Corrie star admits changing mind over Gary's villainous stories

Coronation Street spoilers follow.

Coronation Street actor Mikey North has revealed that his attitude toward his character, Gary Windass, has changed over time, confessing that he's not as keen to have more dark stories as he used to be.

Since Gary first arrived on the cobbles back in 2008, his character has evolved into an inadvertent killer, having been responsible for the deaths of both Rick Neelan and Rana Habeeb.

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But actor Mikey has told Digital Spy and other media that he's started to enjoy acting out the light-hearted plots just as much as his dramatic villainous scenes.

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"When I was younger, and I think this is my 14th or 15th year now, in these interviews all I said was: 'I just want to be the bad guy. I love being the bad guy and getting into fights and all of that,'" he said.

"But maybe it's me getting a little bit older. It's all good doing that, but playing the nicer, happy, jack the lad, there's a bit of comedy in there and I've definitely started to enjoy that more as I've got older. I like the best of both worlds of getting to do bits of both."

As Gary scrambles to keep his murder of criminal Rick a secret, not least from Rick's daughter Kelly Neelan (Millie Gibson), he looks to be heading down an ever murkier path. But Mikey reckons that Gary's dark side is, in some ways, a reflection of his efforts to do the right thing.

"Gary has got a temper on him and he does things without thinking, but it was all for a purpose and for a reason," he said. "Rick's murder in particular was all in self-defence. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

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"A lot of trouble he gets into is through him trying to do the right thing but doing the wrong thing. He's not doing it for being nasty's sake. There is often a method behind his madness, it's just not very thought out."

But with Gary's situation becoming ever more precarious, does Mikey think that his character should actually face justice for Rick's murder? The actor isn't too sure.

"I think it depends totally on the manner of how that happens," he explained, using serial killer Pat Phelan as an example of somebody who was "kidnapping" and "killing" people "for the sake of that".

He continued: "But if there is that redeeming factor and we can show that someone has changed themselves around, or there is a reason why they did it in the first place, I think it becomes more forgivable. I think it just depends on the circumstances."

laura neelan, gary windass, coronation street

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No matter what Gary has done in the past, Mikey has always felt close to the character, even admitting they'd probably be friends in real life.

"He always means well and as he's got older, he's become a little bit softer and a little bit more amenable as time has gone on," he said. "I've liked seeing him evolve."

Unfortunately for Gary, his house of cards could be about to come crashing down as he's forced to make a confession to Rick's ex-wife Laura Neelan (Kel Allen), following her decision to hire a private investigator to find out what has happened to Rick.

"By this point, Gary and Laura have grown quite close and they've taken care of each other," Mikey said. "She starts asking questions and he just cracks. He can't put up with it anymore. He thinks there are no other options.

"It's going to come out any day, so Gary might as well tell Laura the truth. He snaps at her and tells her everything."

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV and streams on the ITV Hub.