Coronation Street’s Gail Platt to Depart After Five Decades

Helen Worth, the actress portraying Gail, a prominent and often troubled character on Coronation Street, is scheduled to leave Weatherfield on Christmas Day, concluding her 50-year tenure on the program. Worth has consistently played Gail since 1974, during which time the character has experienced numerous domestic conflicts, relationships, disagreements, and even incarceration. ITV’s soap opera confirmed in June that her departure would involve “a major storyline for the Platt family,” anticipating an exit characteristic of her eventful on-screen life. The 73-year-old actress expressed feeling “truly blessed” regarding her extensive career on Coronation Street. Prior to her two-part Christmas finale, the following provides a review of seven of the beloved character’s most notable storylines. **Spoiler alert:** This article includes information from the Christmas Eve episode. During her second-to-last episode on Tuesday, Gail appeared distressed on the eve of her seventh marriage, this time to Jesse Chadwick, with whom she plans to relocate to France. Should they marry on Christmas Day, she will match Steve McDonald of Street Cars for the record of the most married character on the Street. In 1979, Gail Potter (her maiden name) first married Brian Tilsley (Christopher Quinten). Brian later divorced her due to her affair with Ian Latimer, as he questioned the paternity of their daughter, Sarah. The couple reconciled and remarried in 1988; however, their reunion was not joyful. Brian was fatally stabbed in an alley after an evening out. In 2000, Gail was stunned to learn that Sarah (Tina O’Brien) was pregnant at 13. Gail had taken her daughter to the doctor for symptoms of sickness and lack of appetite, prior to the revelation of the pregnancy. Gail told her crying daughter, “You can’t be pregnant if you’ve not had sex.” Gail’s expression gradually shifted to shock as the truth became apparent. Reflecting on her experience as a young actress at the time, O’Brien informed BBC News this week that Worth “literally held my hand throughout” the experience. O’Brien stated, “We were expected to do press [interviews] and I was quite a young girl and quite self-conscious and shy, and she was just so kind and wonderful with me.” Ultimately, the storyline concluded positively, with Sarah’s on-screen daughter Bethany (portrayed by Lucy Fallon) now an adult and still part of the series. Following multiple heartbreaks, including the murder of her first husband and the infidelities of her second spouse, Martin Platt (Sean Wilson), Gail seemingly found contentment in 2002 upon marrying Richard Hillman (Brian Capron). However, to her dismay, it was revealed that her new husband had murdered his ex-wife and Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw), in addition to attempting to kill Gail’s mother, Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls), and neighbor Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire). Gail famously described Richard as “Norman Bates with a briefcase,” referencing the serial killer from Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film *Psycho*. She subsequently ended the marriage, which prompted Richard to abduct her, her son David, Sarah, and Bethany, intending to murder them all. Over 19 million viewers witnessed the storyline’s peak as he drove her and her family into a canal, resulting in only his own death. The Christmas Eve episode concluded with Gail encountering a “ghost of Christmas past.” In 2004, Gail, angered by Todd Grimshaw’s (Bruno Langley) treatment of her daughter Sarah, became involved in an altercation with his mother Eileen (Sue Cleaver) that escalated onto the street. After shouting at both Todd and Eileen, Gail provoked Eileen into slapping her, leading to a physical confrontation involving hair-pulling. When Eileen’s other son, Jason (Ryan Thomas), arrived from work still wearing a hard hat, Gail exclaimed, “Here they are, the rest of the Village People!” The rivalry between the two women persisted over the decades, punctuated by periods of respectful truce, during which they exchanged barbs concerning their romantic lives. The feud reignited significantly in 2015 when they clashed over the affections of Gail’s fifth husband, Michael (Les Dennis). Cleaver verified to the BBC that, in reality, they had “never pulled each other’s hair” or “punched or slapped each other,” and had maintained a close friendship for many years. She commented, “I think there’s going to be a huge hole left by Helen leaving.” Cleaver added, “We’ve finished filming and you can feel her absence.” She continued, “You’re just so used to seeing her, that twinkly-eyed little lady who’s just a ball of joy, she’s going to be hugely missed.” Cleaver concluded, “I mean, that character – she’s such an icon. She’s one of the last greats.” Eileen was not the sole Weatherfield resident to face Gail’s wrath when Gail defended her family. In 2010, Gail, known for her passionate loyalty, engaged in an aggressive food fight with Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) after Deirdre was was discovered kissing Audrey’s partner. A cake-covered Deirdre cried, “Ken, do something!” Gail married again in 2010, to Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale). This marriage also ended unhappily, as Joe planned to fake his death to escape debts. However, he accidentally drowned during a boat trip, resulting in Gail’s arrest for murder after witnesses reported seeing the couple argue about his scheme. While incarcerated, Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) falsely claimed that her cellmate Gail had confessed to Joe’s murder. Fortunately for Gail, one of the Street’s most beleaguered characters, she was acquitted and released. Gail also experienced difficulties with her son David (Jack P. Shepherd), once accusing him of intentionally inflicting “fear and misery to everyone in this family.” She dramatically added, “We’ve had sleepless nights. I’m on pills, for God’s sake!” By 2016, David was married, but his marriage tragically concluded when his wife Kylie (Paula Lane) was fatally stabbed, dying in his arms. Gail advised him to be truthful with his children about the event. In an emotional, tearful scene, she recounted her own struggle to inform her eldest son Nick (currently Ben Price) about his father Brian’s death, noting that the experience had traumatized the boy. Gail told David, with a wry laugh to ease the tension, “It was just about the worst conversation of my life. And it’s had some competition.” Price informed the BBC that while his on-screen mother’s major storylines “were great,” he would most miss the “beautiful bits in between” with her. He elaborated, “For me, it’s being welcomed into the Platts’ [house] in the morning, or having a cup of tea, or going, ‘Don’t worry mum’.” Price described these moments as “Corrie and were gold,” adding, “They make me smile.” In 2018, Gail effectively conveyed the shock and sorrow of Weatherfield residents after the tragic suicide of factory owner Aidan Connor. During an emotional monologue, she contemplated how little people truly know about each other’s lives, as the scene transitioned between various characters receiving the news. The sequence was initially intended to be silent, but writer Jonathan Harvey explained to BBC News: “It felt like it needed the gravitas of one of our longest-running characters to pass comment on the community that, when the programme started, was close-knit, looked out for each other and knew everybody’s business. That’s the cliche of what soaps are.” He added that Gail’s message was, “And yet [she was saying], if you did know everybody’s business then you would have seen this coming.” This impactful scene received a nomination for a Bafta Must See Moment award. Regarding Worth’s concluding scenes, Iain MacLeod, Coronation Street’s executive producer, confirmed that the character will not be killed off. He informed the Daily Star, “It didn’t feel like killing her off would be right.” MacLeod elaborated, “Gail has had a hard life. She had a difficult childhood and disastrous marriages. So, we thought what viewers really want is a happy ending for her, so that’s what we’re doing.” An hour-long episode of Coronation Street will air on Christmas Day at 19:00 GMT on ITV. Additional reporting was provided by Lizo Mzimba. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.