Laura Collins was a machinist at Ingram's Textiles. Along with Ivy Brennan, Laura was told by work's manager Mike Baldwin that Peter Ingram had had a heart attack and that he was now in intensive care. Laura scoffed at Mike's assertion that he did everything he could for Peter, wondering if it was a kiss of life job. Laura was also present in the factory when Ralph Dobson announced that Peter had died in hospital.
When Ivy broke down at work following a visit to a spiritualist church contrary to her Catholic beliefs, Laura took charge of her colleague and learned that Ivy was hoping that she was hoping that her late husband Bert or son Brian would get in touch. To support her, Laura went along to that evening's meeting, and witnessed the medium telling Ivy that he had received a message from a "Martin" regarding a mysterious "Elizabeth", mentioning a car crash, which Ivy thought meant that Martin Platt was about to have an accident on the road. Laura went along to further meetings with Ivy, getting interested in spiritualism herself, but refrained from telling her husband about it believing that he wouldn't understand.
At the staff Christmas party, Laura bet Ivy that she could get Mike up dancing. To their surprise, Mike hit the dancefloor with Laura without much persuasion. Later, when the DJ announced the raffle he called his "two favourite dancers" Mike and Laura up on stage to draw the winners, dubbing them "beauty and the beast" (leaving it to the audience to decide which was which). Laura drew her own ticket from the barrel, and was pleased with the prize of a bottle of wine as it had a real cork, which she considered the sign of a good quality bottle.
Some days later, Laura and Ivy were witnesses when Mike chewed out Jackie Ingram about her handling of an order. Laura jokingly suggested afterwards that Ivy go ask Mike for a rise. The following week, Ivy confided in Laura that she had invited Marie Ramsden and her son Jamie to stay at 5 Coronation Street over Christmas. Laura thought she was mad to take them on as she barely knew them and was only doing it as a good deed due to their shocking living conditions in a tower block at Maxton Walk.