It’s taken me this long to be happy with my place on Corrie.. why would I be anywhere else?
It is 10 years since Mikey North first swaggered on to the Cobbles as Corrie bad boy Gary Windass. A lot has changed since then for Mikey – both at work and home.
He has taken his character Gary from being a chavvy thug on the periphery of the Street to one of the nation’s soap heartthrobs right in the thick of the soap’s biggest storylines.
And in real life he has got married to Rachael and welcomed son Archie, 15 months, into the world.
He admits the past two years have been a whirlwind – but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
He says: “It’s definitely been my busiest at work and in my home life.
“Archie doesn’t sleep at all, but Rachael is great. If I have got an early start and a big day I will go and sleep in the spare room.
“Trying to juggle it is difficult but we get through. I always wanted to be a dad and we are so lucky because he is so funny and has got a great little personality already.
“Sometimes, though, I will have a little sleep in my dressing room – just don’t tell my wife!”
He could be so exhausted because of a flurry of storylines, for which he credits producer Kate Oates.
Mikey, 31, says: “My favourite period has been the two years under Kate. It has turned my time around here, I have been getting better storylines. So I suppose I’ve saved the best till last of my 10 years here.
“When I first came, I said I would do three years. But as long as you are getting storylines, why would you want to go anywhere else?
“It has taken me this long to be really happy in the show. I’m in the biggest storylines and love who I am working with so I’d be happy if they want to keep me here for a bit longer.”
Mikey’s current storyline is one of the most dramatic – and controversial – of recent years.
The Windasses have been at loggerheads with murderous Pat Phelan since he turned up four years ago.
Phelan forced Gary’s stepdad, Owen, into bankruptcy and terrorised mum Anna in to sleeping with him to clear Owen’s debts.
Now he has become the Street’s serial killer – and framed Anna so she ended up in jail for pushing Seb Franklin off a ladder.
Gary wants justice and revenge, so has joined forces with Phelan’s suspicious daughter Nicola, who is pregnant with his child, to try to unmask Phelan as the killer he is. It culminated in Gary trying to find the killer’s gun in last night’s episode.
Now, to celebrate his decade on the show, Mikey talks us through his top 10 Corrie moments.
1 THE ONE WHERE... The Windasses move in and cause mayhem
When we first got the jobs as the Windasses we all four went for a meal in Manchester. It is strange to think I am the last one standing after Debbie Rush left last year.
Gary was a real chavvy bad lad, he would fight anyone. But he has grown up a bit and matured down the years.
I felt fairly grown up at the time but I was only 21 so I wasn’t at all. I’ve spent a third of my life here. I never thought I would be lucky enough to spend that long in one job, so it has been a privilege. I got very lucky, very young and will be eternally grateful for that.
2 THE ONE WHERE.. I had a food fight at the Platts & THOSE ladies
Gary has done all right for himself down the years with the ladies. Where do we start? His first fling was with Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan). It was my first Christmas here and there was a big food fight in the Platt house. Rosie and Michelle Keegan’s character Tina had a scrap on the sofa and David and I had a fight in the kitchen.
Then there was Kylie (Paula Lane) – Gary and she slept together in Mary’s campervan. Izzy (Cherylee Houston) was his long-term love and had baby Jake thanks to surrogate Tina.
Then he tried it on with Tina but she knocked him back. How dare she?
Then Alya (Sair Khan), then Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) before he messed it up with a one-night stand with Nicola (Nicola Thorp) and got her pregnant – and now he’s back with Sarah!
3 THE ONE WHERE... I’m in the Army
This was an ITV2 spin-off with Gary in the Army in Afghanistan which was brilliant. However we didn’t go to Afghanistan – we filmed in the cold in Bolton.
4 THE ONE WHERE... Gary suffers PTSD
This one stands out because it has had the most impact, people still talk about it. Gary suffered from PTSD after Afghanistan – and it’s a big part of Gary. I met a guy who worked for the Royal British Legion who coached me and I think we were one of the first shows to cover it properly, which made it an honour to be able to do it.
With Corrie it is all about balance – you have to have the light-hearted stuff and the heavier stuff. Soaps are there to tackle issues as well as being entertainment.
5 THE ONE WHERE... We went live in 2010 and 2015
They were the most nerveracking times. It shows the naivety of youth as I had more to do on the first and I was fine. But on the second one I had a few lines, got them all mixed up, couldn’t speak. I was aware of what I was doing and that millions were watching. I’ve got a feeling they might do another one for the 60th anniversary.
6 THE ONE WHERE... I worked with Ian Puleston Davies
Without Corrie I wouldn’t have met Ian who played Owen, the boyfriend of Gary’s mum’s. He’s become my best friend and was even best man at my wedding. 7 THE ONE WHERE... I romance Alya They were engaged for a while but he didn’t get very far with her – she lost her virginity to Jason Grimshaw. If things don’t work out for Gary and Sarah Platt, maybe he and Alya might get back together. There may be some unfinished business there.
8 THE ONE WHERE... Gary gets killed off in the Ukraine – or does he?
I like it when they bring the old Gary back, the dark side, the feeling he could snap at any point. When he was a bodyguard in the Ukraine everyone thought he’d died, so it was interesting to see what job offers would come in if I was ever to be killed off.
THE ONES WHERE... The Platts and Windasses feud
This past year has been my favourite time on the show, I love working with Tina and the Platts. I think Sarah is the one for Gary. I get on great with Tina, I’m not sure she feels the same about me.
She is a great actress and it has been a pleasure the last two years working with Sarah and Lucy Fallon who plays Bethany.
There has always been a feud between the Windasses and the Platts.
I came in originally as David’s nemesis – Joe McIntyre, who was Gail’s husband, had fitted a kitchen but we didn’t pay, so Joe and David nicked it!
10 THE ONE WHERE... We plot against Pat Phelan
Phelan is the biggest villain since Richard Hillman, certainly in my time. So it is nice I’m involved because he came in as part of the Windass storyline originally. It has come full circle and we’re going to be involved at the end.
Corrie’s ratings are higher than ever, so if this storyline has turned some people off, it has turned other people on. I think it is younger viewers that are turning on, so Corrie is starting to appeal to a broader audience. The first thing anyone says to me is ‘When is Phelan going to get caught?’, so it’s definitely had an impact.
Sometimes I sleep in my dressing room – just don’t tell my wife GARY ON BEING A NEW PARENT WITH RACHAEL