Coronation Street’s Mikey North tells us why Dr Ali needs to be afraid of Gary Windass
Is Gary genuinely interested in Maria?
Gary is in to Maria but he has a lot of things going on and he could probably do without the extra hassle that Ali is causing him.
Why is he suspicious about what’s up with Ali?
Gary suspects that all is not as it seems with Ali because there’s been a few incidents like when Emma collapsed after Ali told her she had food poisoning and when Ali was asleep on the sofa in the salon flat and the smoke alarm was going off. Gary reckons there is some dirt to dig up on the doctor!
It’s not a good idea to get on the wrong side of Gary, is it?
No, Gary is losing the plot a little bit. He is unstable and out of control so whatever he gets up to next, nothing would surprise me.
Why is Gary on a downward spiral?
He lost Sarah and he thinks he should never have lost her in the first place because he was actually trying to help her but everything he touched went wrong.
What is Gary’s plan to bring Ali down?
Gary contacts the private investigator and they find a pharmacist who has been dealing to people in the NHS. With the help of the private detective, Gary kidnaps the dealer, ties him up in the furniture shop and tries to get him to give up some evidence about Ali.
Are you enjoying playing this new side to Gary?
It’s been great, especially the humour in the darker stuff – that has been really enjoyable to play. I’ve really enjoyed working with Alexander Kirk, who plays the private detective, because he is a fantastic actor and I am hoping we get to do more stuff together because I have had a great time doing our scenes.
What happens when Ali and Gary come face to face?
Ali is shocked to see Gary in the salon flat. Ali produces the ledger and viewers will think that is Gary caught – there is no way out of it now of him. But Gary has got nothing to lose and when he is being backed into a corner, if anyone gets in his way he is going to try and stop them.
Gary’s found himself in yet another love triangle, is there a danger he may become fixated on getting revenge on Ali at the expense of his romance with Maria?
It will be interesting to see whether or not Gary and Maria are with the wrong people. Maybe Gary does want to be with Sarah, and Maria does want to be with Ali, time will tell. Gary and Maria have got a lot of stuff to come, it will be interesting to see whether this is going to alienate Maria from the street as Gary is not the most popular person right now. He does mean well with Maria and he loves his kids, he’s not all bad!
What do you think Maria’s reaction would be if she found out what Gary was up to?
If all that ever came out, then that could well be the end, especially the truth about the factory roof collapse and that he killed Rick the loan shark. Gary has a lot of things to hide; he might be able to get away with being a loan shark himself somehow because that is not as bad in comparison. The two big things are the factory and when he killed Rick – but I still maintain it was all in self defence!
What is the best thing about working with Samia Longchambon and James Burrows?
Samia is great and a very good actress, it’s nice to work alongside her. I was a big fan of James before the show, he’s an amazing actor and it’s a privilege to work with him.
What advice would you give to Gary?
He has got to be careful he doesn’t become too greedy! He has got a lot of money, a lot of irons in the fire, but he doesn’t want to get too greedy and find it ends up costing hi