Coronation Street star Mikey North confirms dark scenes for Gary in prison

Coronation Street star Mikey North has spoken about Gary Windass's new prison ordeal for the first time.

Tuesday's episode (20 October) saw a worrying new story begin for Gary as he was sentenced to eight months in jail for perverting the course of justice.

Gary is paying the price for helping Sarah Platt to cover up her involvement in the death of Theo Silverton – a hard pill to swallow, since Sarah herself has just walked free after her trial.

Show bosses will now be exploring Gary's time in Highfield Prison. He'll have to deal with a troublesome cellmate, dramatic fights and issues with Tyrone Dobbs's dad Ross Wilkes, who's one of the prison guards!

Here, Mikey breaks down Gary's future…

Hi, Mikey! How does Gary feel about Sarah being a free woman while he's received an eight-month sentence?

"It's a tricky one! Obviously Gary 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, it's eight months and 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."

It sounds like there's no resentment, then?

"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."

How would Gary feel about Maria's chaotic behaviour? We've just seen her push Bethany and shove a tart in Sarah's face…

"Mikey loves it that he's got them fighting over him! From Gary's point of view, I love that side of Maria. Spiky, drunk Maria is the best version of Maria, and she does it so well. The worst thing she's done here is play a drunk scene so well because now she has to do it all the time!

"She's probably making it slightly worse for Gary on the inside, but for the viewer and for me personally, I think it's great to watch."

Gary was quick to call Maria from prison, so would you say they're stronger than ever?

"Yeah, I think so. It's obviously not Gary's first rodeo in prison - he's a seasoned professional at this rate! I think it's probably a lot harder for them on the outside than it is for Gary on the inside at times.

"I've really enjoyed trying to get Gary and Maria to reconcile. They've been through an awful lot, and how they survive, I'll never know, but it makes it fun and interesting."

What kind of Gary and Maria scenes do you enjoy doing the most?

"I like it when they 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 was 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."

We'll see that a guy called Jonesy is Gary's cellmate. Is Gary about to be dragged into prison politics?

"It's prison, so it's never going to be an easy ride! 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."

Ross offers to look out for Gary, but Gary turns him down. Does Gary suspect Ross has an ulterior motive?

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

Will Gary serve his time peacefully?

"Without wanting to give too much away, the amount of hours I've spent in makeup getting injuries put on for the two months that the viewers haven't seen would probably suggest not! 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…"

Kirk moves into Gary's flat while he's away. How would Gary feel about that?

"It's a great shout to have Kirk in there. Gary and Kirk make such an interesting pair because they could not be more different.

"Also, young Jake has a lot coming up as well. He's absolutely fantastic – a little Jack P Shepherd from when he was younger – so I'm glad he's holding down the fort while Gary's away."

What advice would you give to Gary?

"For me personally, probably stay out of makeup if you can! But 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."

Coronation Street airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.

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