Gary Windass (Mikey North) has a few skeletons in his closet, and his crimes look set to finally catch up with him in upcoming Coronation Street scenes.
Since he and his wife Maria (Samia Longchambon) offered to take in struggling teen Kelly Neelan (Millie Gibson), it seemed inevitable that at least one of Gary’s secrets would slip out.
Viewers will remember that Gary killed Kelly’s gangster father Rick (Greg Wood) in self-defence. Now that Rick’s terminally ill ex-wife – and Kelly’s mother – Laura (Kel Allen) is staying with the family, interest in locating the ‘missing’ man has suddenly been reignited.
But even the most hardcore Corrie fan would be forgiven for needing a refresher course on this storyline, given that Gary committed this murder way back in the Summer of 2019.
Here’s all you need to know about the story so far, including Gary’s other crimes and who knows what.
Who did Gary Windass kill in Coronation Street?
!["Gary]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2019/06/19_07_coro_gary_rick_01-b555f90-e1647432497537.jpg?quality=90&crop=18px%2C0px%2C2353px%2C1567px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Coronation")
Before we delve into the Rick Neelan saga, we must first look back at one of the show’s most devastating deaths.
In March 2019, fan-favourite Rana Habeeb (Bhavna Limbachia) perished on her wedding day to fiancée Kate Connor (Faye Brookes) after the factory roof collapse.
The nation wept as Rana passed away in Kate’s arms, while Corrie teased that a mystery character had caused the tragedy by sabotaging the roof of the building.
It was eventually revealed that a desperately skint Gary was responsible, wanting to obtain the building work to fix it afterwards.
When Rick Neelan later abducted and kidnapped Gary over his unpaid debts, Gary left a voicemail on his now ex-partner Sarah Barlow’s (Tina O’Brien) phone confessing his guilt, which he later deleted after escaping danger.
Soon after this close call, the loan shark made another attempt on Gary’s life and he was forced to strike a fatal blow, before burying Rick’s body in the woods.
Weeks later, Gary conveniently told Rana’s brother Imran (Charlie de Melo) that her death was down to Rick – a lie that everyone swallowed.
Read more:
- 6 Coronation Street spoilers for next week: Adam left for dead?
- Coronation Street’s Gary Windass kills Rick Neelan
- Coronation Street’s Gary ‘confesses’ to killing Rana
Who knows that Gary Windass is a killer?
!["coronation]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2020/09/02_10_coro_gary_maria_sarah_05-bf70d91.jpg?quality=90&crop=265px%2C0px%2C2992px%2C1993px&resize=620%2C413" "\"02_10_coro_gary_maria_sarah_05\"")
This is where it gets confusing! As it stands, the Weatherfield locals currently believe that Rick was behind the factory disaster that took Rana’s life, rather than the actual guilty party, Gary. But there are a few characters who are aware that he killed Rick.
Sarah was horrified when she learnt that a watch she bought as a present for her husband Adam (Sam Robertson) had been found in a woodland area by opportunistic Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove). She soon worked out it was Rick’s based on the inscription and confronted Gary.
He admitted that he had killed the other man to protect her, and was poised to call the police until Gary saved her from an oncoming car. At this point, Sarah decided to keep quiet about what she knew, but when Adam later stumbled across the watch he demanded answers.
When Sarah told him of Gary’s crime, Adam was all set to hand him in. Sarah then made an anonymous call to report the whereabouts of the body but stopped herself from naming Gary – aware that he could bring her down with him as he knew of her part in Callum Logan’s (Sean Ward) death. Rather than telling Adam about that, Sarah gave him an ultimatum: forget about all things Gary, including Rick’s murder, or they would have no future. Adam agreed to end the vendetta there.
What’s next for guilty Gary Windass?
!["Coronation]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2019/05/gary-photo-7569363.jpg?quality=90&crop=28px%2C6px%2C5128px%2C3416px&resize=620%2C413" "\"Coronation")
Meanwhile, after marrying Maria, Gary was forced to tell her about Rick when she walked in during one of his many confrontations with Sarah, and Maria dumped him. Gary successfully moved Rick’s body after learning the police were about to start a search and was reunited with Maria after she accepted the circumstances surrounding the killing. Are you keeping up? Impressive work if you are!
Next week, Gary panics when he realises that the County training ground has been moved to the same spot he moved Rick’s body to. With Laura still intent on locating her ex to secure his cash for Kelly, the private investigator informs her that every scrap of evidence points to Gary – just as Gary tries and fails to break into the building site to gain access to the body.
Laura later confronts Gary, and with the pressure getting to him, will he end up confessing again? If Laura does discover the truth, what will she do? Could she report him to the police, or end up listening to his side of the story and taking into account how much he has helped her daughter?
Speaking of which, will Kelly find out what Gary did to her dad? Gary’s days may well be numbered.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV and ITV Hub. Visit our dedicated Coronation Street page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers