Gary Windass (Mikey North)

[alan45]

CORONATION Street's Gary Windass gets his collar felt after fighting with cops following a night out on the tiles.
Gary, played by Mikey North, is out on the town with David Platt (Jack P Shepherd) when they end up having a row with cops after staggering out of a nightclub.
The argument gets more heated, and Gary ends up getting into a scuffle with the officers and is arrested.
But cowardly bad boy David leaves him to face the music alone, doing a runner while Gary is put in handcuffs.



It's just more bad luck for military man Gary whose has seen his army career end after getting caught up a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
In Monday's episode an army officer visited the Windasses to tell them that Gary had been injured while touring the battle zone.
He survives the blast with a broken arm, broken ribs, injured leg and shrapnel wounds, but finds it difficult to deal with the loss of comrade Quinny, who was killed by the bomb.

[Chloe O'brien]

I thought Eddie Windass reaction at the hospital last night was well acted. How many other parents have walked away from their childrens bedside not been able to cope with their injuries.

[Perdita]

As Coronation Street's 50th anniversary week begins next Monday, the show's devastating tram crash brings back horrific memories for Gary Windass as he experiences flashbacks to his time in Afghanistan. The shocking events on the cobbles trigger symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for Gary, kicking off a new storyline as it becomes clear that moving on from his stint in a warzone will be a momentous task. Here, actor Mikey North talks about his character's return home, how Gary's been affected by his tour of duty and why the anniversary stunt changes everything.

Before the tram crash, how is Gary coping after his experience in Afghanistan?
"It's totally changed him, he won't talk about it and he doesn't want anyone around him. He's pushing everybody away, he's having a go at his mum, his dad's annoying him and there's row after row."

Do Anna and Eddie try to bring him out of his shell?
"His mum's pussyfooting around him, but his dad's telling him to get out of bed and get himself sorted. Neither are helping and it's causing friction between them as well. They both know what he's been through and that it's been a really tough time for him so they understand. They're trying to help him, but he's just pushing them away."

Following Quinny's death in Afghanistan, is there a sense of Gary feeling guilty that he's still alive?
"He feels really guilty and that will live with him for a long time. He's ducked out of going to see Quinny's parents so that's still on his mind as well. He just isn't ready to look them in the eye and tell them what happened. Partly he feels guilty, partly he doesn't want to talk about it. He's in a state."

Was there anything more he could have done for Quinny?
"No, there was nothing he could have done, but when your best mate's been killed you wonder, 'Why him and not me?' - that's where the guilt comes from. There's always that thought, 'Did he die to save me?'"

Will Gary go back to the army?
"He can't at the moment because of his psychological state, but he may be ready to return in the future. At the moment he needs to get his head sorted out before he can decide what to do."

The army was important to him, but how does he feel about it now?
"The army was a big thing for him, it was the first time he felt he belonged somewhere. Now that's been taken away, what does he do? Maybe he'll just revert back to his old ways."

Where is Gary when the tram crashes?
"He's in the house - basically he hears the explosion in The Joinery and he comes out. He's transfixed by it, it's quite surreal, then his mum finds him on the street and she's speaking to him, but he can't hear her. He's just transfixed by the disaster scene which triggers memories of Afghanistan and that's when it all hits him."

How does the tram crash affect him?
"Things were bad enough before the tram crash, but this brings it all back to the forefront of his memory. It's the trigger for the flashbacks - there's always a trigger for a person with PTSD and the explosions and chaos around him trigger it for Gary. It brings it home and he completely loses the plot. You see him stumbling around the street thinking he's in Afghanistan. Then he runs back to his house and breaks down - he thinks he's in a warzone even in his own house. He's stuck in a warzone in his head in his own front room."

What's it been like to film these scenes?
"It's been really heavy stuff, playing someone who's effectively losing control of his mind. I'm just hoping I've done it justice and it comes across well on screen. It's the most challenging storyline I've worked on so far - I hope it's believable and it portrays the emotion."

Finally, what's next for Gary?
"We're going to follow Gary and see how he gets through this. It's going to run for a good while. He's stuck in the state where different events are triggering flashbacks. He needs to get help but he won't accept any help at the minute. He won't listen to anybody. He's got people who are trying to help him but he's just pushing everybody away. I don't think they're really aware of how seriously ill he is at the moment…"

[alan45]

Coronation Street star Steve Huison is to leave the show, it has been revealed.

The actor, who plays Eddie Windass in the ITV1 soap, will leave the cobbles next year after bosses decided to write him out of the drama.

Huison wrote on Twitter: "To be honest, I'll be glad to get on with things. It's all unreal there anyway. No challenge. I'll miss the money and a few good friends."

He then joked: "Do you know what I'm really looking forward to more than anything else? A right bloody good haircut!"

Speaking to the Daily Star Sunday, Coronation Street's producer Phil Collinson commented: "I've loved watching Steve's portrayal of super-slob Eddie and, with Gary [Windass] still very much part of Coronation Street, I'm sure it's not going to be the last we'll see of Eddie."

A show spokesman added: "The storyline is still being worked out but Steve will leave early next year."

Eddie is expected to leave Weatherfield as part of son Gary's post-traumatic stress storyline.

[Dazzle]

That's a shame. I like Eddie Windass and he works well with the rest of the Windass familiy.

[alan45]

That's a shame. I like Eddie Windass and he works well with the rest of the Windass familiy.

I didnt like him at the start but since his involvement in Gary's army storyline he has grown on me

[tammyy2j]

That's a shame. I like Eddie Windass and he works well with the rest of the Windass familiy.

Yes it took a while for me to take to the family but now I like them

[alan45]

Coronation Street's Mikey North has revealed that Gary Windass's recovery from post-traumatic stress will be a "slow process".

Viewers have seen this week's tram crash trigger the disorder as Gary suffered from flashbacks to his recent experiences in the army.

"His recovery is going to be a slow process," North told What's On TV. "He's really quite mentally ill now. It's heavy stuff and we'll follow him as he tries to cope with what he's going through."

North admitted that nothing Gary's parents Anna and Eddie does can help him with the situation.

"Anna is pussyfooting around him, but Eddie is like, 'Get your **** out of bed and get yourself sorted'," he said. "But neither technique is working."

Confirming that he had spoken to real soldiers about their experiences, he added: "One guy told me that two years after he'd been in Afghanistan, a tyre blew in the street and he threw himself behind a wall. It triggered a flashback. Apparently that's quite common with post-traumatic stress disorder."

[Perdita]

CORRIE soldier Gary Windass is to be kicked out of the Army in a hard-hitting storyline next year.

Gary (Mikey North) - who has post-traumatic stress after serving in Afghanistan - gets the boot after clobbering a policeman on a drunken night out.

A Corrie source said: "Gary is devastated when he is discharged from the Army. He pleads with his CO but is told they have no option."

The Sun

[Perdita]

Coronation Street's Windass family will get involved in plenty of brawls in the new year.

Actress Debbie Rush - who plays loudmouth mother Anna Windass - is hoping the clan get back to their usual argumentative selves in the coming months, as it gives her an opportunity to vent her anger.

She told BANG Showbiz: "I really hope you get to see a few more brawls from the Windass clan. I love the fact that Anna has so many different sides to her personality. She can be funny, but she can also be sad - and she'd certainly knock your head off if you crossed her!

"She lets me vent my anger! That's the good thing about being an actor - you get to do loads of stuff you just wouldn't be allowed to do in real life."

However, Debbie admitted viewers of the ITV1 soap will also see Anna in a different light as she struggles to come to terms with her son Gary's (Mikey North) post-traumatic stress syndrome, which he has been suffering since he returned to the street from serving with the Army in Afghanistan.

She said: "You'll see Anna as a struggling mum trying to cope with what her son is going through. Further down the line, we've got a big surprise coming up and there's going to be a lot of exciting storylines for the Windass family over the next 12 months."