Coronation Street star Mikey North has hinted that Gary Windass's new romance with Maria Connor is doomed to fail.
Fans will see the pair continue to grow closer next week, leaving Maria's ex-boyfriend Ali Neeson (James Burrows) feeling regretful and jealous.
However, in a new chat, Mikey suggested that his villainous character still isn't over his own ex-partner Sarah Platt.
Speaking about the new dynamic, Mikey explained: "It will be interesting to see whether or not Gary and Maria are with the wrong people.
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"Maybe Gary does want to be with Sarah and Maria does want to be with Ali. That may be the thing, but time will tell.
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"Gary and Maria have got a lot of stuff to come. It will be interesting to see whether this is going to alienate Maria from the street, as Gary is not the most popular person right now. He does mean well with Maria and he loves his kids, he's not all bad!"
Asked how Maria would feel if she knew the horrible truth about Gary's crimes this year, Mikey said: "If all that ever came out, then that could well be the start of the end, especially the truth about the factory roof collapse and that he killed Rick the loan shark.
"Gary has a lot of things to hide. He might be able to get away with being a loan shark himself somehow, because that is not as bad in comparison. The two big things are the factory and when he killed Rick – but I still maintain it was all in self-defence!"
Related: Coronation Street lines up shock Christmas accident for Rita Tanner
Next week's episodes see animosity grow between Gary and Ali. Gary kidnaps the hospital's disgraced former pharmacist Big Farmer, hoping to force him to reveal the truth about Ali's painkiller addiction.
Ali also does some digging of his own by getting his hands on Gary's ledger, which details the villain's dodgy dealings.
On the trouble ahead when Ali confronts Gary with the evidence, Mikey teased: "Ali is shocked to see Gary in the salon flat. Ali produces the ledger and everyone will think that that is Gary caught – there is no way out of it now.
"But Gary has got nothing to lose and when he is being backed into a corner, if anyone gets in his way, he is going to try and stop them."
Coronation Street continues on Monday (November 4) at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.
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Digital Spy Soap Scoop video – hit play below for all the latest Coronation Street spoilers, as Shona hears big news on David, and Gary goes head-to-head with Ali.
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