Coronation Street's Gail bids farewell after 50 years

Coronation Street's longstanding, long-suffering quality Gail volition bid farewell to Weatherfield connected Christmas Day, aft 50 years connected the cobbles.

Actress Helen Worth has stuck with the quality done heavy and bladed since 1974, and fans person seen Gail upwind galore home dramas, romances, bust-ups and adjacent prison.

The ITV soap announced successful June that she would depart with "a large storyline for the Platt family", and her exit is acceptable to beryllium a typically eventful affair.

The 73-year-old histrion has said she felt "truly blessed" astir her agelong Corrie career.

In her penultimate occurrence connected Tuesday, Gail was seen looking troubled connected the eve of her seventh wedding - this clip to Jesse Chadwick, with whom she is acceptable to determination to France.

If they bash necktie the knot connected Christmas Day, she'll adjacent the grounds arsenic the Street's astir joined character, alongside Street Cars stud Steve McDonald.

Viewers mightiness callback that successful 1979, Gail Potter (bonus points if you remembered her maiden name) joined Brian Tilsley (Christopher Quinten) for the archetypal time.

Brian divorced her pursuing her matter with Ian Latimer due to the fact that helium wasn't definite whether helium was truly the begetter of their daughter, Sarah.

The mates reuntied and remarried successful 1988, but it didn't extremity happily. Brian died aft being stabbed successful an alley aft a nighttime out.

In 2000, Gail was shocked to person the quality that Sarah (Tina O'Brien) was large astatine the property of 13.

She'd taken the teen to the doc simply for being sick and not eating, earlier the babe bombshell was dropped.

"You can't beryllium large if you've not had sex," declared Gail to her tearful daughter.

Shock dilatory dispersed crossed Gail's look arsenic the world dawned connected her.

Recalling however she felt astatine the clip arsenic a young actress, O'Brien this week told BBC News that Worth "literally held my manus throughout" the experence.

"We were expected to bash property [interviews] and I was rather a young miss and rather self-conscious and shy, and she was conscionable truthful benignant and fantastic with me."

It turned retired each close successful the end, with Sarah's on-screen girl Bethany being each grown up herself present (played by Lucy Fallon) and inactive connected the show.

After suffering respective heartbreaks - owed to the execution of her archetypal hubby and past the infidelities of 2nd spouse Martin Platt (Sean Wilson) - Gail appeared to person recovered happiness successful 2002 erstwhile she joined Richard Hillman (Brian Capron).

But to her horror, it transpired her caller beau had murdered not lone his ex-wife but besides Maxine Peacock (Tracy Shaw), arsenic good arsenic attempting to termination Gail's ain mum Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) and neighbour Emily Bishop (Eileen Derbyshire).

Gail, with a present legendary line, branded Richard arsenic "Norman Bates with a briefcase", a notation to the serial slayer successful classical Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho.

She past ended the marriage, which led to Richard kidknapping her, her lad David, Sarah and Bethany with the volition of sidesplitting them all.

An assemblage of much than 19 cardinal watched the communicative scope its climax arsenic helium drove her and her household into a canal... sidesplitting lone himself.

Christmas Eve's occurrence ended with Gail receiving a sojourn from a definite shade of Christmas past.

In 2004, aggravated astatine however Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley) was treating her girl Sarah, Gail recovered herself embroiled successful a combat with his parent Eileen (Sue Cleaver) that spilled retired connected to the street.

Having yelled astatine some Todd and Eileen, Gail goaded the second into slapping her, earlier each (hair-pulling) hellhole broke loose.

When Eileen's different lad Jason (Ryan Thomas) arrived connected the country from work, inactive wearing a hard hat, Gail declared: "Here they are, the remainder of the Village People!"

As the decades rolled on, the feud continued - but for a respectful ceasefire - with each pistillate aiming digs astatine the different astir their respective emotion lives.

It exploded again decently successful 2015 erstwhile the brace argued implicit the affections of Gail's 5th hubby Michael (Les Dennis).

Cleaver confirmed to the BBC that they had "never pulled each other's hair" oregon "punched oregon slapped each other" successful existent life, and had successful information been bully friends for galore years.

"I deliberation there's going to beryllium a immense spread near by Helen leaving," she said. "We've finished filming and you tin consciousness her absence.

"You're conscionable truthful utilized to seeing her, that twinkly-eyed small woman who's conscionable a shot of joy, she's going to beryllium hugely missed.

"I mean, that quality - she's specified an icon. She's 1 of the past greats."

Eileen was not the lone Weatherfield pistillate to beryllium connected the receiving extremity of Gail's choler erstwhile defending her family.

In 2010, the tempestous but loyal Gail had an aggresive nutrient combat with Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) aft Deirdre was recovered to person kissed the spouse of Gail's mum, Audrey.

"Ken, bash something!" exclaimed a cake-splattered Deidre.

In 2010, Gail got joined again, this clip to Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale).

This 1 wasn't immoderate happier successful the end, though, arsenic helium decided helium was going to fake his ain decease owed to debts.

But helium accidentally drowned for existent connected a vessel trip, starring to his caller woman being arrested for execution aft witnesses said they'd seen the mates arguing (about his aforementioned plan).

In prison, troublemaker Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) lied that her cellmate Gail had confessed to sidesplitting Joe.

Luckily for 1 of the street's astir downtrodden characters, Gail was recovered not blameworthy and released.

Gail had her troubles with lad David (Jack P. Shepherd) arsenic well, erstwhile accusing him of delibrately causing "fear and misery to everyone successful this family".

"We've had sleepless nights," she added dramatically. "I'm connected pills, for God's sake!"

By 2016, David was a joined antheral himself. However, that came to a tragic extremity erstwhile his woman Kylie (Paula Lane) was stabbed to death, dying successful David's arms.

Gail's motherly proposal was for him to beryllium honorable with his ain children astir what had happened.

In a heart-rending, tear-filled scene, she recalled the time she had struggled to archer her eldest lad Nick (nowadays Ben Price) the information astir his dada Brian being killed, explaining that the lad had been near scarred.

"It was conscionable astir the worst speech of my life," Gail told David, with a wry laughter to interruption the tension. "And it's had immoderate competition."

Price told the BBC that portion his on-screen mum's large storylines "were great", helium would miss the "beautiful bits successful between" with her the most.

"For me, it's being welcomed into the Platts' [house] successful the morning, oregon having a cupful of tea, oregon going, 'Don't interest mum'.

"Those moments, for me, were Corrie and were gold.

"They marque maine smile."

In 2018, Gail powerfully expressed the daze and grief of Weatherfield residents pursuing the devastating suicide of mill brag Aidan Connor.

In an affectional monologue, she reflected connected the information you don't truly cognize what's going connected successful each other's lives, arsenic footage switched betwixt antithetic characters being told the news.

It was primitively meant to beryllium a soundless sequence, but writer Jonathan Harvey told BBC News: "It felt similar it needed the gravitas of 1 of our longest-running characters to walk remark connected the assemblage that, erstwhile the programme started, was close-knit, looked retired for each different and knew everybody's business. That's the cliche of what soaps are.

"And yet [she was saying], if you did cognize everybody's concern past you would person seen this coming."

The almighty country was nominated for Bafta's Must See Moment award.

Speaking of Worth's last scenes, Coronation Street's enforcement shaper Iain MacLeod confirmed she won't die. "It didn't consciousness similar sidesplitting her disconnected would beryllium right," helium told the Daily Star.

"Gail has had a hard life. She had a hard puerility and disastrous marriages. So, we thought what viewers truly privation is simply a blessed ending for her, truthful that's what we're doing."

Coronation Street is connected Christmas Day with an hour-long occurrence from 19.00 GMT connected ITV.

Additional reporting by Lizo Mzimba.