James Burrows
“Ali is loaded into an ambulance – it’s not looking good for him!”
Doctor Ali bids farewell to Weatherfield with a heavy heart this week, after his battle with Gary over Maria spirals wildly out of control! Having learned from Adam that exes Maria and Ali recently slept together, furious Gary plots a sickening revenge that involves arranging his love rival’s drink to be spiked with diazepam – the same drug that addicted Ali has spent months trying to kick. To Gary’s horror, though, his plan to turn Maria against her ex-boyfriend goes too far when Ali collapses and is rushed to hospital!
However, that’s just the start of the drama, as desperate Ali later kidnaps Maria in a twisted attempt to make her see Gary for the villain he truly is…
“Ali knows Gary is a wrong’un, but he needs Maria to see”
“Ali just wants to get through to Maria,” explains James Burrows, who plays the exasperated GP. “He’s one of the few people that knows Gary is a wrong’un, and Ali just needs her to realise – even if it means he and Maria can’t be together.”
Weatherfield’s most volatile love triangle has been bubbling away for weeks, yet Maria is adamant that her future lies with Gary. While Ali reluctantly accepts her decision, he has absolutely no idea that Gary plans to give him a taste of his own medicine – literally – to ensure that Maria never strays in his direction again.
When Gary’s debt-collecting buddy Sharon calls by his office to pick up loan shark Rick Neelan’s list this week, he asks her to teach Ali a lesson in return…
The next thing Ali knows, he starts to feel faint – then suddenly collapses.
“Ali’s colleague Dr Gaddas goes to help him, but because Toyah knows about Ali’s addiction struggles, she feels obligated to mention that he may have taken drugs,” shares James. “Ali is loaded into an ambulance, and it’s really not looking good for him.”
Panic-stricken Gary leaves a message for Sharon telling her that if Ali dies, she’s to blame. Meanwhile, Maria visits Ali in hospital, where angry Ryan accuses her of playing Ali and Gary off against each other.
“Ryan thinks that Maria’s behaviour has pushed Ali to start taking drugs again,” reveals James. “When Ali comes round, he insists that he hasn’t taken anything, but sadly Ryan doesn’t believe him. At this point, Ali is certain that his drink was spiked – and that Gary was behind it.”
What happens next ends with poor Maria afraid for her life, as Ali aims to convince her of Gary’s guilt. After spotting
Ali sitting in his car, Maria climbs into the passenger seat and quizzes him about his supposed overdose. However, what she doesn’t bank on is Ali completely flipping his lid, and locking her inside the vehicle!
“When Maria starts asking
Ali about taking drugs again, he snaps,” winces James. “He starts driving really fast, while desperately trying to explain to Maria that Gary set him up. However, Ali’s behaviour is so erratic that it has the opposite effect. There is no way that Maria is going to believe he’s clean when he’s acting in such a crazy fashion.”
Once Ali realises that Maria is terrified, he stops the car and lets her out. When she returns home, Maria tells Gary that Ali reckons it was him who set him up. The trouble is, Gary has now become so good at spinning Maria a yarn that he convinces her that Ali’s a maniac – before coming face to face with his rival and warning him to stay away.
With nothing left to lose, will Ali seize the opportunity to teach Gary a lesson of his own? While that remains to be seen, the doc decides a fresh start is in order, as he resolves to leave the cobbles for good.
“I think it’s the realisation that Gary has won,” sighs James. “He has forced Ali to behave in such a way that he has pretty much driven Maria back into Gary’s arms, and there’s no way that Ali can stick around and watch the two of them be together.
“Ali is a good man. However, he knows that he has caused problems for the likes of Maria and Toyah – two women who just wanted to help him,” adds the star. “So the only way forward that he can see now is to move away.”
After clearing the air with Maria, saying his goodbyes to Toyah and old flame Carla, and an emotional farewell with Ryan, Ali leaves the Street. Is Maria set to regret letting him go if she ever comes to see Gary’s true colours?
Ali’s certain his drink was spiked – and that Gary did it…”