Interview: Will it be plain sailing for Peter?
Peter is entering choppy waters when it comes to balancing Abi and Carla. We spoke to Chris Gascoyne about how Peter is going to navigate his way out of this one!
Peter and Abi have bonded a lot over their chequered pasts. Does Peter have any real feelings for Abi or is he just stringing her along?
No, he has got feelings for her. He enjoys her company and she’s attractive. He wasn’t planning it, it just happened, and I think she likes him. They’re both in a particular place in their life and they are just enjoying each other’s company. He’s not using her for anything.
Abi often turns to drink when she’s upset, do you think Peter feels obligated to help her because of his own past?
There’s a certain protection that he feels towards her because he has been in that place himself and he can see the vulnerability in her, the hurt that it causes her.
He does want to help her and protect her from that, but he’s not there to save her.
Abi believes Carla is dangling Peter along, tell us a little bit about Peter and Carla’s complicated relationship...
It’s very complicated, it’s been on for almost twelve years now. They can’t live with each other and they can’t live without each other. Sometimes Peter lets the relationship go and thinks he can move on and Carla won’t let him, and vice versa, or sometimes they have a bit of input in each other’s relationships which puts a spanner in the works and it brings it all to a crashing halt.
Peter seems to be fine with Abi, he’s doing his boat he’s going to leave, he thinks she’s a great person and he enjoys her company. They have a lot of things in common but then Carla becomes involved in Peter's life again and therefore Peter falls towards her automatically.
How are you enjoying working with Sally Carman?
Oh it’s been fantastic, she’s a real pleasure. The scenes haven’t been hard because she’s a brilliantly instinctive actress, so anything just comes out of her - a moment that’s not meant to be will just happen and she will play it and it’s a joy because you never quite know what the scenes going to be or how it’s going to play out. You have an idea of what you need to do in the scene, but with someone like Sally it's exciting to play because it’s an instinctive thing.
I’ve really enjoyed it and we have got on fantastically. We have had a great relationship and it’s been a good laugh while we were doing it. There’s been lots of days and night in that boat and on top of that boat and it’s been freezing and it’s cramped. It’s really been a great time and I really enjoyed the whole storyline.
Do you think there will always be something between Carla and Peter?
I do, until one of them leaves or gets married. They are not good for each other, but they will at some point be together. I don’t know how they are ever going to have an easy relationship.
Do you think there is hope of Carla and Peter getting back together?
Yeah I think so. It’s unfinished business and unless they move to the other end of the world, and just carried on living without each other, they could get back together. But the spark is always there while they are still around each other.
When Peter finds his boat on fire and realises Simon is inside, how does he react?
He’s terrified, he’s desperate to get him out. Peter can hear Simon still screaming and shouting for him so he knows that he is alive and he risks his own life to save Simon which any father or parent would. It’s not a thing he thinks about, it’s an automatic thing that he would just do. Afterwards it hits him that he could’ve lost his son and that’s when he starts to think about how the fire started. Everything is treated with a higher intensity.
Do you think getting away from Weatherfield would be good for Peter?
I do but it’s almost like the dream is better than the reality. He is living for this dream when he is doing the boat up.