Gail Platt
Encyclopedia
Gail McIntyre is a long-standing fictional character
in the UK television ITV
soap opera
, Coronation Street
. Portrayed by actress Helen Worth
, the character first appeared on screen on 12 July 1974. She is the daughter of Audrey Roberts
and Ted Page and has featured in some of the most controversial and high profile storylines in the soap.
In 2009, Worth revealed in an interview with the Daily Mirror that she thought Coronation Street bosses were going to write the character out of the soap as an upcoming storyline would see her on trial for murder: “At the time I was genuinely anxious as to whether it was the end of the road for me and Coronation Street... I wasn’t shocked, because it can happen to an actor at any time. But I was very pleased when I found out that whatever happens at Gail’s trial, I will be staying in the show.”
(Neville Buswell
) that Tricia fancies him. The character of Gail was only intended as a friend for Tricia but has remained in the programme since her debut.
In April 1975, Gail discovers that the man her mother was living with - Frank Peterson - isn't her father as she has thought. Angry, Gail leaves home, moving into the shop flat to share with her co-worker and former schoolfriend, Tricia. Gail is plagued by nuisance telephone calls and when phone engineer, John Lane, turns up one evening to catch the culprit, Gail realises that it is him. Luckily, Emily Bishop
(Eileen Derbyshire
) sees him go in, her suspicions aroused, and the police are called.
After the warehouse they work in burns down, Gail and Tricia work in the Corner Shop, but when Renee Bradshaw (Madge Hindle
) buys the shop and flat in June 1976, the girls are evicted. Tricia leaves Weatherfield, and Elsie Tanner
(Pat Phoenix
) returns, fortunately for Gail as Elsie ensures that she and Gail remain in the flat. Elsie and Gail find work at Sylvia's Separates and both move into No 11. She loses her virginity to Roy Thornley, but discovers that he is married and Gail is cited in a messy divorce case. In December 1976, Sylvia's Separates is taken over by Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs
) and renamed the Western Front. Elsie is moved from boutique manager to factory supervisor, and Gail is made manager with Suzie Birchall (Cheryl Murray
) working underneath her. In early 1977, Elsie and Gail are joined by Suzie at No 11, and the three women become one of the programme's most popular groups.
In November 1978, Mike Baldwin closes down the Western Front as it isn't making money, but things look up for Gail in December when Brian Tilsley (Chris Quinten) gatecrashes a party at Elsie's and asks her out. In January 1979, Gail gets a job working with Emily Bishop in Dawson's Cafe. By April, Brian and Gail are engaged, beginning a long feud between Gail and Brian's mother, Ivy (Lynne Perrie
), and saw the arrival of Gail's mother, Audrey Potter (Sue Nicholls
). Brian and Gail are married the following November and move in with Brian's parents, Ivy and Bert Tilsley (Peter Dudley
) at number five. Gail and Brian move into a one-bedroomed house at 5 Buxton Close in August 1980 and on New Year's Eve, their son, Nicky
, (Warren Jackson) is born.
The Tilsleys' marriage never seems wholly secure, especially with narcissistic Brian being given free rein by his doting mother, and soon hits a rocky spot. Gail is propositioned by Brian's friend, Colin Jackson, and Brian is dazzled by customer, Glenda Fox. In January 1982, Brian's boss, Ron Sykes, announces that he is selling the business and moving to the Persian Gulf. Faced with the prospect of working away or redundancy, Brian goes to work in Qatar. Gail makes friends with neighbour, Jackie Moffatt, but bored at home on her own, Jackie agrees to babysit whilst Gail goes back part-time to Jim Sedgewick's café (she had briefly worked there when it first opened in 1980), now run by Jim's ex-wife, Alma Sedgewick, (Amanda Barrie
).
Brian announces that he is staying on in the Gulf, extending his contract by two months. Lonely, Gail agrees to go for a drink with truck driver, Les Charlton, (Graham Fellows
) but Nicky slips away from temporary childminder Jill Mason and is eventually found in the newly-rebuilt number seven. A distressed Gail thinks about giving up her job. Although Les occasionally visits Buxton Close afterwards, Gail always politely rebuffs him. Unfortunately, Les's last visit coincides with Brian's leave and he leaves Les in no doubt that he is not welcome. Brian drops plans to return to Qatar and admits having "had a drink" with a nurse - leaving Gail in no doubt that their friendship became a lot closer. In August 1982, using the £12,000 he earned in Qatar, Brian opens a garage in partnership with Ron Sykes and for a period, the Tilsleys are happy.
In March 1983, things seem to be going so well that Brian takes out a bank loan and buys Ron Sykes's share of the garage. However, there is a change in fortunes - Brian's father, Bert, is seriously injured while overinflating a tyre at the garage and dies soon afterwards, and the business starts going downhill - forcing Brian to put it up for sale. He is talked out of selling by Gail and Mike Baldwin. Instead they swallow their pride, sell the house in Buxton Close and move back into number five with Ivy.
The Tilsleys' marriage now begins to crumble. Gail and Ivy never got on, the strain of living under the same roof is telling, and when in August 1984, Gail is offered the job of manageress at Jim's Cafe, she takes it - against Brian and Ivy's advice, annoying them both. A couple of months later, there is more friction when Brian finds that Audrey's latest boyfriend, George Hepworth (Richard Moore), made a pass at Gail. By April 1985, Gail cannot take any more, she leaves Brian and moves into a bedsit with Nicky. This finally prompts Brian to get a council house and Gail moves in with him at 33 Hammond Road. Early in 1986, Brian's Australian cousin, Ian Latimer (Michael Loney) comes over and stays with Ivy. Soon he and Gail are having an affair. Gail confesses to Brian when she finds she is pregnant and doesn't know if Brian or Ian is the father. Blood tests show that Sarah-Louise (Lindsey Cunningham), who is born in January 1987, cannot be Ian's, but Brian's ego prevents him accepting Sarah-Louise as his child, and he moves in with his new girlfriend, Liz Turnbull (Catriona A Elliott). Soon after, Brian divorces Gail.
Gail starts seeing a carpenter, Jeff Singleton (Jonathan Barlow), and Brian doesn't like the idea of this boyfriend being a stand-in father. After Brian's abortive "kidnap" attempt on Nicky, Brian and Gail get back together, he moves back into Hammond Road, and they remarry in February 1988. However, Gail realises that she married too young and Brian cannot change his old-fashioned attitudes about wives and women. She asks for a divorce, and Brian's attempt to find other female company one evening results in him being stabbed to death outside a nightclub in February 1989.
Alma Sedgewick returns to Weatherfield from Spain late in 1988, and in June 1989 offers Gail a 40% partnership in Jim's Cafe, which she accepts. Martin Platt
(Sean Wilson) has been working at the cafe since 1985. To Gail's surprise, she finds herself attracted to Martin, who is 11 years younger than her. When Gail finally breaks down from the strain of her recent past, it is Martin who is there to comfort her, and a few kisses leads to them ending up in bed together.
(Thomas Ormson
) is born on Christmas Day 1990. Gail and Martin marry in September 1991 and in December, Martin buys number eight and the Platt family move in.
Gail's emotional trials are far from over. When Martin studies to become a nurse, a fellow student Carmel Finnan (Catherine Cusack
) moves in with them in late 1992, becoming besotted with Martin. After she tells Gail that she is too old for him, Gail throws her out. A few weeks later Carmel returns, claiming she is be pregnant by Martin, and tries kidnapping David. A struggle with Gail ensues and Carmel falls down the stairs. At hospital, it is found that she isn't pregnant and her grandfather arrives, explaining her mental history.
During 1994, tensions build as Nicky refuses to acknowledge Martin as a "father", driving a wedge between Martin and Gail. This comes to a head when Martin, depressed after Christmas celebrations at work, sleeps with nurse, Cathy Power (Theresa Brindley). Unfortunately for Martin, his stepfather-in-law, Alf Roberts
, (Bryan Mosley
) catches them kissing. Alf and Martin keep it secret but after Audrey finds out, Martin feels he has to confess to Gail. Gail takes the betrayal very badly, and although they continue living in the same house, she and Martin hardly speak until reconciling after a family holiday in North Wales. However, tensions with Nick (as he then asks to be called) grow, and are considerably aggravated by Ivy's death in August 1995, who leaves virtually everything, including number five, to Nick - on the condition he changes his name back to Tilsley. Months of wrangling and bad feeling ensue, with Gail, Martin, Nick and Don Brennan (Geoffrey Hinsliff
) (Ivy's second husband) at each other's throats. In January 1996, Gail finally settles the row by getting Don to pay Nick £12,000 for the house.
Shortly after, Gail finally meets her half-brother, Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) when he comes to Weatherfield for a visit. Later in 1996, Martin and Gail's marriage is strained, due to conflict between Nick and Martin. Stephen invites the family to Canada for a holiday and Nick decides to stay in Canada to finish his schooling using the money he received from Don for Ivy's house. Roy Cropper
(David Neilson
) begins working in the café with Gail when Alma wants to spend less time there and eventually, Alma sells her share in the café to Roy after she and Gail fall out over Stephen's decision to cancel his contract with Mike.
Gail and Roy get on quite well and things tick over as usual. Roy even presents Gail and Martin with a weekend in Paris using vouchers he has saved. In 1997, Don is in prison after attacking both Mike and Alma but later goes to hospital with terminal cancer and asks to see Gail to make amends for the anger and resentment he has caused since Ivy's death. Don leaves hospital, attacking Mike and crashes Alma's car into the viaduct, killing himself. Nick (now played by Adam Rickett) returns from Canada for the funeral and takes up with Leanne Battersby
(Jane Danson
), daughter of a loud and obnoxious family now living in number five. Gail is furious when Nick and Leanne elope to Scotland in January 1998. Brian's murderer is paroled from prison and because Nick has got in contact with him using Leanne's name, he starts skulking around. Gail urges Nick to report him to the police when things start to get out of control. The killer, Darren Whately, is sent back to prison. Leanne becomes pregnant with Nick's baby, something Gail disapproves of, and Nick and Leanne separate when their marriage goes sour after Leanne's abortion. Nick returns to Canada, much to Gail's delight, that he is no longer with Leanne, behaviour very similar to her former mother-in-law, Ivy.
Gail tires of her responsibility of the café and sells her share to Roy and his new girlfriend Hayley Patterson (Julie Hesmondhalgh
), but continues to work there. The café relocates in 1999 to a new development on Victoria Street and is renamed Roy's Rolls. 1999 also sees the beginning of the end of Gail and Martin's marriage. Tensions rise when Gail insists Martin have a vasectomy because she had a pregnancy scare and doesn't want to have more children. When Martin refuses, they become very cold towards each other. Unbeknownst to Gail, Martin then begins an affair with nurse Rebecca Hopkins (Jill Halfpenny
) which carries over into 2000.
Shortly after Sarah's (now played by Tina O'Brien
) 13th birthday in January 2000, Gail becomes concerned about Sarah refusing to eat because she feels she is putting on weight. One day, Gail hears Sarah being sick and takes her to the doctor, worried that she has an eating disorder but they discover that Sarah is pregnant. Sarah is five months gone, giving birth to Bethany (Emily & Amy Walton) in June 2000. Sarah struggles with motherhood and Gail stops working at the café to babysit Bethany while Sarah is in school and enjoy being a teenager from time to time. The truth about Martin's affair comes out soon after the baby's birth and Gail is devastated. She tries to hold her family together for a short while but it just isn't working and she tells Martin to leave, divorcing in early 2001. Soon after Martin leaves, Gail gets a job as a receptionist in the newly built medical centre.
The character of Gail then becomes central to one of the soap's most high profile plot lines in which episodes would go on to get viewing figures more than 17 million. At first, Gail grows closer to her good friend Alma's cousin Richard Hillman
(Brian Capron
), a financial advisor, after Alma's death from cancer. Smooth-talking Richard whisks Gail off her feet, and they marry in 2002. Little does she know that her apparently perfect husband, due to financial difficulties, has become a serial killer to inherit money, murdering several Weatherfield residents and tries to kill others including Gail's mother, Audrey. When Audrey begins suspecting Richard, she tried warning Gail and urge her to phone the police, but Gail, believing her mother was suffering from dementia, as Richard had initially made everyone, including Audrey, believe. This led to them falling out and Gail cutting off contact with her mother when she continued to accuse Richard of being a murderer, much to Audrey's heartache. Also, while Gail was still oblivious to Richard's actions, Sarah was involved in a serious car crash with then boyfriend Aidan Critchley (Dean Ashton), after he steals Ken Barlow's (William Roache
) car. Aidan escapes from the wreckage leaving Sarah trapped inside. Gail is devastated when Sarah is put on a life-support machine with her life hanging on the balance. Fortunately, Sarah wakes from her coma some weeks later and makes a full recovery.
When Gail begins to suspect that her husband is more than he seems, she confronts him with her suspicions. Richard confesses everything to Gail in a special two-hander
episode broadcast on 24 February 2003, admitting to the murders of Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw
) and his ex-wife Patricia (Annabelle Apsion
). He also reveals that he had tried to kill Emily Bishop, Audrey, and left Rovers' landlord Duggie Ferguson (John Bowe) to die, over a year previously, all for his own financial benefit. Gail also discovers that Richard is a serial con-artist.
Absolutely horrified, Gail brands him "Norman Bates With A Briefcase" and throws him out before telling the police the identity of the street serial murderer. Gail then reconciles with Audrey. Just as Gail begins to get her life back on track, Richard returns to Weatherfield some weeks later in March 2003. He ties Gail and the children up, after a failed attempt at gassing them in the garage, he drives them into the canal, attempting to kill them all. Gail, David (Jack P Shepherd), Sarah and Bethany escape unharmed, but Richard drowns. Gail later finds out that Richard has left her in debt and her money is gone as their accounts are frozen. Gail faces financial ruin and looks set to lose her house. Vera Duckworth
(Liz Dawn
) is very critical of Gail and accuses her of being in league with Richard, as she and Jack
(Bill Tarmey
) also face financial instability due to Richard being their financial advisor. However, Audrey saves the day by using her life savings to buy the house for Gail and her family.
However, trouble for Gail continues. There is soon conflict with Sarah when Sarah moves her and Bethany into a flat with Todd Grimshaw
(Bruno Langley
). Gail tries to have Sarah declared an unfit mother, so that Bethany can be taken off her and Todd, and Sarah will have no choice but move back in with her mother. When this doesn't work, Gail and Sarah have no contact with each other for several months. Sarah becomes pregnant again and she and Todd get engaged, something which further angers Gail. However, Todd soon reveals to Sarah that he is gay, resulting in them breaking up and Sarah and Bethany moving back in with Gail. It also resulted in a catfight on the street between Gail and Todd's mother Eileen Grimshaw
(Sue Cleaver
). Sarah then gives birth to a boy whom she names Billy, but he dies soon after the birth.
Gail also spends several months trying to come between Nick and his new girlfriend Maria Sutherland
(Samia Smith
), as she believes that Maria will only break Nick's heart like she did when they previously dated for a short time. They eventually do break up, and despite being very cold towards each other for several months, Gail comforts Maria when she is devastated that Nick has gone to London to take up a new job.
In 2005, Gail begins dating chiropodist Phil Nail (Clive Russell
), much to son David's annoyance and constantly tries to come between them.
On Christmas Day 2006, David unveils Ivy Brennan's diary, which reveals Gail’s planned abortion and expose his grandmother Audrey's affair with Bill Webster
(Peter Armitage
). David runs away from home when Gail tells him she wants him to start paying rent, but comes home with the police, after telling them that Gail is abusing him. The final straw for Gail is when her granddaughter Bethany swallows an ecstasy tablet, left in her doll's head by David in September 2007. Bethany is rushed to intensive care and following an ultimatum from Sarah, Gail makes David move out. David is distraught but Gail remains strong and orders him not to attend Sarah and Jason Grimshaw
's (Ryan Thomas
) wedding. As revenge, David writes a suicide note and leaves it on the kitchen table for Gail to find the day before the wedding; however, Sarah finds it first and, as she believes it is yet another attention-seeking stunt by her brother, it ends up in the bin.
On Sarah's wedding day, David sees his family starting to celebrate the wedding, despite the suicide note, not realising only Sarah has seen it. To prove his point, he drives his car into the same part of the canal that Richard had driven them all into over four years previously. A distraught Gail waits for hours for news on whether he is alive or dead, and he eventually does turn up, Gail swears to him that she will never let the situation get so out of hand again. Her relationship with Sarah becomes strained when it is revealed that Sarah was fully aware of David's suicide note, when in fact he hadn't intended on killing himself at all, just ruin Sarah's wedding.
In late 2007, Gail's half-brother Stephen comes to stay for Christmas. He offers David a job in Milan which he immediately accepts. However, as revenge for spoiling her wedding day, Sarah plants ecstasy tablets in his drawer in the salon. Audrey finds them and Gail insists David is not to go to Milan. Sarah is then offered the job instead and she leaves with Jason and Bethany. However, she soon joyfully tells Jason what she did. Shocked, he returns to Weatherfield and tells Gail everything.
On 3 March 2008, Tina McIntyre
(Michelle Keegan
) - David's girlfriend - reveals that she is pregnant with David's baby. Gail insists that Tina keep her pregnancy a secret from David and offers to pay for a termination, which Tina accepts. When David discovers their deception, he pushes Gail down the stairs in a fit of anger, leaving her hospitalised and suffering short term amnesia. Gail eventually remembers who pushed her but forgives David nonetheless. However, believing that he should be punished when Gail refuses to press charges against him, David begins smashing up windows on the street leading to him spending several weeks in prison, being sentenced on the day of Gail's 50th birthday.
In April 2008, Ted Page (Michael Byrne
), Gail's long lost father, gets in touch with her mother, Audrey. Gail finds out and is angry that she is not told. However, she arranges to meet Ted after he discovers he is a father, grandfather and great-grandfather. On 12 May 2008, Gail meets Ted, and is shocked when Ted explains he has just lost James, his boyfriend of 20 years. On the same day, Gail reveals that she was a "Blairite" and voted for the Labour Party
.
Gail begins to take a shine to Tina's father, Joe McIntyre
(Reece Dinsdale
), and the couple go on several secret dates as Gail does not want their relationship to become public knowledge. In November 2008, David and Tina react badly when they discover Gail and Joe's relationship; however, they later come around to the idea and give the couple their consent.
On Christmas Day 2008, Gail is shocked when the celebrations at the house descend into chaos with her family brawling with their neighbours, the Windasses. Joe angrily orders Eddie
(Steve Huison
), Anna
(Debbie Rush
) and Gary Windass
(Mikey North
) out by hurling food at them. This shows a side of Joe Gail has never seen and she tells him that she never wants him to behave like that again as it is a reminder of the bad men from her past.
In March 2009, Gail and Joe temporarily break up following the aftermath of Gary's trial for assaulting David. Tina angrily tells Gail that Joe was only living with her as he had been evicted from his flat and had nowhere to go. In turn, Joe finds out from David that Gail paid for Tina to have an abortion a year previously. Joe moves out but Gail eventually lets him stay as he has nowhere else to go. In taking pity on him, she realises that she still has deep feelings for him, especially after he injures his back and is forced to stay at the house. The couple subsequently reunite.
However, Joe soon becomes addicted to prescription drugs and later robs Gail's pharmacy for paracetamol and is arrested in August 2009. In early November 2009, Joe proposes to Gail on a boat he has renovated, calling it Gailforce. However, unknown to Gail, Joe has been struggling with his debts and is frequently visited by debt collector Rick Neelan (Greg Wood
). When Joe finally can't cope with the situation and tells Gail, she is at first furious but then decides to help him by offering to sell her house.
On 8 January 2010, Gail marries Joe. Just weeks into the marriage, Gail discovers the true extent of Joe's financial woes after she catches him trying to arrange a quick, cheap sale on the house behind her back, in order to pay off Rick. In February 2010, while Gail and Joe are on holiday at the Lakes, Joe attempts to fake his own death in order to scam money from the insurers. He tells Gail, who is mortified at the plan, and tries to get him to go to the police before they have an argument on the boat Joe had bought and renovated in 2009. During the fight, Joe falls and sprains his wrist. Unknowingly to Gail the fight is witnessed by another couple who are staying at the Lakes. He then throws Gail back onto the dock and sets sail.
Shortly after setting sail, Joe falls from the boat and drowns. Gail thinks that Joe has gone through with his plan when, unbeknownst to Gail, he is dead after falling from the boat and drowning. Gail calls David and tells him everything about Joe's plan to fake his own death. They hatch a plan to tell everyone that Joe is on a job, thinking that he will return to the Street, and Gail insists the police are not informed as she doesn't want Joe to get in trouble. They take Joe's boat in from the lake and return to the Street.
Gail is devastated when Joe's body is located, thinking that he had been alive and well, despite not having received any phone calls from him. Gail comes under suspicion for Joe's death as she is forced to reveal everything about the insurance scam to the police. When police discover Gail's signature upon Joe's life insurance policy (which Joe had forged prior to his death, unbeknownst to Gail), suspicion increases. When the couple from the Lakes come forward as witnesses in the investigation and tell the police about Gail's blazing fight with Joe on the boat, more inconsistencies in her story become apparent to the police.
On 15 March 2010, Gail is arrested during Joe's wake for his murder, after an indignant Tina informs the police that Gail is planning on leaving the country to go to Milan. She also tells the police that Gail persuaded her to lie to them. In the next episode broadcast on 18 March 2010, Gail is denied bail and her trial is scheduled for 6 July 2010, later changed to early June due to a case cancellation. In May 2010, Gail is shocked to discover the identity of her new cellmate - former neighbour Tracy Barlow
(Kate Ford
). Unbeknownst to Gail, Tracy has struck a deal with the police, that she will extract a confession from Gail in exchange for a move to an open prison.
Gail then goes on to tell Tracy about the night of Joe's death and she continues to protest her innocence. However, Tracy, manipulating Gail's story, tells the police that Gail has admitted to killing Joe with a rolling pin. The police are initially sceptical, but eventually find a rolling pin hidden behind a wardrobe in the bedroom of the house Gail and Joe had been staying in. Tracy quickly arranges to be moved out of her cell just as Gail is told what has transpired from her solicitor. Devastated, she pleads her innocence. She then calls David and Nick (now played by Ben Price
) to tell them the news, and an enraged David hurls abuse at Ken and Deirdre Barlow
(Anne Kirkbride
) in the Rovers, telling them what Tracy has done. He concocts a plan of his own, deciding to find someone to lie that they had seen Joe push Gail off the boat that night, countering Tracy's lies with opposing ones. Both he and Nick bribe a Polish cleaner to make the false testimony, unknown to Gail.
The trial seems to be going badly for Gail where she even defends herself in a dramatic outburst during Tracy's testimony against her. Gail fears the worst but is both surprised and relieved when the jury find her not guilty of Joe's murder. Later on she sees Deirdre and Ken who admit to trying to talk Tracy out of lying, but Gail doesn't accept their apology and tells Ken he should be ashamed of himself.
Gail then begins to take against Audrey's new boyfriend Lewis Archer
(Nigel Havers
), especially after she learns from an old friend of Audrey's, Claudia Colby (Rula Lenska
), that Lewis works as an escort, which is how Audrey met him, and that Claudia was another client of Lewis, as was Rita Sullivan
(Barbara Knox
). Gail is also surprised when Audrey reveals plans to sell her house and business and relocate to Greece
with Lewis permanently to run a hotel. However, this plan falls through when the truth about Lewis's shady personality, where he double crosses the bookies on several occasions, comes to light. Although Gail is sorry for Audrey, she cannot help but feel a little happy that she was for once right about warning her mother about a boyfriend of hers when Audrey had a long history of warning Gail off about her men and was proved right each time. When it is also revealed that Lewis kissed Deirdre, Gail's feud with the Barlows, over Tracy's attempts to frame her, boil over and she gets into a fight with Deirdre and throws a cake in her face.
In September 2010, Gail becomes suspicious of Nick's fiancée Natasha Blakeman
(Rachel Leskovac
) and spies on her medical records at the medical centre. She is shocked to discover that Natasha has had an abortion, whilst pretending to still be pregnant with Nick's baby. A furious Gail confronts Natasha with the truth, and later tells Nick about her deception, which leads to her attempting suicide. On 27 September 2010, Natasha gets her revenge on Gail when she tells Dr Carter (Oliver Mellor
) that Gail illegally accessed her records. He immediately sacks Gail for breaching the rules of patient confidentiality, while Natasha leaves Weatherfield, pleased that Gail has paid dearly for ruining her relationship with Nick. Gail returns to the medical centre the following day to ask Dr Carter to re-instate her, only to find out that she has been replaced by Deirdre.
In October 2010, David is arrested for the attempted murder of Graeme Proctor
(Craig Gazey
) when it appears he tried to run him over in his car. Although David claims he has no memory of the incident, Gail expresses her suspicions that David had intended to run over Graeme as he had been jealous of Graeme's current romance with Tina. However, the case is postponed when it is revealed that David is showing signs of developing epilepsy after he collapses in the hallway of the courthouse before facing his hearing. While this may prove David's innocence, he is still angry with Gail for not believing him and he moves in with Audrey. However, they make up and Gail is delighted to see David and Graeme being friendly towards each other in the Rovers.
Gail receives a shock on Christmas Eve 2010, when enemy Tracy Barlow
(Kate Ford
) makes an unexpected return to the Street, after being granted bail pending a retrial. Gail is aghast that Tracy has been released and confronts her in the Rovers, culminating in a cat fight between the two women. On New Year's Eve 2010, a gleeful Tracy later reveals to Gail that she has seduced both David and Nick, much to her horror. A few hours later, Tracy is attacked by a mystery assailant and left for dead, with Gail one of the suspects for the assault. Gail has no alibi, as she was alone when Tracy was attacked, so she forms a false alibi with her son, David, who she believes is innocent.
In March 2011, Gail learns that David has got engaged to Kylie Turner
(Paula Lane) when he returns from a holiday in Tenerife, and is completely against the marriage. She is even more enraged when Audrey decides to sign the salon over to David, as she sees Kylie as a golddigger who will break David's heart. Determined to get rid of her, she offers Kylie a bribe of £1,000 to leave David before the wedding. When she accepts the money, Gail is delighted, however, on the day of the wedding she receives a shock when Kylie proves her true love to David and turns up at the registry office and the couple marry.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the UK television ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
. Portrayed by actress Helen Worth
Helen Worth
Helen Worth is an English actress, best known for her portrayal of the Coronation Street character Gail McIntyre- Early life :...
, the character first appeared on screen on 12 July 1974. She is the daughter of Audrey Roberts
Audrey Roberts
Audrey Roberts is a long-standing fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Sue Nicholls, the character first appeared during the episode aired on 16 April 1979....
and Ted Page and has featured in some of the most controversial and high profile storylines in the soap.
Creation
Actress Helen Worth was cast as Gail Potter in 1974. The character of Gail was initially intended for a very minor role where she played the part of friend of the more established character Tricia Hopkins who was introduced as part of a new family. The Hopkins made little impact to the show during their tenure and after they were written out, Gail was kept on and went on to become one of the show's most popular and high profile characters in its history. The character is still heavily involved in current storylines. Although Helen Worth was 23 at the time of her casting, the character of Gail was 16 upon her arrival.Development
The character of Gail was first portrayed as a teenager who liked to have fun with her best friends, first Tricia and later Suzie Birchall. However, following her first marriage to mechanic Brian Tilsley her storylines have seen her constantly suffer many blows and misery. She has had four husbands, three children, and two grandchildren, although her grandson died in infancy. Her storylines have seen her feuding with a domineering mother-in-law, deal with affairs, two divorces, being widowed, deal with traumas from each of her children, marry a serial killer who in turn tried to kill her and her family, and even been imprisoned to await a murder trial after being falsely accused of murdering her fourth husband. Throughout each of these ordeals, her personality altered from laid back to a bitter, miserable and bossy woman, a clone of her former mother-in-law Ivy Tilsley. She has been known to interfere in her children's lives as family is important to her and she didn't come from a stable family background. Her mother gave birth to her at 18 because she thought it would help her get the baby back that she had been forced to give up for adoption two years previously. Gail's father was never told about her and as a result, she was mostly brought up by her grandmother or to fend for herself while her mother went out with a string of men. This caused Gail to become a headstrong, independent young woman. However, she always swore that her own children would have a proper family life, living with both their parents. However this hasn't worked out and she has been left with repeated failed marriages and being a single mother to her children. She interferes in her children's lives, thinking she is helping and knows what's best, causing many arguments in the process and feuding with whoever gets involved with her children, just like her own relationship with Ivy. Particularly after marrying a serial killer and putting her children's lives in danger, Gail's interfering has increased immensely. Actress Helen Worth has stated that she loves Gail's storylines as the many traumas give her great opportunities as an actress.In 2009, Worth revealed in an interview with the Daily Mirror that she thought Coronation Street bosses were going to write the character out of the soap as an upcoming storyline would see her on trial for murder: “At the time I was genuinely anxious as to whether it was the end of the road for me and Coronation Street... I wasn’t shocked, because it can happen to an actor at any time. But I was very pleased when I found out that whatever happens at Gail’s trial, I will be staying in the show.”
1974–1989
Teenager Gail Potter enters the series on 12 July 1974 as a friend of Tricia Hopkins (Kathy Jones) when she tells Ray LangtonRay Langton
Raymond Anthony "Ray" Langton was a major character in the British television soap opera Coronation Street. He was played by Neville Buswell. An ex-borstal boy, Ray built up a reputation as a troublemaker. He first appeared in the Street in 1966 but was forced out by Len after he threatened Lucille...
(Neville Buswell
Neville Buswell
Neville Buswell is a British actor, best known for his role as Ray Langton in Coronation Street.Neville Buswell attended Belmont Abbey School near Hereford from 1955-1960...
) that Tricia fancies him. The character of Gail was only intended as a friend for Tricia but has remained in the programme since her debut.
In April 1975, Gail discovers that the man her mother was living with - Frank Peterson - isn't her father as she has thought. Angry, Gail leaves home, moving into the shop flat to share with her co-worker and former schoolfriend, Tricia. Gail is plagued by nuisance telephone calls and when phone engineer, John Lane, turns up one evening to catch the culprit, Gail realises that it is him. Luckily, Emily Bishop
Emily Bishop
Emily Bishop is a long-standing fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street...
(Eileen Derbyshire
Eileen Derbyshire
Eileen Derbyshire, MBE is an English actress, best known for her role as Emily Bishop on the soap opera Coronation Street. She has played the character since 1961, making her the longest-serving female cast member in a British soap opera...
) sees him go in, her suspicions aroused, and the police are called.
After the warehouse they work in burns down, Gail and Tricia work in the Corner Shop, but when Renee Bradshaw (Madge Hindle
Madge Hindle
Madge Hindle is a British actress, best known for her roles on television series.Madge's big break came when her good friend, British playwright Alan Bennett, asked her to appear in his 1966 BBC comedy series On the Margin.From 1968 to 1973, she played the role of Lily Tattersall on the series...
) buys the shop and flat in June 1976, the girls are evicted. Tricia leaves Weatherfield, and Elsie Tanner
Elsie Tanner
Elsie Tanner is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Patricia Phoenix from 1960 to 1973 and from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was one of the original core characters on Coronation Street and appeared in the very first episode...
(Pat Phoenix
Pat Phoenix
Patricia "Pat" Frederica Phoenix was an English actress who became one of the first sex symbols of British television through her role of Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street.-Early life and career:Born in Ireland to Anna Maria Josephine Noonan and Tom Manfield, but moved to Manchester before...
) returns, fortunately for Gail as Elsie ensures that she and Gail remain in the flat. Elsie and Gail find work at Sylvia's Separates and both move into No 11. She loses her virginity to Roy Thornley, but discovers that he is married and Gail is cited in a messy divorce case. In December 1976, Sylvia's Separates is taken over by Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs
Johnny Briggs (actor)
Johnny Briggs, MBE is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera Coronation Street, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006...
) and renamed the Western Front. Elsie is moved from boutique manager to factory supervisor, and Gail is made manager with Suzie Birchall (Cheryl Murray
Cheryl Murray
Cheryl Murray is an English actress, best known for her role as Suzie Birchall on the soap opera Coronation Street, which she played from 1977 to 1979 and again in 1983....
) working underneath her. In early 1977, Elsie and Gail are joined by Suzie at No 11, and the three women become one of the programme's most popular groups.
Lynne Perrie
Lynne Perrie was an English actress. She was born Jean Dudley in Rotherham, Yorkshire, and was the sister of comedian Duggie Brown. She was best known for her roles as Mrs. Casper in Ken Loach's 1969 film Kes, and as Ivy Tilsley in Coronation Street from 1971-1994.-Career:After Rotherham Grammar...
), and saw the arrival of Gail's mother, Audrey Potter (Sue Nicholls
Sue Nicholls
Susan Frances Harmar Nicholls is an English actress, best known today for her long-running role as Audrey Roberts in British soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life:...
). Brian and Gail are married the following November and move in with Brian's parents, Ivy and Bert Tilsley (Peter Dudley
Peter Dudley
Peter Dudley was an English character actor best known for his role as Bert Tilsley in television's Coronation Street; a role he played continuously from 1979 until 1983.His period in the programme was however dogged by controversy...
) at number five. Gail and Brian move into a one-bedroomed house at 5 Buxton Close in August 1980 and on New Year's Eve, their son, Nicky
Nick Tilsley
Nicholas Paul "Nick" Tilsley is a fictional character in the British soap opera Coronation Street. Originally known as "Nicky", he was the first-born child of Brian Tilsley and Gail Platt , and has been portrayed by three different actors. Warren Jackson from 1981 to 1996, then by Adam Rickitt...
, (Warren Jackson) is born.
The Tilsleys' marriage never seems wholly secure, especially with narcissistic Brian being given free rein by his doting mother, and soon hits a rocky spot. Gail is propositioned by Brian's friend, Colin Jackson, and Brian is dazzled by customer, Glenda Fox. In January 1982, Brian's boss, Ron Sykes, announces that he is selling the business and moving to the Persian Gulf. Faced with the prospect of working away or redundancy, Brian goes to work in Qatar. Gail makes friends with neighbour, Jackie Moffatt, but bored at home on her own, Jackie agrees to babysit whilst Gail goes back part-time to Jim Sedgewick's café (she had briefly worked there when it first opened in 1980), now run by Jim's ex-wife, Alma Sedgewick, (Amanda Barrie
Amanda Barrie
Amanda Barrie is an English actress.-Career:Born as Shirley Anne Broadbent, Barrie attended St Anne's College, St Anne's on Sea. She then trained at the Arts Educational School in London and later at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School...
).
Brian announces that he is staying on in the Gulf, extending his contract by two months. Lonely, Gail agrees to go for a drink with truck driver, Les Charlton, (Graham Fellows
Graham Fellows
Graham David Fellows is an English comedy actor and musician, best known for creating the characters of John Shuttleworth and Jilted John.-Early life:...
) but Nicky slips away from temporary childminder Jill Mason and is eventually found in the newly-rebuilt number seven. A distressed Gail thinks about giving up her job. Although Les occasionally visits Buxton Close afterwards, Gail always politely rebuffs him. Unfortunately, Les's last visit coincides with Brian's leave and he leaves Les in no doubt that he is not welcome. Brian drops plans to return to Qatar and admits having "had a drink" with a nurse - leaving Gail in no doubt that their friendship became a lot closer. In August 1982, using the £12,000 he earned in Qatar, Brian opens a garage in partnership with Ron Sykes and for a period, the Tilsleys are happy.
In March 1983, things seem to be going so well that Brian takes out a bank loan and buys Ron Sykes's share of the garage. However, there is a change in fortunes - Brian's father, Bert, is seriously injured while overinflating a tyre at the garage and dies soon afterwards, and the business starts going downhill - forcing Brian to put it up for sale. He is talked out of selling by Gail and Mike Baldwin. Instead they swallow their pride, sell the house in Buxton Close and move back into number five with Ivy.
The Tilsleys' marriage now begins to crumble. Gail and Ivy never got on, the strain of living under the same roof is telling, and when in August 1984, Gail is offered the job of manageress at Jim's Cafe, she takes it - against Brian and Ivy's advice, annoying them both. A couple of months later, there is more friction when Brian finds that Audrey's latest boyfriend, George Hepworth (Richard Moore), made a pass at Gail. By April 1985, Gail cannot take any more, she leaves Brian and moves into a bedsit with Nicky. This finally prompts Brian to get a council house and Gail moves in with him at 33 Hammond Road. Early in 1986, Brian's Australian cousin, Ian Latimer (Michael Loney) comes over and stays with Ivy. Soon he and Gail are having an affair. Gail confesses to Brian when she finds she is pregnant and doesn't know if Brian or Ian is the father. Blood tests show that Sarah-Louise (Lindsey Cunningham), who is born in January 1987, cannot be Ian's, but Brian's ego prevents him accepting Sarah-Louise as his child, and he moves in with his new girlfriend, Liz Turnbull (Catriona A Elliott). Soon after, Brian divorces Gail.
Gail starts seeing a carpenter, Jeff Singleton (Jonathan Barlow), and Brian doesn't like the idea of this boyfriend being a stand-in father. After Brian's abortive "kidnap" attempt on Nicky, Brian and Gail get back together, he moves back into Hammond Road, and they remarry in February 1988. However, Gail realises that she married too young and Brian cannot change his old-fashioned attitudes about wives and women. She asks for a divorce, and Brian's attempt to find other female company one evening results in him being stabbed to death outside a nightclub in February 1989.
Alma Sedgewick returns to Weatherfield from Spain late in 1988, and in June 1989 offers Gail a 40% partnership in Jim's Cafe, which she accepts. Martin Platt
Martin Platt
Martin Platt is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, portrayed by Sean Wilson.-Departure:Actor Sean Wilson was axed from Coronation Street when a major storyline conference decided the character of Martin had been "played out". At the time, it was said that...
(Sean Wilson) has been working at the cafe since 1985. To Gail's surprise, she finds herself attracted to Martin, who is 11 years younger than her. When Gail finally breaks down from the strain of her recent past, it is Martin who is there to comfort her, and a few kisses leads to them ending up in bed together.
1990–2005
Much against Ivy and Audrey's wishes, Gail allows Martin to move in with her. She becomes pregnant, and feeling that she can't cope with another child or allow Martin to be tied down when he is so young, she decides to have an abortion. Martin catches her just as her train pulls out of the station, and consequently DavidDavid Platt (Coronation Street)
David Daniel Platt is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 26 December 1990 and is portrayed by actor Jack P...
(Thomas Ormson
Thomas Ormson
Thomas Ormson is a young English actor who played David Platt on Coronation Street from 1990 to 2000. He acted along with Sean Wilson, Helen Worth, Lynsay King, Emma Collinge and Adam Rickitt.In 2000 Jack P. Shepherd took over the role....
) is born on Christmas Day 1990. Gail and Martin marry in September 1991 and in December, Martin buys number eight and the Platt family move in.
Gail's emotional trials are far from over. When Martin studies to become a nurse, a fellow student Carmel Finnan (Catherine Cusack
Catherine Cusack
Catherine Cusack is a British actress. She is the half-sister of the actresses Sinéad Cusack, Sorcha Cusack and Niamh Cusack, and the fourth daughter of the actor Cyril Cusack and his second wife Mary Rose Cunningham's only child...
) moves in with them in late 1992, becoming besotted with Martin. After she tells Gail that she is too old for him, Gail throws her out. A few weeks later Carmel returns, claiming she is be pregnant by Martin, and tries kidnapping David. A struggle with Gail ensues and Carmel falls down the stairs. At hospital, it is found that she isn't pregnant and her grandfather arrives, explaining her mental history.
During 1994, tensions build as Nicky refuses to acknowledge Martin as a "father", driving a wedge between Martin and Gail. This comes to a head when Martin, depressed after Christmas celebrations at work, sleeps with nurse, Cathy Power (Theresa Brindley). Unfortunately for Martin, his stepfather-in-law, Alf Roberts
Alf Roberts
Alfred Sidney "Alf" Roberts was a fictional character in the British ITV soap Coronation Street. He ran a grocery shop at No. 15 and was heavily involved in local politics, including two spells as mayor of Weatherfield...
, (Bryan Mosley
Bryan Mosley
Bryan Mosley OBE was a British actor, known best as grocer Alf Roberts in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street.- Early life :...
) catches them kissing. Alf and Martin keep it secret but after Audrey finds out, Martin feels he has to confess to Gail. Gail takes the betrayal very badly, and although they continue living in the same house, she and Martin hardly speak until reconciling after a family holiday in North Wales. However, tensions with Nick (as he then asks to be called) grow, and are considerably aggravated by Ivy's death in August 1995, who leaves virtually everything, including number five, to Nick - on the condition he changes his name back to Tilsley. Months of wrangling and bad feeling ensue, with Gail, Martin, Nick and Don Brennan (Geoffrey Hinsliff
Geoffrey Hinsliff
Geoffrey Hinsliff is an English actor best known for his portrayal of Don Brennan in Coronation Street from 16 August 1987 to 8 October 1997. He had previously played other characters in the same programme, in 1963 and 1977....
) (Ivy's second husband) at each other's throats. In January 1996, Gail finally settles the row by getting Don to pay Nick £12,000 for the house.
Shortly after, Gail finally meets her half-brother, Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) when he comes to Weatherfield for a visit. Later in 1996, Martin and Gail's marriage is strained, due to conflict between Nick and Martin. Stephen invites the family to Canada for a holiday and Nick decides to stay in Canada to finish his schooling using the money he received from Don for Ivy's house. Roy Cropper
Roy Cropper
Royston "Roy" Cropper, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor David Neilson, the character was introduced during the episode airing on 19 July 1995. Originally a secondary character, he was given a more prominent role in 1997, by the...
(David Neilson
David Neilson
David Neilson is an English actor best known for portraying Roy Cropper in Coronation Street from 1995 onwards....
) begins working in the café with Gail when Alma wants to spend less time there and eventually, Alma sells her share in the café to Roy after she and Gail fall out over Stephen's decision to cancel his contract with Mike.
Gail and Roy get on quite well and things tick over as usual. Roy even presents Gail and Martin with a weekend in Paris using vouchers he has saved. In 1997, Don is in prison after attacking both Mike and Alma but later goes to hospital with terminal cancer and asks to see Gail to make amends for the anger and resentment he has caused since Ivy's death. Don leaves hospital, attacking Mike and crashes Alma's car into the viaduct, killing himself. Nick (now played by Adam Rickett) returns from Canada for the funeral and takes up with Leanne Battersby
Leanne Battersby
Leanne Anika Barlow is a fictional character on the soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Jane Danson, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 4 July 1997....
(Jane Danson
Jane Danson
Jane Danson is an English actress, most famous for playing the role of Leanne Battersby in Coronation Street.-Acting:...
), daughter of a loud and obnoxious family now living in number five. Gail is furious when Nick and Leanne elope to Scotland in January 1998. Brian's murderer is paroled from prison and because Nick has got in contact with him using Leanne's name, he starts skulking around. Gail urges Nick to report him to the police when things start to get out of control. The killer, Darren Whately, is sent back to prison. Leanne becomes pregnant with Nick's baby, something Gail disapproves of, and Nick and Leanne separate when their marriage goes sour after Leanne's abortion. Nick returns to Canada, much to Gail's delight, that he is no longer with Leanne, behaviour very similar to her former mother-in-law, Ivy.
Gail tires of her responsibility of the café and sells her share to Roy and his new girlfriend Hayley Patterson (Julie Hesmondhalgh
Julie Hesmondhalgh
Julie Hesmondhalgh is an English actress.Hesmondhalgh was born in Accrington, Lancashire. As a teenager, she was moderately interested in acting, but wished to become a social worker. She applied to drama school to be with her friends, and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
), but continues to work there. The café relocates in 1999 to a new development on Victoria Street and is renamed Roy's Rolls. 1999 also sees the beginning of the end of Gail and Martin's marriage. Tensions rise when Gail insists Martin have a vasectomy because she had a pregnancy scare and doesn't want to have more children. When Martin refuses, they become very cold towards each other. Unbeknownst to Gail, Martin then begins an affair with nurse Rebecca Hopkins (Jill Halfpenny
Jill Halfpenny
Jill Halfpenny is an English actress.Halfpenny is best known for her roles as Rebecca Hopkins in the British soap opera Coronation Street from 1999–2000, and as Kate Mitchell in rival soap EastEnders, from 2002-2005...
) which carries over into 2000.
Shortly after Sarah's (now played by Tina O'Brien
Tina O'Brien
Tina O'Brien is an English actress. She is best known for playing the role of Sarah-Louise Platt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.-Acting career:...
) 13th birthday in January 2000, Gail becomes concerned about Sarah refusing to eat because she feels she is putting on weight. One day, Gail hears Sarah being sick and takes her to the doctor, worried that she has an eating disorder but they discover that Sarah is pregnant. Sarah is five months gone, giving birth to Bethany (Emily & Amy Walton) in June 2000. Sarah struggles with motherhood and Gail stops working at the café to babysit Bethany while Sarah is in school and enjoy being a teenager from time to time. The truth about Martin's affair comes out soon after the baby's birth and Gail is devastated. She tries to hold her family together for a short while but it just isn't working and she tells Martin to leave, divorcing in early 2001. Soon after Martin leaves, Gail gets a job as a receptionist in the newly built medical centre.
The character of Gail then becomes central to one of the soap's most high profile plot lines in which episodes would go on to get viewing figures more than 17 million. At first, Gail grows closer to her good friend Alma's cousin Richard Hillman
Richard Hillman
Richard Charles Hillman was a fictional character in the British television soap opera Coronation Street, played by Brian Capron. Hillman is now rated as one of the best soap villains of all time.-Development:...
(Brian Capron
Brian Capron
Brian Capron, born 11 February 1947 at Eye in Suffolk, is a British actor, who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . His father was an Algerian pilot, of French descent, who died in a plane crash before Brian was born....
), a financial advisor, after Alma's death from cancer. Smooth-talking Richard whisks Gail off her feet, and they marry in 2002. Little does she know that her apparently perfect husband, due to financial difficulties, has become a serial killer to inherit money, murdering several Weatherfield residents and tries to kill others including Gail's mother, Audrey. When Audrey begins suspecting Richard, she tried warning Gail and urge her to phone the police, but Gail, believing her mother was suffering from dementia, as Richard had initially made everyone, including Audrey, believe. This led to them falling out and Gail cutting off contact with her mother when she continued to accuse Richard of being a murderer, much to Audrey's heartache. Also, while Gail was still oblivious to Richard's actions, Sarah was involved in a serious car crash with then boyfriend Aidan Critchley (Dean Ashton), after he steals Ken Barlow's (William Roache
William Roache
William Patrick Harry Roache MBE is a British actor, best known for his role as Ken Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street...
) car. Aidan escapes from the wreckage leaving Sarah trapped inside. Gail is devastated when Sarah is put on a life-support machine with her life hanging on the balance. Fortunately, Sarah wakes from her coma some weeks later and makes a full recovery.
When Gail begins to suspect that her husband is more than he seems, she confronts him with her suspicions. Richard confesses everything to Gail in a special two-hander
Two-hander
Two-hander is a term for a play, movie, or television programme with only two main characters. The two characters in question often display differences in social standing or experiences, differences that are explored and possibly overcome as the story unfolds....
episode broadcast on 24 February 2003, admitting to the murders of Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw
Tracy Shaw
Tracy Shaw is a British actress and singer.She is best known for her role as hairdresser Maxine Peacock in British soap opera Coronation Street during the 1990s and early 2000s.-Career:...
) and his ex-wife Patricia (Annabelle Apsion
Annabelle Apsion
Annabelle Apsion is an English actress, best known for playing Monica Gallagher in the hit television comedy-drama Shameless, which she played intermittently between 2004 and 2006, before becoming a regular cast member for the show's fourth series in 2007. She left the show in 2008 in order to...
). He also reveals that he had tried to kill Emily Bishop, Audrey, and left Rovers' landlord Duggie Ferguson (John Bowe) to die, over a year previously, all for his own financial benefit. Gail also discovers that Richard is a serial con-artist.
Absolutely horrified, Gail brands him "Norman Bates With A Briefcase" and throws him out before telling the police the identity of the street serial murderer. Gail then reconciles with Audrey. Just as Gail begins to get her life back on track, Richard returns to Weatherfield some weeks later in March 2003. He ties Gail and the children up, after a failed attempt at gassing them in the garage, he drives them into the canal, attempting to kill them all. Gail, David (Jack P Shepherd), Sarah and Bethany escape unharmed, but Richard drowns. Gail later finds out that Richard has left her in debt and her money is gone as their accounts are frozen. Gail faces financial ruin and looks set to lose her house. Vera Duckworth
Vera Duckworth
Veronica "Vera" Duckworth , played by Elizabeth Dawn, is a fictional character on the British soap opera Coronation Street, first appearing in August 1974 and last appearing in episode 6,734 on 18 January 2008, where the character peacefully died in her sleep at the age of 70 from heart failure...
(Liz Dawn
Elizabeth Dawn
Elizabeth 'Liz' Dawn MBE , is an English actress, best known for her role as Vera Duckworth in the long-running British soap opera, Coronation Street...
) is very critical of Gail and accuses her of being in league with Richard, as she and Jack
Jack Duckworth
John Harold "Jack" Duckworth is a long-standing fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional town of Weatherfield. He is played by actor William Tarmey. The character debuted onscreen during the episode...
(Bill Tarmey
William Tarmey
Bill Tarmey is an English actor, singer and author, best known for playing Jack Duckworth on the soap opera Coronation Street. First appearing in the role in 1979, he played it continuously from 1983 to 2010.-Life and career:Tarmey was born in Ardwick, Manchester...
) also face financial instability due to Richard being their financial advisor. However, Audrey saves the day by using her life savings to buy the house for Gail and her family.
However, trouble for Gail continues. There is soon conflict with Sarah when Sarah moves her and Bethany into a flat with Todd Grimshaw
Todd Grimshaw
Todd James Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Coronation Street, played by Bruno Langley. He originally appeared from 13 January 2001 till 22 September 2004 and returned for a brief stint in from 15 October 2007 till 7 November 2007...
(Bruno Langley
Bruno Langley
Bruno Langley is an English actor. He is best known for playing Todd Grimshaw in Coronation Street and Adam Mitchell in Doctor Who.- Early life :...
). Gail tries to have Sarah declared an unfit mother, so that Bethany can be taken off her and Todd, and Sarah will have no choice but move back in with her mother. When this doesn't work, Gail and Sarah have no contact with each other for several months. Sarah becomes pregnant again and she and Todd get engaged, something which further angers Gail. However, Todd soon reveals to Sarah that he is gay, resulting in them breaking up and Sarah and Bethany moving back in with Gail. It also resulted in a catfight on the street between Gail and Todd's mother Eileen Grimshaw
Eileen Grimshaw
Eileen Grimshaw, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by Sue Cleaver, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 3 May 2000....
(Sue Cleaver
Sue Cleaver
Sue Cleaver is an English actress. She is best known for her regular role in Coronation Street.She studied at the Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre and her first television appearance was a small part in an episode of A Touch of Frost...
). Sarah then gives birth to a boy whom she names Billy, but he dies soon after the birth.
Gail also spends several months trying to come between Nick and his new girlfriend Maria Sutherland
Maria Sutherland
Maria Jane Connor , is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, portrayed by actress Samia Smith. The character first appeared on-screen on 19 May 2000...
(Samia Smith
Samia Smith
Samia Maxine Ghadie , is an English actress best known for playing Maria Connor in the ITV Soap Coronation Street.-Early life:...
), as she believes that Maria will only break Nick's heart like she did when they previously dated for a short time. They eventually do break up, and despite being very cold towards each other for several months, Gail comforts Maria when she is devastated that Nick has gone to London to take up a new job.
In 2005, Gail begins dating chiropodist Phil Nail (Clive Russell
Clive Russell
Clive Russell is a British actor.Clive was born in Reeth, England and brought up in Fife, Scotland.He is a familiar face on British television and has appeared in numerous television series including Boys From the Black Stuff ,Hope And Glory, Neverwhere, Great Expectations, The Mists of Avalon,...
), much to son David's annoyance and constantly tries to come between them.
2006—
From early 2006 until 21 May, Gail receives cards signed by deceased husband Richard, unnerving her so much she becomes reliant on sleeping pills and drink. She contacts the police and thinks that new boyfriend Phil is behind the cards. This suspicion also leads to a violent argument between Phil and David resulting in him and Gail breaking up and Phil moving out never to be seen again. Her relationship with David is strained to the point of breakdown when it is finally revealed that he is sending the cards. She marches him to the police to close the case, but doesn't press charges. Gail forgives David and believes that she can keep him in line, only to find out that he is playing truant from school. In October 2006, the education officer visits Gail to suggest the family have counselling for David's attitude. She also suggests that Gail attend parenting classes.On Christmas Day 2006, David unveils Ivy Brennan's diary, which reveals Gail’s planned abortion and expose his grandmother Audrey's affair with Bill Webster
Bill Webster
William Geoffrey "Bill" Webster is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Peter Armitage, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 6 February 1984. He remained in the show until 1985 when Armitage decided to leave,...
(Peter Armitage
Peter Armitage
Peter Armitage is a statistician specialising in medical statistics.Peter Armitage attended Huddersfield College and went on to read mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge. Armitage belonged to the generation of mathematicians who came to maturity in the Second World War...
). David runs away from home when Gail tells him she wants him to start paying rent, but comes home with the police, after telling them that Gail is abusing him. The final straw for Gail is when her granddaughter Bethany swallows an ecstasy tablet, left in her doll's head by David in September 2007. Bethany is rushed to intensive care and following an ultimatum from Sarah, Gail makes David move out. David is distraught but Gail remains strong and orders him not to attend Sarah and Jason Grimshaw
Jason Grimshaw
Jason Grimshaw, is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Ryan Thomas, the character first appeared during the episode airing on 25 December 2000, when he comes looking for mother Eileen at the Battersbys' home.Jason is very much the...
's (Ryan Thomas
Ryan Thomas
Ryan James Thomas and is an English actor who is currently starring as the character, Jason Grimshaw on ITV's Coronation Street.-Career:...
) wedding. As revenge, David writes a suicide note and leaves it on the kitchen table for Gail to find the day before the wedding; however, Sarah finds it first and, as she believes it is yet another attention-seeking stunt by her brother, it ends up in the bin.
On Sarah's wedding day, David sees his family starting to celebrate the wedding, despite the suicide note, not realising only Sarah has seen it. To prove his point, he drives his car into the same part of the canal that Richard had driven them all into over four years previously. A distraught Gail waits for hours for news on whether he is alive or dead, and he eventually does turn up, Gail swears to him that she will never let the situation get so out of hand again. Her relationship with Sarah becomes strained when it is revealed that Sarah was fully aware of David's suicide note, when in fact he hadn't intended on killing himself at all, just ruin Sarah's wedding.
In late 2007, Gail's half-brother Stephen comes to stay for Christmas. He offers David a job in Milan which he immediately accepts. However, as revenge for spoiling her wedding day, Sarah plants ecstasy tablets in his drawer in the salon. Audrey finds them and Gail insists David is not to go to Milan. Sarah is then offered the job instead and she leaves with Jason and Bethany. However, she soon joyfully tells Jason what she did. Shocked, he returns to Weatherfield and tells Gail everything.
On 3 March 2008, Tina McIntyre
Tina McIntyre
Tina McIntyre is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Michelle Keegan, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 7 January 2008...
(Michelle Keegan
Michelle Keegan
Michelle Elizabeth Keegan is an English actress who currently plays Tina McIntyre in the soap opera Coronation Street.-Biography:...
) - David's girlfriend - reveals that she is pregnant with David's baby. Gail insists that Tina keep her pregnancy a secret from David and offers to pay for a termination, which Tina accepts. When David discovers their deception, he pushes Gail down the stairs in a fit of anger, leaving her hospitalised and suffering short term amnesia. Gail eventually remembers who pushed her but forgives David nonetheless. However, believing that he should be punished when Gail refuses to press charges against him, David begins smashing up windows on the street leading to him spending several weeks in prison, being sentenced on the day of Gail's 50th birthday.
In April 2008, Ted Page (Michael Byrne
Michael Byrne (actor)
Michael Byrne is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. He has often been cast in Nazi military roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Obergruppenführer Odilo Globocnik in the BBC radio dramatisation of the novel Fatherland by Robert Harris...
), Gail's long lost father, gets in touch with her mother, Audrey. Gail finds out and is angry that she is not told. However, she arranges to meet Ted after he discovers he is a father, grandfather and great-grandfather. On 12 May 2008, Gail meets Ted, and is shocked when Ted explains he has just lost James, his boyfriend of 20 years. On the same day, Gail reveals that she was a "Blairite" and voted for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Gail begins to take a shine to Tina's father, Joe McIntyre
Joe McIntyre (Coronation Street)
Joseph "Joe" McIntyre was a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. The character was portrayed by actor Reece Dinsdale. Joe was introduced as the father of Tina McIntyre, and made his first appearing onscreen during the episode that aired in the UK on May 26, 2008...
(Reece Dinsdale
Reece Dinsdale
Reece Dinsdale is an English actor of stage, screen and television.-Acting career:He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1977 until 1980...
), and the couple go on several secret dates as Gail does not want their relationship to become public knowledge. In November 2008, David and Tina react badly when they discover Gail and Joe's relationship; however, they later come around to the idea and give the couple their consent.
On Christmas Day 2008, Gail is shocked when the celebrations at the house descend into chaos with her family brawling with their neighbours, the Windasses. Joe angrily orders Eddie
Eddie Windass
Edward "Eddie" Windass is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Steve Huison, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on 14 November 2008. On 5 December 2010, it was announced that Eddie is to leave Coronation Street...
(Steve Huison
Steve Huison
Steve Huison , is a British actor, mostly on TV and occasional films. He trained at the Rose Bruford College in Sidcup. He is best known for his role as "Lomper" in the massively successful UK box-office and critical hit The Full Monty . He also appeared in a Ken Loach film The Navigators, made in...
), Anna
Anna Windass
Anna Windass is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actress Debbie Rush, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 14 November 2008.-Creation and casting:...
(Debbie Rush
Debbie Rush
Debbie Rush is an English actress. She is currently playing the role of Anna Windass in Coronation Street.After training at the Manchester School Of Acting when she was in her thirties, she has also starred in Shameless and Hollyoaks in the City. Rush also filmed the role of "Pam" in the horror...
) and Gary Windass
Gary Windass
Gary Windass is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Mikey North, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 14 November 2008.-Background:...
(Mikey North
Mikey North
Michael "Mikey" North is an English actor best known for his role as Gary Windass in Coronation Street.-Early life and career:...
) out by hurling food at them. This shows a side of Joe Gail has never seen and she tells him that she never wants him to behave like that again as it is a reminder of the bad men from her past.
In March 2009, Gail and Joe temporarily break up following the aftermath of Gary's trial for assaulting David. Tina angrily tells Gail that Joe was only living with her as he had been evicted from his flat and had nowhere to go. In turn, Joe finds out from David that Gail paid for Tina to have an abortion a year previously. Joe moves out but Gail eventually lets him stay as he has nowhere else to go. In taking pity on him, she realises that she still has deep feelings for him, especially after he injures his back and is forced to stay at the house. The couple subsequently reunite.
However, Joe soon becomes addicted to prescription drugs and later robs Gail's pharmacy for paracetamol and is arrested in August 2009. In early November 2009, Joe proposes to Gail on a boat he has renovated, calling it Gailforce. However, unknown to Gail, Joe has been struggling with his debts and is frequently visited by debt collector Rick Neelan (Greg Wood
Greg Wood (actor)
Greg Wood is a British actor. He was previously known as Greg Milburn. Greg's first acting role was in Hollyoaks, playing one of the bully's in the ground breaking portrayal of Luke Morgan's rape...
). When Joe finally can't cope with the situation and tells Gail, she is at first furious but then decides to help him by offering to sell her house.
On 8 January 2010, Gail marries Joe. Just weeks into the marriage, Gail discovers the true extent of Joe's financial woes after she catches him trying to arrange a quick, cheap sale on the house behind her back, in order to pay off Rick. In February 2010, while Gail and Joe are on holiday at the Lakes, Joe attempts to fake his own death in order to scam money from the insurers. He tells Gail, who is mortified at the plan, and tries to get him to go to the police before they have an argument on the boat Joe had bought and renovated in 2009. During the fight, Joe falls and sprains his wrist. Unknowingly to Gail the fight is witnessed by another couple who are staying at the Lakes. He then throws Gail back onto the dock and sets sail.
Shortly after setting sail, Joe falls from the boat and drowns. Gail thinks that Joe has gone through with his plan when, unbeknownst to Gail, he is dead after falling from the boat and drowning. Gail calls David and tells him everything about Joe's plan to fake his own death. They hatch a plan to tell everyone that Joe is on a job, thinking that he will return to the Street, and Gail insists the police are not informed as she doesn't want Joe to get in trouble. They take Joe's boat in from the lake and return to the Street.
Gail is devastated when Joe's body is located, thinking that he had been alive and well, despite not having received any phone calls from him. Gail comes under suspicion for Joe's death as she is forced to reveal everything about the insurance scam to the police. When police discover Gail's signature upon Joe's life insurance policy (which Joe had forged prior to his death, unbeknownst to Gail), suspicion increases. When the couple from the Lakes come forward as witnesses in the investigation and tell the police about Gail's blazing fight with Joe on the boat, more inconsistencies in her story become apparent to the police.
On 15 March 2010, Gail is arrested during Joe's wake for his murder, after an indignant Tina informs the police that Gail is planning on leaving the country to go to Milan. She also tells the police that Gail persuaded her to lie to them. In the next episode broadcast on 18 March 2010, Gail is denied bail and her trial is scheduled for 6 July 2010, later changed to early June due to a case cancellation. In May 2010, Gail is shocked to discover the identity of her new cellmate - former neighbour Tracy Barlow
Tracy Barlow
Tracy Lynette Barlow is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Coronation Street. She is currently portrayed, since 2002, by Kate Ford, the latest in a series of actresses who have played Tracy at various ages...
(Kate Ford
Kate Ford
Kate Connerty is a British actress best known for playing the role of Tracy Barlow in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 2002 to 2007. Kate returned to Coronation Street on Christmas Eve 2010....
). Unbeknownst to Gail, Tracy has struck a deal with the police, that she will extract a confession from Gail in exchange for a move to an open prison.
Gail then goes on to tell Tracy about the night of Joe's death and she continues to protest her innocence. However, Tracy, manipulating Gail's story, tells the police that Gail has admitted to killing Joe with a rolling pin. The police are initially sceptical, but eventually find a rolling pin hidden behind a wardrobe in the bedroom of the house Gail and Joe had been staying in. Tracy quickly arranges to be moved out of her cell just as Gail is told what has transpired from her solicitor. Devastated, she pleads her innocence. She then calls David and Nick (now played by Ben Price
Ben Price
Ben Price is a British actor, best known for playing the third incarnation of Nick Tilsley in the ITV soap opera, Coronation Street...
) to tell them the news, and an enraged David hurls abuse at Ken and Deirdre Barlow
Deirdre Barlow
Deirdre Anne Barlow is a long-standing fictional character in the UK television ITV Granada soap opera, Coronation Street...
(Anne Kirkbride
Anne Kirkbride
Anne Kirkbride is an English actress, best known for her long-running role as Deirdre Barlow in Coronation Street which she has played for thirty-nine years.-Coronation Street:...
) in the Rovers, telling them what Tracy has done. He concocts a plan of his own, deciding to find someone to lie that they had seen Joe push Gail off the boat that night, countering Tracy's lies with opposing ones. Both he and Nick bribe a Polish cleaner to make the false testimony, unknown to Gail.
The trial seems to be going badly for Gail where she even defends herself in a dramatic outburst during Tracy's testimony against her. Gail fears the worst but is both surprised and relieved when the jury find her not guilty of Joe's murder. Later on she sees Deirdre and Ken who admit to trying to talk Tracy out of lying, but Gail doesn't accept their apology and tells Ken he should be ashamed of himself.
Gail then begins to take against Audrey's new boyfriend Lewis Archer
Lewis Archer
Lewis Archer is a fictional character from the British soap opera Coronation Street, played by Nigel Havers. He made his first on-screen appearance on 18 December 2009. Lewis is a male escort hired by Audrey Roberts, after she sees him accompanying her rival, Claudia Colby, to a Christmas party...
(Nigel Havers
Nigel Havers
Nigel Allan Havers is an English actor. He is probably best known for his BAFTA-nominated role as Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film Chariots of Fire, and for his role as Dr. Tom Latimer in the British TV comedy series Don't Wait Up...
), especially after she learns from an old friend of Audrey's, Claudia Colby (Rula Lenska
Rula Lenska
Rula Lenska is an English actress. Best known for her work in the United Kingdom, she is remembered in the United States for a television advert that presented her as a celebrity, even though she was not widely known in the US at the time the advert was produced.She has appeared extensively on...
), that Lewis works as an escort, which is how Audrey met him, and that Claudia was another client of Lewis, as was Rita Sullivan
Rita Sullivan
Rita Sullivan is a long-standing character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street...
(Barbara Knox
Barbara Knox
Barbara Knox, MBE , is an English actress, best known for playing Rita Sullivan in the television soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life:Knox was born in Oldham, Lancashire...
). Gail is also surprised when Audrey reveals plans to sell her house and business and relocate to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
with Lewis permanently to run a hotel. However, this plan falls through when the truth about Lewis's shady personality, where he double crosses the bookies on several occasions, comes to light. Although Gail is sorry for Audrey, she cannot help but feel a little happy that she was for once right about warning her mother about a boyfriend of hers when Audrey had a long history of warning Gail off about her men and was proved right each time. When it is also revealed that Lewis kissed Deirdre, Gail's feud with the Barlows, over Tracy's attempts to frame her, boil over and she gets into a fight with Deirdre and throws a cake in her face.
In September 2010, Gail becomes suspicious of Nick's fiancée Natasha Blakeman
Natasha Blakeman
Natasha Blakeman is a fictional character from the British ITV1 soap opera Coronation Street, played by Rachel Leskovac. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 12 May 2008...
(Rachel Leskovac
Rachel Leskovac
Rachel Leskovac is an Olivier award-nominated British actress best known for playing hairdresser Natasha Blakeman in the British soap opera Coronation Street.-Early life:...
) and spies on her medical records at the medical centre. She is shocked to discover that Natasha has had an abortion, whilst pretending to still be pregnant with Nick's baby. A furious Gail confronts Natasha with the truth, and later tells Nick about her deception, which leads to her attempting suicide. On 27 September 2010, Natasha gets her revenge on Gail when she tells Dr Carter (Oliver Mellor
Oliver Mellor
Oliver Mellor is a British actor and former personal trainer, perhaps best known for playing the role of Dr. Matt Carter in ITV soap opera Coronation Street since 20 August 2010.-Personal life:...
) that Gail illegally accessed her records. He immediately sacks Gail for breaching the rules of patient confidentiality, while Natasha leaves Weatherfield, pleased that Gail has paid dearly for ruining her relationship with Nick. Gail returns to the medical centre the following day to ask Dr Carter to re-instate her, only to find out that she has been replaced by Deirdre.
In October 2010, David is arrested for the attempted murder of Graeme Proctor
Graeme Proctor
Graeme Proctor is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street. Portrayed by actor Craig Gazey, the character first appeared onscreen during the episode airing on 18 April 2008....
(Craig Gazey
Craig Gazey
Craig Gazey is an award-winning English actor.He attended Eggbuckland Community College up until 1998, where he attended City College Plymouth, studying a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts. He then went on to attend Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and graduated in 2005...
) when it appears he tried to run him over in his car. Although David claims he has no memory of the incident, Gail expresses her suspicions that David had intended to run over Graeme as he had been jealous of Graeme's current romance with Tina. However, the case is postponed when it is revealed that David is showing signs of developing epilepsy after he collapses in the hallway of the courthouse before facing his hearing. While this may prove David's innocence, he is still angry with Gail for not believing him and he moves in with Audrey. However, they make up and Gail is delighted to see David and Graeme being friendly towards each other in the Rovers.
Gail receives a shock on Christmas Eve 2010, when enemy Tracy Barlow
Tracy Barlow
Tracy Lynette Barlow is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Coronation Street. She is currently portrayed, since 2002, by Kate Ford, the latest in a series of actresses who have played Tracy at various ages...
(Kate Ford
Kate Ford
Kate Connerty is a British actress best known for playing the role of Tracy Barlow in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street from 2002 to 2007. Kate returned to Coronation Street on Christmas Eve 2010....
) makes an unexpected return to the Street, after being granted bail pending a retrial. Gail is aghast that Tracy has been released and confronts her in the Rovers, culminating in a cat fight between the two women. On New Year's Eve 2010, a gleeful Tracy later reveals to Gail that she has seduced both David and Nick, much to her horror. A few hours later, Tracy is attacked by a mystery assailant and left for dead, with Gail one of the suspects for the assault. Gail has no alibi, as she was alone when Tracy was attacked, so she forms a false alibi with her son, David, who she believes is innocent.
In March 2011, Gail learns that David has got engaged to Kylie Turner
Kylie Turner
Kylie was initially described as having a "full on" personality, similar to Becky. She was also labelled a "firecracker". Lane described her as a "messed up girl, dragged up by an alcoholic mother". In her life she had to "fight for survival". Lane has also expressed her admiration of Kylie's...
(Paula Lane) when he returns from a holiday in Tenerife, and is completely against the marriage. She is even more enraged when Audrey decides to sign the salon over to David, as she sees Kylie as a golddigger who will break David's heart. Determined to get rid of her, she offers Kylie a bribe of £1,000 to leave David before the wedding. When she accepts the money, Gail is delighted, however, on the day of the wedding she receives a shock when Kylie proves her true love to David and turns up at the registry office and the couple marry.