Could Swarla be the perfect test for a new Coronation Street spin-off?

Coronation Street has something potentially valuable in Swarla.

Carla and Lisa have attracted a devoted international following, with fans creating websites, podcasts, social media communities and thousands of fan-written stories celebrating the couple.

Some viewers openly admit they watch Coronation Street primarily for Carla and Lisa, preferring to follow their scenes rather than every storyline unfolding in Weatherfield. With Australia's Channel Seven now developing a brand-funded micro-drama spin-off connected to Home and Away, designed specifically for mobile audiences, could ITV consider giving viewers more of the characters they already love?

A Swarla spin-off, anyone? It might not be such an unusual idea.

Swarla fans have already built their own entertainment community

What makes Swarla particularly interesting is the amount of activity taking place beyond Coronation Street’s regular episodes.

Swarla HQ has established a dedicated website and social media presence covering Carla, Lisa and Betsy, while @midnightswarla has attracted over 16,000 followers and 1 million likes on TikTok, and has also brought fans together through various dedicated Instagram group chats.

On X, @swarlagifs shares moments featuring the couple, while the Swarlanation Street Podcast provides discussions and analysis of their relationship. YouTube channel AKCG has also attracted viewers interested in Carla and Lisa’s scenes, although some recent videos are no longer available to the great disappointment of the fans.

Then there are the hundreds of dedicated TikTok and YouTube edits, alongside the thousands of Swarla stories written by fans on Archive of Our Own (AO3). The fanfiction explores everything from alternative storylines and different settings to the quieter romantic moments viewers would love to see on screen.

This is an audience creating its own entertainment around characters from an established television programme.

Fans aren’t simply watching episodes; they’re writing stories, producing podcasts, making videos and connecting with people around the world.

Swarla isn’t the first soap relationship to inspire this devotion

Soap fans have been creating communities around favourite couples for years, often giving relationships their own combined names, known as ‘ships’ - this is nothing new.

Emmerdale has seen devoted followings for Vanity, Charity and Vanessa, and Robron, Robert and Aaron. Meanwhile, EastEnders fans embraced Sukeve, the relationship between Suki and Eve, through social media accounts, discussions and fan-created content.

These communities existed long before mobile dramas became big business. Swarla is part of that tradition, but today’s digital platforms give broadcasters more opportunities to connect with audiences who have already demonstrated a strong interest in particular characters.

The question is whether television producers could make better use of that enthusiasm by creating additional official content without taking popular couples away from their regular soaps.

What could a Swarla spin-off actually look like?

Imagine six short episodes following Carla, Lisa and Betsy, each lasting around three minutes. That’s 18 minutes of additional drama, potentially filmed using existing Weatherfield sets and familiar characters.

Perhaps we could see more of their home life, conversations over breakfast, family moments with Betsy or evenings together away from the cobbles. The sort of scenes that fans frequently discuss, imagine and write about themselves.

It wouldn’t need another major storyline or a string of dramatic cliffhangers. For many fans, simply spending more time with Carla and Lisa could be the attraction.

The episodes could be produced for ITVX, with shorter clips shared through social media. They could even be filmed vertically in the 9:16 format increasingly used for mobile dramas, allowing viewers to watch full-screen on their phones.

This is entirely hypothetical, and ITV has announced no plans for a Swarla spin-off. But the format could provide a relatively contained way of testing whether character-focused content has an audience beyond the regular programme.

Could ITV turn fan enthusiasm into additional viewers?

There is already evidence that audiences are increasingly watching soaps digitally. ITV reported nearly 500 million streams for Coronation Street and Emmerdale combined during the first 11 months of 2025, up 30% year-on-year.

Those figures don’t prove a Swarla spin-off would succeed, but they demonstrate the importance of streaming to ITV’s existing soap audience.

Rather than committing to a full series, ITV could test a handful of additional scenes and measure views, completion rates and how many people return for subsequent episodes. It could also examine whether the content attracts viewers who discovered Carla and Lisa through social media but don’t regularly watch Coronation Street.

International interest could offer another opportunity, although distribution rights, cast availability and production costs would all need consideration. Social media followers and fanfiction readers aren’t guaranteed television viewers, but they provide an existing community whose interests ITV could explore.

An official collection of key Swarla scenes might be an even simpler first experiment, giving viewers a dedicated way to revisit Carla and Lisa’s relationship while allowing ITV to measure demand.

Could the fans already be pointing towards an opportunity?

The popularity of Swarla, Robron, Vanity and Sukeve demonstrates that soap relationships can inspire communities extending far beyond their regular television broadcasts.

What makes Swarla particularly timely is the growing interest in mobile-first entertainment, alongside a fanbase already creating substantial amounts of content around Carla and Lisa.

ITV wouldn’t need to commit to a full spin-off to explore the possibilities. A small, carefully planned digital project could test whether dedicated character-led storytelling attracts additional viewers while keeping the couple firmly part of Coronation Street.

Swarla fans have already shown how much they adore Carla and Lisa.

Perhaps it’s time to find out whether an official short-form spin-off could give them a little more of what they love.

Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX in the UK.

Image credit: ITV