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Gary Windass is a fictional character and primary protagonist of the ITV British soap opera Coronation Street.
He was introduced in 2008 as a member of the Windass Family. Since then Gary became involved in several of the show's major plotlines over the years, some of which have often seen the character develop anti-heroic traits and even a brief villainous stint over the course of his duration.
The character is portrayed by Mikey North.
Development[]
Gary was brought into the series along with his family in November 2008. Gary was introduced as the archenemy to major long-running character David Platt. Gary's role in the series acted as an antagonist, as he would often get into feuds with David. Later in 2009, it was decided to mature the character and he joined the army following some advice from Ted Page. His feud with David was also toned down, and the pair became friendly in 2010.
In 2019, Gary was developed into a murderer after indirectly killing Rana and murdering ruthless loan shark Rick Neelan. Gary was described as being similar to Mike Baldwin, due to him being a villain but also an anti-villain in the series. Unlike most Corrie killers Gary wasn't written out by being sent to prison or killed off, and instead remained as one of the leading protagonists.
Biography[]
Gary Windass first came to Weatherfield in 2008 along with his wayward family.
Upon arrival, Gary instantly clashed with local resident David Platt and the pair embarked on a feud. At one point Gary constantly mocked David over his dodgy past which resulted in David punching him. David tried to lie and get his girlfriend Tina to say in court Gary had threw the first punch . She ultimately refused which ended their relationship. In revenge David pretended to make peace with Gary and sent him to rob his grandmother Audrey's house. Gary went down for 2 months when David tipped of the police and Gary refused his uncle Len's offer for an alibi. When he returned to the street he hinted to David that he orchestrated the beating he had suffered by using friends he made in prison.
Gary made several disrespectful remarks about the armed forces but felt bad about them after being called out by David's grandfather Ted and fellow neighbour Peter Barlow. He was then inspired to enlist but was traumatized by seeing his friend Quinny die in front of him. This gave him PTSD resulting in him being dishonourably discharged when he attacked a police officer on a night out with David who he had made peace with when David hid him after he ran away from the army. The PTSD made him become paranoid and controlling about his girlfriend Izzy Armstrong which led to the end of their relationship.
When Anna and Eddie adopted a girl named Faye Gary quickly became protective of her and helped her warm to her parents.
Gary and Izzy were ultimately able to reconcile but she was infertile so they turned to Tina to be a surrogate which David resented. After the baby was burn Tina initially wanted to keep it but was convinced by her boyfriend Tommy Duckworth to do the right thing and give the child Jake to Gary and Izzy.
Gary had been working with Izzy's father Owen who was also dating Anna as a construction worker. But problems arose when Owen's business partner Pat Phelan made unwanted advances towards Anna. In revenge Gary hit Phelan over the head with the plank which caused Phelan to blackmail them, forcing them to do work for practically nothing, leaving the family bankrupt and coercing Anna into sleeping with him which Gary comforted her over when he found out.
Gary's relationship with Izzy ended when she found out he cheated on her with Alya Nazir, Gary began dating Alya for awhile after that but dumped her after finding out she betrayed him by sleeping with his friend Jason Grimshaw.
Gary found out that Bethany Platt was being bullied and supported her which made her mother Sarah suspect something more sinister but she learned Gary was just trying to help and began a relationship with him. Later that year Gary saved David's daughter Lily when his attempt to avenge the death of his wife inadvertently put her in danger. Gary punched David since it resulted in his mother being injured but agreed to keep quiet for Sarah's sake. Gary supported the Platt family when Bethany was groomed by Nathan Curtis.
Gary's relationship with Sarah ended when she found out from David that he had got Phelan's daughter Nicola Rubinstein pregnant. David was furious when Sarah forgave Gary and ended up up beating him with in an inch of his life during a charity boxing match. Gary realised David was suffering from trauma and helped him get a lenient punishment by defending him in court. Gary was furious when Phelan framed Anna for attempted murder and tried to prove her innocence to no avail though she was eventually released and Phelan's crimes were exposed.
Gary was coerced into working for loan shark Rick Neelan and put his family in danger when he turned on Rick in order to protect people from him and his minions. Gary killed Rick to prevent any harm from coming to his loved ones. It was also revealed he sabotaged the underworld factory roof to escape his debt to Rick, which consequently resulted in the death of neighbour Rana Habeeb and left a devastating impact for many people afterwards; Rana's grieving brother Imran had a difficult time coping with the loss, whilst factory boss Carla Connor suffered a mental breakdown due to her guilt over the tragedy.
Soon afterwards, Gary took over Rick's loan shark business and exhibited a much darker side to his newfound personality. This started when his relationship with Sarah collapsed due to the extent of his lies, and he reacted violently when she broke up with him. Sarah later confined to Imran's friend Adam Barlow over her problems with Gary, and this started a feud between Adam and Gary. It was then Gary found out that Carla's surrogate nephew, Ryan Connor, unwittingly took his money and began hassling him for repayment. On the deadline day, Gary brutally beat up Ryan for failing to meet the payment requirements.
At the same time, Gary became romantically involved with Carla's relative-in-law Maria Connor and the two began dating with each other. Their relationship developed around the stage where Maria's romance with Ryan's estranged half-brother, Ali Neeson, had fallen apart because of his personal problems and how they affect her life. Soon enough Gary and Ali formed a conflict with each other over Maria's affections. Gary eventually married Maria and he became a father figure to her son Liam. However, not long afterwards, Ali's opposition reached boiling point and Gary later goaded Ali into attacking him just to get him arrested for assault; Ali then left the street afterwards.
Over the next few months, Gary reverted to his more compassionate self. He soon found himself reacquainted with Rick's daughter Kelly, who he initially helped out of guilt for her father's death before later becoming a parental figure to her as time went on. Kelly later found out the truth that Gary killed Rick and originally planned to have him killed in revenge, but she ultimately decided to rescue him and leave the street for the sake of his family. Over a year later, Gary helped Maria in supporting Liam when the latter was bullied in school.
Trivia[]
- Mikey North (the actor who played Gary Windass) had received several awards and nominations for his contribution to both the character's performance and it's high-profile storylines.
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