Coronation Street has shared a first look at Carla Connor’s upcoming blackmail story, as new arrival Betsy Swain seizes an opportunity to take advantage of Carla.

Scenes that have aired this week saw vulnerable Roy Cropper being intimidated by a gang of thugs who recognised him as the man who was arrested for Lauren Bolton’s murder, with Carla rushing to the rescue and chasing the men away.

In the aftermath of the drama, Carla heads out to the precinct and runs into the same gang that targeted Roy.

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A furious Carla rushes over to confront them over their behaviour, which resulted in Roy being hospitalised.

But as Carla gets back into her car, one of the gang cycles towards her. As she opens her car door, the cyclist collides with it and goes flying off his bike, leaving him collapsed on the ground.

Little does Carla know that her troublesome new work experience student Betsy has seen everything, and she announces to Carla that she’ll only keep quiet about the incident if the factory boss gives her a proper job.

As the week goes on, Betsy continues to wind Carla up by doing as little work as possible and insisting on making an early exit from the factory for lunch.

Irritated Carla goes to meet Betsy’s mum DS Lisa Swain at the police station to talk over the situation with her.

But their chat abruptly ends when Lisa reveals that Betsy has phoned, saying that she’s stuck in a rough part of town.

Related: Corrie star on Joel’s response to Lauren twist

How long will Carla have to put up with Betsy’s blackmail?

Vicky Myers has told Digital Spy and other press that her character Lisa “would be really disappointed if she knew what Betsy is doing” to Carla, explaining that she’d be horrified to realise that her daughter has made such a “devious” plan.

But Carla isn’t the only Weatherfield resident who Betsy has information on. She’s also been playing a dangerous game by blackmailing sinister Joel Deering after he shared his contact details with Betsy’s friend Sabrina Adetiba.

Related: Corrie‘s Lauren and Roy in emotional scenes

Sydney Martin, who recently joined the Corrie cast as Betsy, has teased that “Betsy is going to give Joel a run for his money”, explaining that her character has little regard for the law.

“There’s also this feeling that ‘Mummy can get me out of it’. There’s this playfulness there,” she said.