Corrie actor: 'Gary plot will run and run'

Coronation Street star Mikey North has confirmed that Gary Windass will continue to be affected by his Afghanistan ordeal for the rest of the year.

In recent months, the actor's alter ego has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing his best friend Quinny die during a tour of duty in the troubled country.

As the storyline has progressed, fans have seen signs that Gary is psychologically scarred by the experience as he has appeared increasingly distant and has suffered frightening flashbacks to his time in Afghanistan.

Speaking to Digital Spy about the hard-hitting plot, North explained: "I think it'll run and run. Also, the thing with post-traumatic stress is that it can return at any time - so I think this is something that will affect Gary for the next year at least.

"It's a nice storyline, as it makes a person really unpredictable, so Gary could be up to all sorts! I'm looking forward to portraying that."

Meanwhile, discussing the reaction to his recent scenes, he added: "It's been fantastic. I've had guys from quite high up in the army contacting me to thank me for the work that I've done on the storyline and for portraying it in the way that I have, which is really nice. That's a big relief for me, because obviously you want to keep it realistic when it's such a current issue."

Gary's stint in Afghanistan will be explored in greater detail on screen next week when his online spinoff show Gary's Army Diaries airs as a 30-minute special on ITV2. The programme - which is to feature unseen bonus scenes - airs on Monday at 10pm.

> Click here to read our interview with Mikey North
> Click here to read more from Mikey North in Soap Scoop