Coronation Street executive producer Iain MacLeod has hinted that Carla and Peter could get a happy ending amid their current woes.

During last month's 60th anniversary episode it emerged that Carla (Alison King) had slept with Adam (Sam Robertson), sending Peter (Chris Gascoyne) back to the bottle.

Peter has since split from Carla and learned that his return to drinking has left him with liver failure - and in scenes to be shown next week, he will be discovered unconscious in the ginnel.

Speaking about the couple's future, MacLeod told soaps journalists: "They will always remain in love. I think the aftermath of what happened in the 60th will probably be the biggest test for Peter personally, in terms of his mental wellbeing, his physical wellbeing - he's going to hit an all-time low.

"But in terms of his relationship with Carla, the intention of doing this storyline was always to see them both make a terrible mistake. In Carla's case it was with Adam and Peter's case it was hitting the bottle again, so they both make huge mistakes but they come out the other side of it stronger than they ever have done.

"This is supposed to be the last trial by fire of their relationship."

Coronation Street continues Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV.