with this man and now [Gary] has told her he killed Rick but it was in self-defence. And now she is questioning the real reasons that Gary took Kelly under his wing, and realises it was motivated by guilt.”
Allen added that Laura went through a range of different emotions in between speaking to Gary and calling the police.
“I think the scenes between Laura and Gary, you saw the progress and the moment she saw the truth. What Gary did he did in self-defence and you know what, Rick was a bad person and she knows that more than anyone. She never agreed with the lifestyle that he lived. That’s why they split in the first place. She didn’t want that.
“Now she has the chance to leave a legacy for her daughter and know that she is with a man who is more decent than her father was. And when she heard the conversation between Kelly and Simon where Kelly was talking about how happy she felt with Gary and Maria, she knows she can’t take that away from her. She hasn’t done it for Gary or his family she has done it for Kelly’s future.”
The actress notes that Laura has thought her actions through at this point, as she ensures the police believe her story.
“At the forefront of her mind is her confession and making sure that Kelly’s secure, so she is determined to do this right. She has got all the information she needs from Gary about the murder to be able to repeat it and make them believe she did it. She even knows where the body is buried and how he died.
“It is harder than she thought because the police are sure she is lying as they have had their eye on Gary for this for some time and just needed the proof, but here is this woman who knows all the detail and wants to take the rap.”
Read more
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Indeed, if Laura’s plan works then Gary looks set to get away with murder! But as the actress explained, Gary may not be able to live with letting her take the fall.
“I think she can see he is riddled with guilt, ” she explains. “There are the scenes just after the court scenes where she tells him that he can’t ever let Kelly know the truth, this is so important to her as Kelly would lose another family if Gary went to prison.
“Before Laura was arrested Gary had started saying his goodbyes to Maria and Liam and was preparing for prison and now he feels guilty that she has saved him. She just hopes he holds his nerve and lets her go through with it.”
Regardless of this outcome, we know that Allen is definitely leaving Coronation Street. Laura has terminal stomach cancer, and the star admitted that filming her exit was a moving experience.
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“Oh my god, it’s emotional,” she said. “I get emotional and start filling up just thinking about it. What a way to go. When they asked me to come back for this final storyline I couldn’t believe it, it was too good to turn down. As an actor to get your teeth stuck into something so heartbreaking, dramatic and even with humour thrown in is just incredible.
“It’s been three years in the running and people have been desperate for the truth to come out but I don’t think they were expecting that twist. Because of that twist, the death scenes when they come are even more emotionally charged.”
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