Gary Windass has been unmasked as the new Coronation Street villain following his secret confession over sabotaging the factory roof and causing the death of Rana Habeeb. And actor Mikey North has revealed that, while Gary didnt mean to hurt anyone, we will see his most ruthless side yet as he continues his life knowing this dark secret.
With Gary prepared for Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) to take the fall for killing Rana, Gary will have other things to deal with as his feud with Rick Neelan (Greg Wood) steps up a gear and the star has warned of dark times ahead for his alter ego.
Here, he describes what kind of villain Gary would make, why he sabotaged the roof, what comes next and how hard it was to keep it a secret.
How did you feel when you found out it was going to be Gary who was responsible for the factory collapse?
Advertisement
Advertisement
I found out a good few months ago, its been hard keeping it under wraps for so long, its been helpful that Garys been off the radar really, you never really thought that he was the number one suspect, theres been little bits brought in, his reaction when Sarah asked him about it was maybe a slight signpost to his guilt but its been helped by the fact he was under the radar. If you watch it back now though you will see subtle clues that it was him. Youll see him in the background watching Imran go about his work and hes looking pretty guilty.
Is it hard to play those subtle hints without giving it away?
The tendency as an actor is to put that into every scene and carry it with you but that might have given the game away too soon here. Plus Gary has had other things to contend with which have kept him quiet so Ive scaled his reaction back.
Have you had to keep quiet among family and friends?
Its not been widely known that it was me and Ive kept it like that, I remember going up to see the boss and it was exciting to learn whats in store for Gary. Its definitely been great to play and theres lots more to come yet.
When members of the public have been coming up to you asking you who did it have you had a fall guy?
Advertisement
Advertisement
Yes Nick all the way, he looked pretty guilty didnt he?! Nick and David hate on poor Windass in every scene, even when its not scripted, so I was more than happy to blame Nick haha.
So why did Gary sabotage the roof?
He was desperate for work, he and Sarah were sleeping on air beds at the Platts and Gary couldnt get any work, then there was Carla sitting on the fact that the factory roof needed fixing. It wasnt going to fall down any time soon but Gary thought if he could speed up that process hed force her hand into getting the work done sooner. He damaged the roof a bit more, intending to hurry things along, but it still wouldnt have come down if Gina and Sally hadnt been up on it protesting. He didnt expect anyone to be in the building at the weekend when he tampered with it and he certainly never intended for anyone to get hurt. He was just desperate to get some work, but like always with Gary he does something in the heat of the moment then is left paying the price.
So how did he feel when he heard that Rana had died?
Shocked and devastated, then left trying to hide his guilt. Gary never set out to hurt anyone, he just wanted a better life for he and Sarah, everything he did he did for Sarah but as time goes on and Sarah starts to distance herself from Gary it looks like that it was all for nothing.
Advertisement
Is Gary consumed by his guilt?
There are moments when hes so weighed down by it but Gary comes out fighting. Hes desperate to hold onto Sarah and hes suddenly got even bigger things to worry about with Rick. One problem is suddenly eclipsed by another. If he thought things were bad after the factory collapse then life is about to get a whole lot worse for Gary.
Will we see a return to the Gary of old?
Garys darker, edgier side has always been there, hes a Windass after all. When he first started in the show he was very hot headed and always getting into trouble but then he joined the army and I think that straightened him out a bit. But Garys always been unpredictable and after suffering with PTSD when he left the army that part of his personality has started to rear its head again. Weve seen it when he tackled Phelan, weve seen it through his feud with Seb and were going to see a very different Gary over the coming months.
So is Gary Corries next big villain?
Hes not a villain as such in the guise ofRead More – Source
[contf] [contfnew] 
METRO
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
