Coronation Street’s Stephen’s drugging plot takes shape as Carla spirals

He wants to get rid of the formidable factory boss.

By Laura Denby

Published: Wednesday, 15 February 2023 at 12:00 am

Stephen Reid’s (Todd Boyce) evil plan to destroy Carla Barlow (Alison King) went exactly as he’d hoped in tonight’s Coronation Street (15th February).

The serial killer was left intrigued when his niece Sarah Barlow (Tina O’Brien) told him that Carla had previously experienced psychosis, leading her to stop working. With his eyes fixed firmly on having the run of Underworld, Stephen felt he had cause to target Carla tonight.

Earlier in the week, Stephen successfully blackmailed client Rufus into signing a deal with the factory. Carla had promised that he would be rewarded with a permanent contract – but Stephen was outraged when he learned that Carla had given a newly reinstated Sarah his role, as well as the job of leading up design.

This left Stephen as office manager, and he was not happy – although Carla was unmoved by his tantrum. Unaware just how dangerous her uncle is, Sarah urged Stephen to take the offer and bide his time, because Carla would eventually be too overwhelmed to cope alone.

""
Stephen drugs Carla’s coffee with the LSD he stole from Rufus.

This gave Stephen an idea, and when he returned to work, he unnerved everyone by cheerfully making a round of tea and coffee. Secretly, we saw him retrieve the bottle of LSD he’d taken from Rufus, and he put a few drops of the drug in Carla’s drink. Carla soon began to feel woozy and unwell, and the factory staff insisted she relax by joining them all at the Rovers.

Once there, Stephen bought a round and managed to spike Carla’s wine with more LSD. Carla’s behaviour grew increasingly more worrying, and when her husband Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) arrived, he took her glass away – forcing Stephen to deliberately spill the wine before Sarah could drink it instead.

Peter took Carla home as her paranoia became apparent, but he wasn’t sure what to think when he was later approached by Stephen in the street, who fibbed that the factory gang were asking questions. At home, as Peter told his wife that she must be overdoing it at work, he watched over Carla as she stared at some ‘shapes’ in the flat.

At the factory, Stephen deleted a meeting from Carla’s diary and muddled her paperwork, plotting to mess with her mind.

What will Stephen’s next move be? Will Carla be OK?

Read more:

Visit our dedicated Coronation Street page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.