Coronation Street’s Abi Franklin actress Sally Carman has opened up about watching ITV co-star Sally Dynevor kiss her real-life husband Joe Duttine on the ITV soap

Coronation Street’s Sally Carman has spilled the beans on her feelings about her co-star smooching her real-life spouse, Joe Duttine, on the popular ITV soap. The 44-year-old actress, who portrays Abi Franklin, first crossed paths with Joe, 55, known for his role as Tim Metcalfe, on the Corrie set in 2018.

After a series of clandestine dates, the couple moved in together and eventually tied the knot in 2022. Despite sharing the same workplace, their characters have never been romantically involved on screen. Instead, Joe’s TV wife, also named Sally, is portrayed by seasoned actress Sally Dynevor, 62, who recently marked four decades on the world’s longest-running soap opera, reports the Mirror.

So, does Sally Carman fret over her husband locking lips with other women on screen? It appears not. In an exclusive chat with The Mirror, she quipped: “She’s [Sally Dynevor] is helping me out. It’s one less thing I have to do. That sounds awful, doesn’t it?!

Quickly clarifying, Sally added: “I love kissing my husband. Honestly, when you’re filming kissing scenes, it’s 25 sweaty men around you, burping and all that, you have the lights on you, time schedules, it’s the least sexy thing ever. You can kiss whoever you need to, it’s fine.”

Speaking candidly about working alongside real-life spouse Joe on set, Sally confessed: “It’s awful. I don’t recommend it.”

She went on to explain that their natural chemistry becomes problematic, as he triggers uncontrollable fits of laughter just before filming begins, leaving her unable to compose herself once the cameras roll.

She elaborated: “I give him a wide berth because he makes me laugh and and once I’ve gone, there’s no getting it back – and there’s tears, so it’s makeup retouching. I’m like, to myself, ‘Get it together,’ which makes its worse. He does it on purpose, so then I’m fuming with him!”

Abi’s storyline has been particularly turbulent recently. The former addict, whose son Seb was killed in a vicious hate crime, was forced to give up her two youngest children for adoption after suffering an overdose.

Following her recovery, she appeared to find stability with Weatherfield garage owner Kevin Webster, portrayed by Michael Le Vell. However, tragedy struck again when Seb was murdered, leading to her betrayal of Kevin through an affair with solicitor Imran Habeeb, which resulted in her fourth pregnancy with baby Alfie.

Despite Kevin’s forgiveness, Alfie was embraced into their household alongside Kevin’s elder son Jack from a former relationship. Yet when Kevin’s sibling Carl returned to Weatherfield, Abi found herself drawn into an intense romantic entanglement with him. It was only afterwards that Abi discovered Carl had been unfaithful with James Bailey and was plotting to abandon her whilst making off with sister Debbie’s cash he’d nicked during his stint at her hotel.

This week’s episodes dropped the bombshell that Debbie is actually Carl’s biological mother, though she’d handed him over to her father and stepmother after falling pregnant at just 17.

However, at present, only Debbie and Carl are privy to this secret. Meanwhile, dementia-stricken Debbie has just been banged up over the Corriedale motor accident that claimed vicar Billy Mayhew’s life – having taken the blame for son Carl, who was actually the driver. When quizzed about Abi’s future on the cobbles, Sally revealed: “She’s alright. I think she’s okay now after Carl.

But I genuinely don’t know what they’ve got planned in the script. “I don’t know if Abby and Kevin will get back together. I love working with Michael Le Vell and I miss him, so as long as we’ll still have some scenes together, I’ll be okay. She’s got a little flat, but who knows who she’ll end up with. We’ve been discussing it at work and there seems no one obvious at the moment.”