Carla was born on 3 January 1975 in Manchester. She was the result of a one-night stand between her mother Sharon and Johnny Connor (Richard Hawley), a married man who lived close by. Johnny knew that Carla was most likely his daughter, but for the sake of his marriage, he buried the memory of his liaison with Sharon. He did, however, make child support payments to Sharon whenever she had nowhere else to turn, which he managed to keep hidden from his wife Lou. Sharon lived in poverty on a run-down council estate. Carla was born into a world of alcohol and drugs, which Sharon sold from Carla's pram. Sharon had plenty of boyfriends and, a few years after Carla was born, she gave birth to her second misbegotten child, Rob (Marc Baylis). She went on to marry George, who mistreated Carla and Rob and was hated by them. Carla's best friends growing up were Michelle (Kym Marsh), Paul (Sean Gallagher) and Liam Connor (Rob James-Collier) who lived in the nicer part of the estate. Michelle and her siblings were second cousins once removed of Johnny and third cousins of Johnny's children, Aidan (Shayne Ward) and Kate (Faye Brookes), with whom Carla was also friendly despite them being ten years younger than her. In 1993, Sharon told Lou about her affair with Johnny, leading Lou to run out of the house in the course of arguing with Johnny and being fatally struck by a drunk driver. As a teenager, Carla worked Saturdays in a shoe shop and on her birthday in 1997 she began a relationship with her Future husband Paul, who she married on 26 January 1999 at age 24. With Paul earning good money, Carla's lifestyle changed for the better. For a while, she maintained regular visits to the family home but soon stopped as Rob constantly got at her for leaving him to deal with their mother's troubles by himself. To ease her conscience, Carla sent her mother expensive gifts, but because of where she lived Sharon was afraid they would be stolen and kept them under lock and key. Rob was later sent to Strangeways prison for armed robbery in 2004.
Radio Times soaps columnist David Brown gave mixed comments in his response to Carla's rape storyline. He made the point that while it was being treated with more sensitivity than the rape of Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) was, back in 2001, the impression was that the writing team were placing too much pain and anguish upon Carla's character: "By having Carla undergo a vicious violation like rape, it begins to feel that she's being systematically targeted by the storyliners. There's no denying that the scenes in this evening's double bill are powerfully acted by Alison King, but there seems to be an underlying mission to crack open Carla's carapace and expose her vulnerability. In the wider world, rapists often choose their targets regardless of the victim's circumstance, so there's no saying that Carla wouldn’t suffer an assault of this sort. But, in a fictional setting, it does begin to look cruel when so much anguish is piled onto one person's shoulders."
On 20 September 2006, it was reported that the former Dream Team Actress, Alison King, had been cast as Carla Connor. A Coronation Street spokeswoman said of the new addition, "she will make quite an impact. The phrase ‘dosh doesn’t make you posh’ was made for Carla. She's a WAG on the cobbles, beautiful but tough and ambitious". King had briefly appeared on the Manchester soap in 2004, as a housewife named Mrs. Fanshaw, who slept with Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas). She later joked "I was Mrs Fanshaw - or Fanny. What a nightmare!" Metro also incorrectly reported she had previously played a character called Milly Webster in 1982, a part that was played by another Actress with the same name. She said that she initially found the role difficult, as she "was uncomfortable playing a constant bitch at first. I'm getting into it now but I'm not as nasty or as cocky as Carla. She's horrible to anyone she perceives to be a rival. I couldn't be like that." In November 2010, she admitted her character "annoys the hell" out of her, saying "I would never be her mate in a million years! Carla's a nightmare and annoys the hell out of me. She's the type of person who creates drama wherever she goes, and I'm not like that at all. Plus, she'd probably try to steal my fella!" She has also said she hates the voice she chose for the character.
In an online poll conducted by MSN Entertainment, Carla Connor was voted as 'Soapland's Sexiest Female of 2008', with more than 31% of votes. At the 2008 Inside Soap Awards, the character was voted "Best Bitch". King was awarded "Best Actress" at The British Soap Awards 2012. On Digital Spy's 2012 end of year reader poll, King was nominated for "Best Female Soap Actor" and came fifth with 9.7% of the vote. King was nominated for the "Best Actress" award at The British Soap Awards 2014, and was nominated for the award again in the 2015 ceremony.
In January 2009, the character was heralded as the new Elsie Tanner: "strong, dark, mouthy, pushy, full of herself and nobody's fool, ready to put the world to rights with another lashing of lipstick. Has Coronation Street finally found the new Elsie Tanner in Carla Gordon I'm starting to think that perhaps they might have". The return of the character on 19 October 2009, after an eight-month absence, drew large ratings for the show's episodes which were watched by 9.88m (42.2%) and 10.24m (40.5%) respectively.
In September 2010, it was reported that Carla would fall for Peter. It was reported that pair apparently grow closer as Peter helps Carla overcome her boozing and comes to her aid when she is arrested for drink driving. A source said: "Carla is feeling vulnerable and Peter is there," a source told the paper. "They soon become more than friends. He's stunned when she tells him she hasn't felt like this about anyone since Liam." Carla's best friend Leanne (Jane Danson) who is in a relationship with Peter would tell Carla that she is in love with her ex-husband Nick Tilsley (Ben Price), "This storyline will really put the cat among the pigeons," the source added.
In June 2011, it was announced that Carla will reportedly be left "fighting for her life" after being attacked by her boyfriend. The factory owner, played by Alison King, would be subjected to a physical and sexual assault by Frank Foster after he suspects she is cheating on him with Peter Barlow. Carla will consider leaving Frank prior to the attack, but feels she owes him after he invested in her Business and takes the blame for a car accident she is responsible for. The plot was a prominent storyline over the summer and aired after the 9pm watershed during a week of special episodes. Tracy Barlow will offer to give Frank a positive character reference in court, while Peter's marriage to Leanne suffers.
In May 2012, it was reported that Carla would depart with her boyfriend Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) in 2012, for four months. Speaking of her departure King said: "It's three years since I had a baby and I've been working for all of that time so I haven't been able to spend too much time with my family. I plan to have a nice holiday and spend time at home getting jobs done on the house, all very normal stuff. King insisted that she still enjoys playing Carla and has no plans to depart for good. King's exit scenes aired on 16 July 2012, she returned to filming on 1 October 2012 and was back on screen in December, and shows boss announced that Carla and Peter would return at Christmas with big news.
Alison King later told Inside Soap that she wants Carla's friendship with Peter to develop even further as he helps her to battle an alcohol addiction. King said: "I think she should definitely gets her claws into Peter. They've got a nice friendship and some good banter going on. They're equals, and I think it's the first time Carla's felt that way with someone since Liam died. They could be a great coupling – but it would turn into a nightmare if they both fell off the wagon."
Over a year later, Carla meets Aidan in a pub after her calls for her help in saving Underworld. However, she refuses and leaves, stating that she has a new life now. She returns on Christmas Day, with a great response from her family and Michelle. Carla refuses to drink during the day which is picked up upon numerous times. While visiting she says that she will become a partner in Underworld with Aidan. She later bumps into Tracy who calls her a goblin to which Carla replies, "just think of me as a Ghost of Christmas Past". It is declared that she must be up to something when she is seen pouring a drink down the sink in the bathroom as everyone in the pub is singing. Carla invites friend Roy to join her and the family for New Year's Eve in the Rover's Return. Roy wants Carla to tell her family about her kidney failure—she has only shared with him her need for a kidney transplant. Roy has agreed to keep quiet about her condition but says she needs support and must tell them. Carla struggles with her illness and as everyone welcomes in the New Year, she breaks down; Roy witnesses this and asks her to move in with him. She agrees and goes back inside while Roy searches online "how to donate a kidney", unbeknownst to Carla. Carla also grows close to Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard), Peter and Tracy’s half-brother, upon her return. She clashes with Peter's new partner, Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor), who sees her as a threat. Carla, however, refuses to tell her family about her illness, despite numerous advice from Roy. She later collapses in the street and is found by Brian Packham (Peter Gunn) and is rushed to hospital. At the hospital, Roy tells her that he was tested for a kidney match but was not successful, which touched Carla. She decides to Listen to him and upon hearing that her situation is getting more critical, she tells Kate and Aidan who both tell her that they will get tested.
On 1 May 2015, it was reported that King would be "taking a break" in 2016. A Coronation Street spokeswoman said in a statement released to Digital Spy: "Alison King has indicated to producers that she would like to take a sabbatical from the show for creative reasons at some point in 2016. She wishes to try her hand at other projects before returning to the part of Carla Connor, a role she has enjoyed playing for nine years. Before Ali takes her break, Carla has much more drama to come. At the end of this month, she will be central to the explosive storyline which sees Victoria Court go up in flames, and the aftermath of that plotline will have huge consequences for the factory boss. Ali's Desire to take a break from the show gives the Writers the opportunity to come up with a enthralling exit for the character." In September 2015, King said in an interview: "I have just signed till May 2016, there is a lot to do with Carla yet. I haven't had a chance to think about beyond that. On 8 January 2016, it was confirmed that King's departure was in fact permanent. King told Metro: "It's not actually a break – I'm actually leaving. Because they're leaving the door open, I think people originally called it a break and people are asking 'When are you coming back?' and I'm like 'I'm not'".
A storyline was created to built up to her departure. A special week aired from 22 May to 26 May alongside the Britain's Got Talent semi-final just like in previous years. A trailer also accompanied the shows and after each episode a preview of the next episode was shown. The episodes had to be broadcast at 9pm because of the content within them. Two storylines were put into this week, the wedding and the discovery of Callum Logan's (Sean Ward) body. This involved the Platt family heavily and Carla caused the crash into the house where the body was hidden, finishing the storyline from his murder which had started in September 2015. King filmed her final scenes in April 2016 with them being broadcast on 26 May 2016.
Sarah Ellis of Inside Soap said that Carla was great to watch when she is with Peter. She added that they are "like a car crash waiting to happen". Her colleague, Laura-Jayne Tyler, called Carla's departure "thoroughly disappointing", commenting, "For a character who has given Corrie [sic] 10 years of top drama, we don't think Carla deserved to be 'slut shamed' out of Weatherfield." A reporter writing for the Inside Soap Yearbook 2017 described Carla as a "soap favourite" and hoped she would "hurry home soon". Another reporter later named Carla and Tracy's feud as one of the "best bits of February", describing the pair as "sworn enemies". They described Tracy confronting Carla as "the big moment" in the episodes.
After realising that she might die, Carla tells Sinead that Daniel still likes her and that she doesn’t want her last moments to be stealing somebody else’s man. Aidan later has his operation and Carla has a kidney transplant - which are both successful. Afterwards, Carla tells Roy that she is selling her house in Devon and moving back to Weatherfield for good, much to his delight. Carla later sleeps with Michelle’s biological son Alex Neeson (James Burrows) who was swapped at birth and won’t speak to his mother, after Carla tries to make amends between them. She hides this from Michelle. Carla later gives Aidan 100% of Underworld on his birthday, to which he responds nervously, which leads to Johnny suspecting that he is hiding something.
