Coronation Street star Mikey North has good news for James Burrows fans, as he's teased that his co-star's character Ali Neeson is about to take centre stage in a "big storyline" for the soap.

Despite the fact that Ali Neeson was at the centre of one of the show's biggest shock twists last year when he killed gangster Ronan Truman to stop the villain from targeting his family, he hasn't really had a whole lot to do since.

After a long on-screen absence, James returned to the soap earlier this year and later struck up a romance with Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) but he still hasn't had any huge storylines to get stuck into – and that whole murder thing appeared to be quickly forgotten about too.

But according to Gary Windass actor Mikey North that could all be about to change, as the star has cited Ali's mysterious new storyline as a Corrie plot he's excited to see unfold.

"It's going to be fun seeing Sam Aston trying to cope with all those babies on set! I'd be resigning if it was me," Mikey told Inside Soap about his favourite storylines on the soap.

"And James Burrows has a big storyline coming up that I'm looking forward to see. I think he's going to smash it."

As Ali is Michelle Connor's biological son, and with Kym Marsh's exit storyline for Michelle expected to air soon, could James' big new storyline be linked to Michelle's exit?

Ryan Prescott (who plays Ryan Connor in the soap) has previously teased bigger storylines for his character in the run-up to her exit, telling Digital Spy that "there's a lot of family issues going on".

"It's kind of like, storylines building up to that," he hinted, "that kind of ultimate moment for her where she has to make a decision to leave or not."

Meanwhile, Mikey also teased that Gary's got an action-packed few months ahead of him too, adding: "Gary will carry on getting away with things for a while yet, but there's a lot of twists coming.

"His mind is warped into thinking he can walk over anyone – he has nothing to lose, so he's scared of nobody!"

That could all change soon though, as despite Derek's involvement and the ongoing problems between Gary, Ryan and Adam, Mikey teased that there's a new romance in the works that could prove a turning point for Gary.

"There's a new romance in the pipeline, which might spark Gary back to reality," he added. "Apart from his kids, he's not got a lot to live for. And that's what makes him dangerous, I think..."

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV



Digital Spy