Jailed Gary to suffer serious injuries in harrowing Coronation Street prison plot

‘It’s a tricky one.’  

Well, Coronation Street actor Mikey North is certainly not exaggerating when he takes us through the aftermath of alter-ego Gary Windass being banged up for eight months. Not ideal at all for the unfortunate lad.  

Mikey acknowledges that Gary is more hardened than most, given he has already done a stint in the cells, so surely the best thing is to just keep his head down, right?  

Well, that’s certainly the plan – but it isn’t going to be as easy as that, with a hellish cellmate, not to mention Tyrone’s sociopathic dad Ross (Ian Burfield) as Weatherfield’s very own Jim Fenner.  

‘It’s obviously not Gary’s first rodeo in prison – he’s a seasoned professional at this rate!’ Mikey smiles when reflecting on his character’s turbulent relationship with the law – this was the chap that was once cited at Corrie’s next big villain, even claiming a life or two under his belt.  

‘It’s prison, so it’s never going to be an easy ride. Gary’s cellmate Jonesy is a great character, and Carl Rice plays him brilliantly. There’s going to be lots coming up with Gary having to protect himself inside, so there’s so much going on there. Jonesy is definitely another little Corrie villain who’s popped up.’ 

Which is exactly what Corrie needs, given how shy of male baddies it has been over the last few years.  

Gary is locked up pretty much directly after Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) is released following her not guilty verdict over the killing of Theo.  

Guilty of concealing a weapon, Gary is prepared to face his time, and apparently holds little animosity towards his ex.  

Mikey explains: ‘Obviously he thinks that she didn’t deserve to go down so he’s probably quite relieved on that front, but he’s having to foot the blame for it. But I guess in the grand scheme of things, eight months, it could have been a lot worse! And she hasn’t chucked him under the bus, so he has to be a little bit grateful for that. 

‘I think it’s very difficult for Gary to have any resentment towards Sarah given everything they’ve gone through. They’ve been through an awful lot together, and she’s probably covered up things for him in the past.  

‘So I think it’s very difficult for him to feel any animosity towards her, as much as he might have to show it for Maria’s sake.’ 

Speaking of Maria – played by the sublime Manchester Tart flinging Samia Longchambon – Mikey is relishing the scenes his co-star is portraying on behalf of Gary, grinning that he loves that Maria and Samia are scrapping over Gary. 

While he concedes that Maria might be making Gary’s situation worse by going on her rampages, Mikey – like the rest of us – is loving seeing this side of her again.  

‘Spiky, drunk Maria is the best version of Maria, and she does it so well!’ Mikey enthuses. ‘The worst thing she’s done here is play a drunk scene so well because now she has to do it all the time!  

‘And I like it when Maria and Gary have scenes that are a bit more tactile and not just about drama. We did a scene talking about the Karate Kid film in the bistro, and I just love things like that, where it’s just about nothing and it’s just about Gary and Maria.  

‘There was another one recently where Gary’s about to get sent down and she asks him what breed of dog he’d be. I love scenes like that where nothing happens, but it’s just about the dialogue and dynamic. It feels real.’ 

Mercifully, now that Gary and Maria are established as a solid Street couple, prison won’t be what tears them apart – Gary’s plight might even make them stronger. 

‘I’ve really enjoyed trying to get them to reconcile. They’ve been through an awful lot, and how they survive, I’ll never know, but it makes it fun and interesting!’ 

But what about sleazy Ross, the horrific specimen of a creature responsible for raping Cassie and now for her disappearance, and lately for grooming estranged son Tyrone into an increasingly toxic state? 

Already a certified monster, we would be right to assume that he is just as dastardly at work as a prison officer. So when he takes a specific interest in Gary, it seems that this could be the cause of a peaceful stint becoming much more dangerous.  

‘Gary finds it really strange and doesn’t quite know what’s going on,’ muses Mikey. ‘Ross’s behaviour and some of the things he says are quite odd. Gary doesn’t want to repel against him too much too quickly because he thinks Ross might look after him in there, but Gary is definitely skeptical and taken aback.’ 

Between Ross and Jonesy, nightmares will unfold for Gary and it will turn into a fight for survival, with Mikey sadly warning of violence ahead.  

‘The amount of hours I’ve spent in makeup getting injuries put on! Gary’s surely done the most fight scenes in the history of Coronation Street and he’s probably about to add to it in some serious numbers. 

‘The great thing about Gary is that he’ll always do what he thinks is right without necessarily thinking about the consequences first, which is exactly why he’s in this situation. So maybe he needs to start thinking six months ahead before jumping in.’ 

Which is about as likely as Maria and Sarah going for a girly night of cocktails.  

Buckle up, Gary – and viewers! 

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