IT’S GOOD TO BE BAD
WHEN Mikey North first arrived in Coronation Street 11 years ago as Gary Windass, young lads wanted to fight him – now they want to be his mate.
The 33-year-old strutted on to the cobbles in 2008 and has gone from petty thief and winder-upper of David Platt to murderous loan shark.
Next week he’ll get his biggest storyline to date – front and centre of the soap’s festive offering – a bloody gun siege that will leave someone dead. Happy Christmas, soap fans.
The storyline will also see the ex-soldier being outed as Weatherfield’s loan shark as his past sins come back to haunt him.
Mikey, who is from Yorkshire, and became a dad for a second time last month, is loving being Corrie’s latest villain. He said: “Everyone hates him.
“First time round when I arrived and he was a chavy bad boy I was hated by everyone, but mostly young lads wanting to fight me.
“This time round I am hated by everyone but now the young lads are coming up to me and saying Gary is a legend, they have gone from wanting to fight him to wanting to have a drink with him and be his mate.”
While Gary’s storyline has included the accidental death of Rana Habeeb following his factory roof sabotage, and the very deliberate murder of gangster Rick Neelan, whose loan shark business he took over, Mikey’s only Christmas cracker was back when he joined.
He said: “I’ve never really had a big Christmas Day storyline apart from my first Christmas when I was having a food fight in the Platts.
“Gary was going out with Rosie Webster but I’ve never had anything like this.”
Not that being the centre of one of the most watched shows this Christmas will make him want to watch.
Mikey – whose wife Rachael gave birth to daughter Eliza last month,
Gunpoint showdown in the Rovers and Winter Wonderland helter skelter set to put viewers in a spin as character’s past catches up with him
joining son Archie, two – admitted he leaves the family to watch Corrie.
He said: “I used to watch myself all the time but less so now – you can see yourself too much and actors are often wrong about their performance.
“You think it is OK and it’s not then you think you have done something terribly and it has worked.
“I watched it growing up and it was always on the list of things to watch on Christmas Day. My family will definitely be watching it but I don’t know if I can watch myself on Christmas Day.”
Not that he’s moaning. Far from it. As well as terrorising the cash-strapped Corrie citizens, Gary is also about to have another child – his third – this time with girlfriend Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon).
He said: “Playing these storylines is great, I have loved all the private detective scenes and I love working in the furniture shop. It is like a different world for Gary.
“It’s not the normal world of Coronation Street, the scenes we do in there are heightened. Gary has different relationships with different people too – whether it is the women in his life, his enemies or Fiz in the shop, so I’m very lucky that I get to work with so many great people.”
The Christmas chaos begins on Monday when a sozzled Derek Milligan (Craige Els ) lets slip that it’s Gary who owns the factory.
In revenge, Gary flexes his muscles by kidnapping Derek and holding him hostage so he misses his holiday to Florida with his children.
Mikey reveals Gary is trying to be good for Maria and their unborn child. He said: “He is battling himself, he has got another child on the way and he is trying to stay legit and build a life for him and Maria, then Derek comes meddling around again and that triggers something and Gary reverts to type and starts behaving in a not very nice way again.
“It is arguably one of the worst things Gary has done throughout the whole of the past year, it was horrible to film as he is just downright cruel.
He takes him hostage knowing his kids are waiting for him at the airport – forget burying a loan shark in the woods, this is just heartless.
“Rick was evil but Derek hasn’t done an awful lot wrong so it is pretty bad even by Gary’s standards.
“Gary reads out texts from Derek’s wife saying he will never see them all again so Derek has lost everything. He then leaves him tied up in the furniture shop. Basically, Gary is responsible for what happens next.” On Christmas Eve, Fiz (Jennie McAlpine) drops off items from a house clearance at the furniture shop. Gary realises the antique gun is still live. In Christmas Day’s episode, he discovers the gun and ammo has gone missing. Gary initially accuses Ali and fights with him in the pub. Then Derek bursts into the Rovers and points the rifle at the evil loan shark. As shocked punters cower, Gary lures Derek outside into the Winter Wonderland.
At one point, a drunk Derek balances on top of the Wonderland’s helter skelter looking for the man who has ruined his life. As Derek stalks the cobbles hellbent on revenge on Gary for ruining his chance to see his kids, others could be in the line of fire, including Adam Barlow – played by Scot Sam Robertson who, despite the fear, takes the opportunity to propose to Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien). Shona (Julia Goulding) could also be caught up in the crossfire. The new bride has organised a treasure hunt for David’s ( Jack P Shepherd) birthday and wrapped herself up as a present in a cardboard box.
Mikey loved filming the dramatic night scenes in the funfair set. He said: “It’s difficult trying to give a good performance at four in the afternoon, never mind four in the morning. Seriously though it was a lot of fun, we had stunt coordinators and fight scenes, and lots of the cast are involved.
“I loved filming the Gary and Derek scenes on the helter skelter. Craige was brilliant. To make an impact in such a short time is no mean feat.”
Corrie at Christmas starts on Monday with two episodes and continues on Christmas Eve and with a Christmas Day shocker at 8pm on STV.
It’s arguably one of the worst things Gary’s done
MIKEY NORTH AKA GARY WINDASS