Gail Rodwell (née Potter, previously Tilsley, Platt, Hillman and McIntyre) is a long-standing Coronation Street resident and owner of No.8, daughter of Audrey Roberts, and mother of Nick Tilsley, Sarah Barlow and David Platt.
Gail was raised by Audrey alone and didn't meet her father, Ted Page, until later in her life. As she grew up, Gail played second fiddle to her mother's social life, for which she has never forgiven Audrey. In 1974, Gail left school and gained work as a secretary at the Mark Brittain Warehouse, going into lodgings the following year firstly with Tricia Hopkins and then with Suzie Birchall at No.11.
The happy-go-lucky Gail of her teens had to grow up when she married Brian Tilsley in 1979. Life was a struggle as they were never secure financially and clashed over their living and working arrangements; Brian was ruled by his mother Ivy and he rarely gave Gail the support she needed, while Gail insisted on keeping her job at Jim's Cafe instead of being a housewife and full-time mother to their son, Nick. Gail came to realise that she and Brian weren't suited to each other, and they divorced after Gail's affair with Ian Latimer. They remarried when Sarah Louise was born, but just a year later, in 1989, Brian was stabbed to death outside a nightclub.
Gail had matured into a strong-willed woman who fought for herself and her children. After Brian's death, Gail began a relationship with Martin Platt, who was ten years her junior. Their son David was born in 1990 and in 1991 they got married and moved into No.8 with the children. The marriage ended in 2000 when Martin had an affair with Rebecca Hopkins and confessed to Gail.
In 2002, Gail married financial adviser Richard Hillman. The following year, Richard confessed to two murders and tried to drown Gail and the kids by driving them into the canal. Although nobody except Richard perished, that night would haunt Gail and the family for years to come; David grew into a troubled teen and his actions caused Gail much grief, with David setting out to hurt his own family, both physically and emotionally, many times, once pushing Gail down the stairs.
Gail has been married and widowed two more times since Richard. In 2010, she married debt-ridden Joe McIntyre, who drowned while attempting to fake his death in order to claim life insurance. Gail was charged with his murder, but subsequently cleared. She met her fifth husband, Michael Rodwell, while he was burgling No.8 in 2014. They were married in 2015 but split up when Michael discovered that Gail had lied to him about the identity of his son Gavin. Michael died from a heart attack in 2016.
Following her days as co-owner of Jim's Cafe with Alma Baldwin, Gail has worked as a receptionist at the Rosamund Street Medical Centre and now cleans the Viaduct Bistro. Now a grandmother of five, her tendency to meddle in her children's lives continues unabated, though her efforts generally backfire on her. She continues to live at No.8 with David and his family, providing support and wisdom where needed.
Biography
1958-1978: Childhood and youth
Gail was born on 16th April 1958 to 17 year old Audrey Potter and Ted Page although Ted was not aware of Audrey's pregnancy or Gail's existence and they wouldn't meet for another 50 years. Having already had one child, which she had been forced to give up for adoption, Audrey was determined to keep Gail once she was born. However a lot of the responsibility of raising Gail was left down to her grandparents Robert and Nancy while Audrey was a 'flighty piece' and enjoyed several relationships with different men, later admitting that she played a minimal part in Gail's upbringing.
By 1974, 16 year old Gail was working at the Mark Brittain Warehouse where she met friend Tricia Hopkins. The following year, Gail moved out of her home and began lodging with Tricia above the Corner Shop in Coronation Street. After the warehouse burned down that October, Gail and Tricia searched for new jobs and attempted modelling and telesales before taking over the management of the shop. When the girls were later evicted from the shop flat by new owner Renee Bradshaw and Tricia moved back to her parents, Gail found new lodgings with Elsie Tanner at 11 Coronation Street.
Gail and Elsie worked together at clothing boutique Sylvia's Separates owned by Sylvia Matthews where Elsie was Gail's supervisor. Mike Baldwin later took over the shop and turned it into the Western Front which sold the products of his denim factory. With Elsie supervising Mike's factory, Gail was promoted to manager at the shop. In 1977 Gail and Elsie were joined at No.11 by another friend of Gail's, Suzie Birchall, who worked under Gail at the Western Front. When Mike closed the shop as it wasn't making enough money and sacked Gail and Suzie beforehand to avoid paying them redundancy, Gail found work as a waitress in Dawson's Cafe.
1979-1989: Marriage to Brian Tilsley
Gail met Brian Tilsley at a party in December 1978 and they began dating and quickly fell for each other. By the following April they were engaged and married on 28th November 1979. This set off a fifteen-year feud between Gail and Brian's mother Ivy, who disliked her new daughter-in-law. Gail soon fell pregnant and she and Brian welcomed a son son Nicky in 1980. Having moved to their own house in Buxton Close earlier that year, Gail now had a family of her own to look after.
In 1986, Gail had a brief affair with Brian's cousin, Ian Latimer and shortly afterwards fell pregnant again. Gail was originally unsure of the identity of the baby's father and when Brian found out he wanted Gail to have an abortion, which she refused point blank. Baby Sarah Louise was born in February 1987 but Gail's infidelity had caused the break-up of the Tilsley marriage. After paternity tests proved Brian to be baby Sarah's father, the couple reunited and remarried in the year 1988.
However, the marriage quickly deteriorated, and Brian and Gail had a massive argument one night as Brian was leaving to go out to a nightclub. They knew their marriage was over, however Brian vowed to fight for custody of Nicky. The threat, however, was never carried out as Brian was stabbed to death outside the nightclub. Gail and Ivy clashed again over Brian's funeral, with Ivy wanting her son to have a Catholic burial, reflecting the faith he was born and raised in the faith but Gail disputing and ultimately succeeding in giving Brian a protestant service, for which Ivy vowed to never forgive her. Gail also struggled to handle the subject of Brian's death with Nicky and as a result Nicky didn't process Brian's death properly and ran away looking for Brian in May, forcing Gail to broach the subject again and try and make Nicky understand.
1989-2001: Relationship with Martin Platt
After Brian's death, Gail became drawn to the much younger Martin Platt. Despite Gail worrying about gossips and the misgivings of Ivy, the two became involved and moved in together and soon Gail fell unexpectedly pregnant by him. Gail did not think it was fair for Martin to have a child at his age, and confided in Sally Webster that she planned to have an abortion but Martin found out and convinced her to change her mind. Gail and Martin married in 1991, almost a year after she gave birth to her second son David.
She allowed Martin to adopt her other children, but Ivy deeply resented this and felt that Brian's memory was being forgotten and made attempts to prevent Martin's adoption of the children. When this failed she specified in her will that Nicky would only inherit if he changed his name back to "Tilsley", which he later did. Gail and Martin moved out of the house she had shared with Brian and bought their own home at 8 Coronation Street in December 1991. Although Gail was incensed to discover, just days after they had moved in, that Ivy and Don were not moving out of the street as they had previously intended and believed that Ivy had deliberately changed her plans to spite her. Nevertheless, Gail and Martin settled in at No.8 and gained an extra wage when Martin returned to work at the hospital.
Gail and Martin faced problems with the arrival of student nurse Carmel Finnan who was a regular babysitter for the couple in 1992 and who became infatuated with Martin. Carmel was invited to stay at No.8 by Gail after she became uncomfortable living in her nurses' home, but her interference created disagreements between Gail and Martin and Percy Sugden overheard her falsely passing off David as her own son. Things came to a head when Gail stayed overnight with Audrey visiting a sick Alf Roberts in hospital and Carmel climbed into the marital bed with a drunk Martin. Martin rejected Carmel and ordered her to leave and Gail didn't believe her lies when she 'confessed' her version of events. In March 1993, Carmel returned and claimed she was pregnant with Martin's baby, driving a further wedge between Gail and Martin. After Gail confronted Carmel and she fell down the stairs at her bedsit, the Platts discovered that she was never pregnant and that mentally ill Carmel had previously spun another lie while living in Ireland.
Having overcome this, the next obstacle for Gail and Martin was eldest son Nick. As Nick grew into his teens, he grew increasingly defiant towards his mother and Martin. This only got worse after Ivy's death as the clause in her will was revealed and caused friction, culminating in Nick running away from home for several weeks. After Gail sent Nick away to Canada to live with her half-brother Stephen, using his inheritance from Ivy to fund a private school for his final year. Another issue was the age gap between Martin and Gail and Martin was tempted by other women during their marriage. He cheated on her with nurse Cathy Power on a single occasion in 1994 and Gail discovered what had happened through Alf who had spotted the pair kissing. Gail forgave Martin his indiscretion after Martin assured Gail he would never cheat again and Gail believed him.
A mature Nick returned in the year 1997, but shocked his mother by beginning a relationship with Leanne Battersby, who Gail disapproved of due to her loutish family. Nick married Leanne in January 1998 after secretly eloping to Gretna Green. Gail was aghast when she discovered this and Leanne and Gail would have a similar relationship to that of Gail and Ivy over the next couple of years. Nick and Leanne divorced after Nick encouraged Leanne to have an abortion. Although Gail was happy that the relationship was over, she lost Nick again when he returned to Canada following the split.
Shortly after Sarah's thirteenth birthday, it was discovered that Sarah was pregnant. Gail had taken Sarah to the doctors as she was worried her daughter may be suffering from an eating disorder. Sarah was five months along and as a result it was too late for an abortion. Originally Gail and Martin conceived a plan for Gail to take the kids to Canada for a few months, where Sarah could have the baby and Gail could pass it off as her own on returning to Weatherfield. This elaborate plot was abandoned after Sarah's schoolfriend Candice Stowe, who she had confided in about her pregnancy spread the news and Gail and Martin were forced to accept that everyone was going to find out. Sarah gave birth to Gail's first grandchild, Bethany Platt, in June 2000 and the family did their best to adjust to their new situation, although David felt deprived of attention and began acting out.
Martin began an affair with another nurse, Rebecca Hopkins and this time it developed into much more than a one-off fling. Martin fell in love with Rebecca and decided to leave Gail for her but before he could, Sarah's pregnancy was revealed and he was needed at home. Rebecca grew tired of waiting for Martin and not wanting to drag him away from his family she left him and emigrated for a job in Dubai. A devastated Martin then confessed the whole affair to Gail. For a few months, Gail and Martin tried to make the marriage work for the sake of the children but ultimately could not move past the affair. By the end of the year, Martin had moved out of the house and they were divorced in 2001.
2001-2003: Relationship with Richard Hillman
Gail grew close to financial advisor Richard Hillman who arrived in Weatherfield for the funeral of her friend Alma Halliwell, with claims of being her cousin. Smooth-talking Richard whisked Gail off her feet and they began a relationship. Gail's children were initially wary of Richard as he was Gail's first boyfriend since she had divorced Martin but Richard soon won them over and moved into the family home. Richard proposed and Gail gained her third husband in July 2002, after which they departed for a family honeymoon in Florida.
Little did she know that her apparently perfect husband was actually a con man and serial killer. Richard went into business with Duggie Ferguson to develop luxury flats and when Duggie fell through a bannister at the development during a row with Richard, Richard left him to die and took the opportunity to steal money from him. When Richard's ex-wife Patricia turned up and threatened to expose him as a con-artistry and growing financial difficulties to Gail, he bludgeoned her with a spade. Still in a financial hole, Richard attempted to kill Gail's own mother Audrey who he was aware would leave behind a handsome inheritance. Richard attempted to fool both Audrey and the rest of the family that she was going senile over several months before setting fire to her house and staging it to look like a tragic accident. Audrey survived after Steve McDonald arrived at the house to return a pair of glasses she had left in his taxi and realised the house was on fire. After Audrey recovered, she began to suspect Richard's involvement and attempted to tell Gail the truth, but Gail thinking Audrey was going mad, refused to believe her and cut her out of her life.
Richard then moved on to targeting Emily Bishop who he had conned into an equity release scheme. When neighbour Maxine Peacock interrupted Richard's attempt to kill Emily, he was forced to attack her too. Emily survived but Maxine died. A guilty Richard attempted to avoid her funeral but was dragged there by Gail and inadvertently ended up speaking at the service. Audrey realised that Richard was also responsible for Maxine's murder and confronted him at the graveside but nobody except Norris Cole and Archie Shuttleworth believed her, with Gail again insisting that Audrey stay away from her and the children.
At the same time, an elderly client of Richard's died of natural causes leaving him a big pay-out and rendering his attempt on Emily's life and murder of Maxine unnecessary. Gail and Richard planned to sell up and move to a bigger house on the other side of Weatherfield but when Gail herself began to suspect that her husband was more than he seemed, she confronted him with her suspicions. Richard confessed all of his crimes to Gail, admitting to the murders and attempted murders and also to being a serial con-artist. Absolutely horrified, Gail branded him 'Norman Bates with a briefcase' and proceeded to throw him out before informing the police of his crimes. With Richard vanished into the night, Gail called on Audrey for help and the pair were reconciled as Audrey was proved right all along. Gail and her family were forced to temporarily shelter at Audrey's when the press descended on their house. Gail also faced the anger of the community as Richard's crimes became public knowledge. Maxine's grieving widower Ashley lashed out at her and the Duckworths, who had been swindled of their life savings by Richard sold a story attacking Gail in the Weatherfield Gazette. Gossip naturally spread to David's school where he became a target of bully Mark Conlan who beat up David and spat in Gail's face in the street.
Just as Gail began to get her life back on track, Richard returned to Weatherfield. He tied Gail up in the family car, along with her children and revealed his plans to kill them in a murder-suicide by gassing them. When this attempt was disturbed, Richard drove the family into Weatherfield Canal in another attempt to kill them all. Gail and her children were rescued by Martin, Kevin Webster and Tommy Harris but Richard drowned. Gail identified Richard's body and threw her wedding rings into the canal, hoping to put her bad memories to rest with him. Unfortunately, Gail later found out that Richard had left her in big debt, and all her money was gone as everything in their accounts was frozen. Gail faced financial ruin and looked set to lose her house. Audrey however saved the day when she used her life savings to buy the house for Gail, allowing the family to remain at No.8.
2003-2007: Family problems
With Richard finally behind her, Gail faced fresh problems due to Sarah's relationship with Todd Grimshaw. Initially Gail wasn't bothered by the relationship and it was Todd's mother Eileen who objected, believing that her son was destined for Oxford University and Sarah was dragging him down. After Sarah planned to move down to Oxford with Todd and later left home in August 2003 to move into a bedsit with Todd and Bethany, Gail was aghast and was particularly angry at being lied to again, after Richard. Gail believed the flat wasn't safe for Bethany, particularly after she was electrocuted while Todd was looking after her and feeling powerless and at loggerheads with Sarah, she reported the couple to social services. Gail and Sarah continued to clash when Sarah fell pregnant again and intended to keep the baby. Gail was further put out as Sarah began to rely more on Bethany's paternal grandmother Brenda Fearns for babysitting duties due to her feud with her own mother. When Sarah and Todd announced their engagement in January 2004, Gail and Sarah put aside their differences and she welcomed Todd into the family to put the issue to bed, while Eileen remained in opposition.
In May 2004 however, Todd confessed to Sarah that he was gay and was in love with another man, Karl Foster. Sarah was devastated and Gail provided a shoulder to cry on when she left Todd. When Sarah informed Gail that Eileen had known the truth beforehand she was furious and the pair began fighting in the street and trading insults, starting a feud that would continue for years to come. Further heartbreak was to come when Sarah went into premature labour and her baby son, Billy died within days of his birth.
In 2005, Gail began a relationship with reflexologist Phil Nail, although the children were wary of him after their experience with Richard. Phil then revealed to Gail that he was studying a degree in Criminology and was hoping to interview the Platts about the Hillman case as part of his dissertation. Although she was initially upset at Phil's deception, Gail forgave him and resumed the relationship, however the revelation left David completely opposed to it. During the first half of 2006, Gail received cards apparently signed by deceased husband Richard, which caused her to become reliant on sleeping pills and drink. She contacted the police and after firstly accusing Eileen, came to wrongly suspect it was Phil who was behind the cards. Her relationship with son David was strained to the point of breakdown when it was finally revealed to be him sending the cards. She marched him to the police to close the case of the Hillman cards for good, but didn't press charges. Believing David was truly sorry and would stay in line from now on Gail forgave him, only to find out later on that he was playing truant. In October, the education officer visited Gail to suggest all the family have counselling for David's attitude. She also suggested that Gail should attend parenting classes.
On Christmas Day 2006, David unveiled Ivy Brennan's old diary, which revealed Gail’s planned abortion of David, and he also exposed Audrey's affair with Bill Webster to his wife Maureen. Audrey was furious with David but Gail, desperate to convince him that he was wanted, defended him. David ran away from home when Gail finally told him that he needed to start paying rent, but finally returned home with the police, after having lied to them that Gail was abusing him. The final straw for Gail was when her granddaughter Bethany swallowed an Ecstasy tablet, which had been stashed in her doll by David. Bethany was admitted to intensive care and Gail finally gathered the strength to tell David to leave home after reporting him to the police. David was distraught, but Gail remained strong and told him not to attend the upcoming wedding of Sarah and Jason Grimshaw.
On Sarah's wedding day, David drove his car into the canal where Richard had previously driven after leaving a suicide note which was found and destroyed by Sarah beforehand a message on the answer machine repeating his intentions. A distraught Gail was forced to wait for hours on news on whether he was alive or dead and despite Sarah's protests, she left the wedding to go to the canal with the police and wait for news. When David finally did arrive home, Gail swore to him she would never let the situation get so out of hand again and allowed him to move back into No.8.
When Stephen Reid came to stay over Christmas, he offered David a job in Milan and David immediately accepted. However, because he had spoiled her wedding day, Sarah vowed revenge and planted Ecstasy tablets in his drawer at the salon. Audrey found them, and Gail told David that he was not going to Milan. Sarah was offered the job and left with Jason and Bethany, however at the airport she confessed what she had done to Jason, who left her and returned to Weatherfield. He told Gail everything and she was shocked that Sarah had been so devious, while a smug David enjoyed making Gail feel guilty.
In January 2008, David began his first serious relationship with girlfriend Tina McIntyre and in March she revealed that she was pregnant to Gail. Gail was a comfort to Tina, who had not confided in her own parents and told Tina that David did not have to know and offered to pay for a termination, which Tina accepted. When David discovered their deception, his pushed his mother down the stairs in a fit of anger, leaving her hospitalised and suffering short-term amnesia. Gail eventually remembered who pushed her, that it was her own son. When Gail confronted David he began smashing cars and windows in the street in a fit of rage before accidentally punching a police officer while being arrested. Gail was upset when David pleaded guilty in court and was sentenced to four months in prison. Gail then discovered that her long-lost father Ted Page had recently been in contact with Audrey and was angry that she was not told. Gail met up with Ted in May, and was shocked when Ted explained he had just lost his partner of twenty years, James.
2008-2010: Relationship with Joe McIntyre
Gail took a shine to Tina's dad, Joe McIntyre, after David and Tina had broken up. They went on several secret dates because they did not want their relationship to become public knowledge but were discovered when David and Tina walked in on them in October 2008. Shortly after the Windass family moved into the street and Gail faced several issues with them, stemming from the Windasses refusing to pay for a kitchen which Joe had fitted. Joe, David and Tina tore out the kitchen in retaliation and David and Gary later came to blows over Tina. Eventually, the families were able to form a truce. For Gail and Joe however there were further problems as Joe injured his back at work and subsequently became addicted to prescription painkillers. Desperate Joe was arrested after breaking into Gail's workplace at the medical centre looking for drugs and given community service. Things seemed to be looking up when Joe got help for his addiction and proposed to Gail.
On 8th January 2010, Gail married Joe, her fourth husband. Their happiness was short lived, as Joe was now in significant debt and as a last resort, planned to fake his own death by staging a drowning in Lake Windermere. Gail was horrified by Joe's plans and desperately tried to talk him out of it but he went ahead anyway and unintentionally died in the process, drowning in the lake. Believing that Joe had faked his death, Gail called David for assistance and the pair covered up his disappearance by lying to Tina. However when Joe's body was discovered in the lake, this came back to haunt them and Gail was falsely arrested for his murder and denied bail. Her cellmate was Lyn Fulwood, who she was at first wary of but later got on well with.
2010-2012: Trial and aftermath
With Gail put on trial for Joe's sudden death, David and a recently returned Nick were desperate to see her freed, while a grieving Tina was convinced of Gail's guilt. Over a few weeks David bribed Anka Grabowski, the cleaner of the holiday cottages at Lake Windermere where Joe's boating accident had occurred. She was supposed to be Gail's surprise witness but on the day of her court case she failed to take the stand so it was up to David to help save his mum. Furthermore, Tracy Barlow took to the stand to testify against Gail. Tracy had been moved in to Gail's cell in prison and had concocted a false story of Gail's confession in order to get herself moved to an open prison, but this failed. On 10th June Gail was found not guilty by the jury and was sent home but on the way out of court she was met by a large group of baying journalists. Gail managed to make her peace with Tina after she was released from prison and Tina realised that Gail was not responsible for Joe's death.
Gail returned to work at the medical centre but lost her job in September 2010, when Nick's girlfriend Natasha Blakeman reported her for illegally accessing her medical records, which proved that she had lied to Nick about being pregnant. Gail refused to apologise to Natasha, insisting that she was only protecting her son and was sacked by Dr Carter for breaking patient confidentiality.
On Christmas Eve 2010, Gail fought with Tracy in the packed Rovers, following Tracy's unexpected release from prison, still holding a lot of anger and resentment towards her for the way she plotted against her. Over the next week, Tracy slept with both of Gail's sons and made many other enemies in the street, which lead to Gail and David giving each other a false alibi when she was attacked and hospitalised on New Year's Eve, although neither of them were guilty.
In 2011 David had a holiday romance with a cage dancer named Candy who followed him back to Weatherfield and turned out to be Becky McDonald's estranged sister, Kylie Turner. Gail immediately clashed with Kylie and believed she was no good for her son and she was horrified when the pair were engaged and planned a whirlwind wedding, even attempting to pay Kylie to leave. Over time however Gail began to soften towards Kylie, especially after she pushed Kylie to reveal the details of her troubled childhood and Gail supported David and Kylie when they tried to get custody of Kylie's son Max, which they succeeded in and Max came to live with the family at No.8.
In 2012, Gail was initially horrified when son Nick began seeing Eva Price. Eva was manageress at Nick's Bistro, a role Gail had wanted. In February, Eva's mother Stella invited Gail and Audrey to a family dinner for Eva's birthday. Gail turned up in the same blouse as Stella, and then proceeded to humiliate Nick by getting drunk and giving a disastrous speech to Eva, and then commenting that she had bought her blouse before the half price sale.
2012-2013: Gail and Lewis the conman
In February 2012 Gail and Audrey were both diagnosed with high blood pressure and advised to exercise and give up alcohol and decided to go on a power-walk through the countryside. The pair ended up getting lost and went into a pub looking for directions. While in the pub, Gail and Audrey encountered conman Lewis Archer, the former boyfriend of Audrey. Lewis bought the two a drink and ran off. The following month, Lewis returned to Weatherfield stating that he was a changed man and the pair started dating again. Despite what he'd said, Gail didn't believe a single thing and in October, Gail and Gloria Price hatched a scheme to prove he was still a con man. After they'd been out together a few times, Gloria eventually asked Lewis if he would move to Spain with her with the promise of her leaving everything in her will to him, but Lewis declined. Having found out about the scheme and about Audrey's involvement, Lewis no longer trusted Audrey and he broke up with her. Lewis then decided to play a long game in order to get revenge on Gail for her part in splitting him and Audrey.
Gail and Lewis began to date in 2013 but Gail had no idea that Lewis was back to his evil ways. Lewis and Gail planned to leave Weatherfield together but on the day Gail announced she was leaving, she found a DVD on the table. Gail and her family watched it and were shocked to find out that Lewis had conned Gail and stolen £40,000 from her. Gail called the police to find Lewis but he'd evaded capture and got to Belize where he was unable to be extradited even if he was caught. Gail found a handwritten note with her security details and realised that Kylie had aided Lewis in his fraud. When she angrily confronted her daughter in law, she discovered that Lewis had blackmailed her over another shocking secret- that after a one night stand, Nick was potentially the father of her unborn child rather than David. Gail reluctantly kept the secret but when David later overheard Kylie and Gail discussing this, he began a secret campaign against Nick which culminated in him causing a car crash which left Nick in a coma in hospital and suffering permanent brain damage. After the truth about this came out at the christening of Lily, David and Kylie's daughter, in October 2013, Gail supported Kylie and threw David out of the house again but later softened and encouraged his reunion with Kylie.
2014-2015: Platt family reunion and marriage to Michael Rodwell
In late March 2014 Gail met a man called Michael Rodwell, who turned up at No.8 pretending to be a gas man checking for a leak, but Gail soon discovered that he was a burglar. Realising that Gail had seen through him, Michael made a quick getaway and was chased by Kylie but he managed to escape in his van. Michael appeared in court the following month and was sentenced to twelve months in prison. Gail was hit hard by the incident to the point that she found it difficult being in her own home. In June, she decided to meet Michael in prison and put her mind at rest. The pair had a face-to-face meeting for the first time in almost three months, with Gail speaking candidly about how she had been affected. Full of guilt, Michael apologised for his actions. The couple grew close after his release and eventually Michael moved into No.8.
Michael proposed to Gail in January 2015, however she was taken aback by the proposal and Michael was worried that he had rushed into things and that she would leave him. However that evening, Gail turned the tables and proposed to Michael. The celebrations were cut short when Michael collapsed as the family celebrated at Nick's Bistro and he was rushed to Weatherfield General.
The couple arranged their wedding day for 9th March, but Gail arrived late at the register office when Michael's real son Gavin arrived at the house moments before she was due to leave for the ceremony. Gail learned that Andy Carver was pretending to be Gavin and Michael had no idea what was going on. Gail chose to keep this secret and after eventually convincing Michael that she loved him, they decided to reschedule the wedding for the following month. After the real Gavin died in a car accident, Andy and Gail were forced to deepen their conspiracy, which Gail believed was in Michael's best interests as she feared he would have another heart attack if he learned the truth. Gail had to go to significant lengths, changing Andy's national insurance details on the Bistro computer and preventing Michael from seeing an obituary to Gavin and his aunt Barbara when she visited No.8 to inform him of the details of the funeral.
At the same time, Gail's granddaughter Bethany returned to Weatherfield after being kicked out of school in Italy. Gail came face to face with Bethany in the Rovers, where she had lied about her age to get served. Bethany had stolen money from her mother and lied to her about her whereabouts. Sarah also arrived a few days later to take Bethany home but when she lost her high-flying job with Stephen, the pair also moved in to No.8.
Gail and Michael finally married on 24th April. While exchanging their vows, Gail broke down and ran off. After a heart-to-heart, she eventually decided she was up to it and rushed through the ceremony, so that she could at last, get to become "Mrs Gail Rodwell". The reception ended in disaster when granddaughter Bethany got drunk and destroyed the buffet, so Gail and Michael decided to go home.
The marriage didn't last long as Michael's ex-wife Susan Meldrum sent Michael a photograph album so that he could look back over their son's pictures as he grew older. Despite Gail and Andy's attempts to seize the album it fell into Michael's hands and as Michael scanned through the photographs he noticed that the real Gavin looked different to the one in the room. After Andy confessed that he wasn't Michael's son, the trio argued and Gail was forced to own up that she knew about it but kept the matter secret because of his heart condition. Michael was angry at the betrayal and moved out of No.8 and temporarily took up residence at No.11 with her nemesis Eileen Grimshaw, who was supportive and sympathetic towards Michael's plight. After Michael suffered a heart attack, Gail discovered that Eileen had made a move on him and the pair had yet another fight. Ultimately however, Gail and Michael reconciled after Michael's brief relationship with Eileen was scuppered by Pat Phelan and aided by Kylie the pair realised they still held a torch for each other.
2016-2017: Family losses of Kylie and Michael
In July 2016, Kylie died after being stabbed by Clayton Hibbs as she was planning to move to Barbados with David. Gail did the best she could to support and comfort her son and grandchildren through this difficult time and urged David to be honest with the children, particularly Max and not try and shield them from the truth as she had done and later regretted with Nick after Brian's death. When she realised David was intent on revenge, she was horrified and with the assistance of Sarah and Nick, locked David in the Bistro cellar while Clayton's trial continued and attempted to talk him out of going after Clayton. Ultimately David escaped after getting Gail to open the door by convincing her he had attempted suicide. David didn't get very far however as he swerved his car to avoid hitting his own daughter Lily, crashing it as a result. After this, David agreed to no longer seek revenge against Clayton.
More tragedy followed in November 2016, when Michael died of a heart attack during a confrontation with Pat Phelan, who left him to die, leaving Gail a widow once again. Gail would remain unaware of the true circumstances of Michael's death until Phelan confessed to Eileen, now his wife, in March 2018.
In May 2017, Nick was involved in a quicksand accident, but was rescued. After breaking up with Leanne Battersby for the third time, he confronted Gail, who wanted him to stay. Eventually, after realising that there was no changing his mind, Gail shared a tearful farewell with him before he drove out of town. Gail disowned Leanne and her young son Oliver for this. Gail clashed with Leanne again in December after Leanne fell for a scam and lost all of the money that Nick had sent over to support her and Oliver.
2017-2019: Lewis's return and the missing money
In 2017, David began dating Shona Ramsey, the mother of Kylie's killer. David and his family were oblivious of Shona's real identity and when Shona overheard Gail and Sarah discussing David's plot to kill Clayton, she confessed her identity to Gail. Gail was stunned to discover who Shona was but they agreed to keep each others secrets with Gail not telling David who Shona was in exchange for Shona not making David's planned attempted murder public knowledge. Gail was still unhappy about Shona's deceit and offered her money to leave but Shona declined. When David found out the truth he was horrified and angry at Gail for not telling him the truth sooner. Ultimately, David and Shona were reconciled and she was welcomed into the fold at No.8.
Gail was originally sceptical when psychic medium Rosemary Piper amazed Audrey with details about Alf who she claimed was in contact with her, but was later convinced herself after Rosemary passed on supposed messages from Brian, Ivy and Richard Hillman discussing his mother, Pamela. Rosemary told Gail that Richard had put a curse on Gail and her entire family. In May 2018 Gail discovered that David, who had been in a bad way over the previous couple of months, had been raped by Josh Tucker after he confided in her and Audrey after finally finding the courage to report Josh to the police. Recalling psychic Rosemary's warnings, Gail began to suspect that David's rape was a result of Richard's curse and contacted the medium in order to arrange a seance to rid her family of the curse once and for all.
Rosemary informed Gail that, while she could lift the curse, it would come with a charge of £3000. Audrey was uncomfortable with the situation and asked Roy Cropper to attend the seance in order to expose the charlatan. During the seance Rosemary claimed to be in touch with Alma Halliwell and Hayley Cropper, impressing Gail with her knowledge of the pair but unnerving Roy - who stormed out of the house in a blind fury planning to expose the fraud once and for all.
Due to Roy's outburst, Rosemary claimed that she was unable to contact the "other side" again but insisted that Gail attend her private session at St Ignatius Church Hall the following day. While Audrey revealed that she would pay the fee in order to attend alongside Gail, Roy and his friend Cathy Matthews also plotted to gatecrash the venue to work out where Rosemary was receiving her information. Outside, Roy came across conman Lewis Archer, who was relaying information to Rosemary about her clients through an earpiece. Roy confronted Lewis, removed his car keys and threatened to phone the police. However, Lewis realised that Roy didn't have a phone and messaged Rosemary to make a run for it.
With the session adjured, Gail and Audrey made their way outside and were shocked to see Lewis had returned to the area. After listening to his confession, Audrey was forced to hold Gail back from kicking him and sent her away to contact the police. Roy locked Lewis in his car and left the keys with Audrey to guard him, Lewis made a heartfelt plea to Audrey, who was once again smitten and decided to release him. Despite Lewis's escape, Rosemary was found to be complicit with the fraud and arrested. Later in August, Gail was shocked to discover that Lewis had returned the £40,000 he had stolen from her, and Audrey received a visiting order where he informed her that he had handed himself in as he wanted to prove that he was a changed man. Believing that he was being genuine, Audrey reunited with Lewis. However, she kept their relationship a secret and instead pretended to be going on a cruise while actually spending time with Lewis. When Gail discovered the truth she was infuriated and attempted to force her mother to choose between her or Lewis. When Audrey chose Lewis, Gail disowned her.
The friction between Gail and Audrey lasted for months and after Audrey inherited £80,000 from Archie Shuttleworth in December 2018, Gail had even more reason to be suspicious of Lewis. Gail followed Lewis to a hotel and saw him with a mystery woman but Audrey still refused to believe her. When Gail persisted, Audrey's faith in Lewis began to waver, especially after he failed to turn up for a dinner on New Year's Eve. However Audrey and Gail discovered Lewis dead at Grasmere Drive, clutching an engagement ring. Audrey was distraught and angry at Gail for having influenced her with her false suspicions. When Audrey discovered Archie's money had been stolen from her account and came to the conclusion that Lewis was indeed responsible, she reconciled with Gail again.
Gail did have some happier news in 2019 as Sarah and David were both engaged to their respective partners, Gary Windass and Shona Ramsey, while David and Nick opened a new barbers together and David reluctantly employed Gail as a personal assistant after she proved herself to be up to the job. When it was revealed that it was not Lewis but Nick who had defrauded Audrey and then conspired with David to conceal the truth and launder the money, Gail struggled to see her family at each others throats. Gail attempted to get her family together to resolve their differences but this lead to Nick and David been arrested for breaking their bail conditions and turning on her. At the end of her tether, Gail walked out and boarded a plane to Bangkok in order to get away from the misery and try and find herself.
2019 to present: Fresh outlook on life
After spending three months in Bangkok, Gail returned to the street in October 2019 with a new perspective on life but was thrown straight back into her family's drama when she was forced to defend Bethany who was accused of seducing Daniel Osbourne while his wife Sinead lay dying from terminal cancer.
By 2020, Nick had reunited with Leanne once again and had settled into the role of stepfather to her son Oliver. When Oliver was diagnosed with a terminal mitochondrial disease and began to decline over the following months, Gail did her best to support her eldest. When Leanne became determined to pursue experimental treatment abroad, Gail encouraged Nick to be honest with her that he believed it was time to let go and they were both heartbroken when Oliver passed away in November. The situation was further complicated by the revelation that Natasha Blakeman had given birth to Nick's son, Sam, after she left Weatherfield ten years prior. Although initially wary of Natasha's motivations, Gail enjoyed getting to know another grandchild.
In January 2021, Gail discovered an old photo labelled "Fanny" which had fallen out of a box containing the family's collection, piquing her interest into finding out who she was. After visiting a genealogy website, Gail discovered that Fanny Page was her great-great grandmother and turned out to also be the great-great grandmother of local undertaker George Shuttleworth. After her father Ted passed away the following month, Gail's interest in the family tree was renewed and she and George pursued a possible connection to "Churchill" through Fanny, although this turned out not to relate to Winston but a midshipman named Frank Churchill.
In June, during another family row centred around Sam, Gail collapsed and after tests at the hospital was told she had suffered a minor heart attack. Feeling weighed down again by the squabbles of her children and after Audrey pointed out that she was too involved in their lives, she decided to return to Thailand for an extended break to find some peace and happiness again. Before she left, Gail interfered on behalf of her children once more by speaking to Natasha and convincing her to allow Nick to continue seeing Sam. A refreshed Gail returned to Weatherfield in September to attend Norris Cole's funeral.
Personality
Raised by wild and flighty Audrey and her more sensible and grounded grandparents, Gail was somewhat naive yet adventurous and fun loving when she flew the nest at 16 and started working and socialising near Coronation Street.
Gail's relationship and marriage to Brian Tilsley matured her greatly. Not only did Gail have to adjust to becoming a housewife and mother to Nicky but she had to deal with the mother in law from hell in Ivy Tilsley, who was over protective of Brian and frequently clashed with Gail. Through her battles with Ivy and weathering her dysfunctional marriage and divorce from Brian, Gail became stronger still. With the arrival of Sarah and David and her marriage to Martin, Gail grew into a matriarchal figure and is fiercely protective of her children against any outsiders who hurt them, but can put them in their place when they do wrong.
Traits
Gail revealed in January 2014 that she is allergic to cats.
Relationships
Audrey Roberts
Audrey resented her parents forcing her to give Stephen up for adoption and intended to get married in the hope of proving she was capable of looking after a child and getting her son back. When Audrey got pregnant again, she knew boyfriend Ted would propose marriage but realised she didn't love him and so broke off the relationship instead of telling him the truth. As a mother, Audrey was never the most responsible and Gail relied on her grandparents a lot growing up, while being introduced to several of Audrey's boyfriends.
In later years, Audrey finally settled down into marriage with Alf Roberts and became a more stable influence in the lives of Gail and her children.
Ted Page
Gail had no relationship with her father while she was growing up or for decades after, she didn't even know many details about him until Audrey finally opened up to her about the subject in 2000. In 2008, Gail finally met Ted for the first time. Gail was surprised to discover that Ted was gay and had been in a relationship with a man called James for many years. Gail got to know Ted and he finally got to give her away in 2010 when she married Joe.
After 2010, Ted didn't visit Weatherfield but still kept in contact with Gail. In September 2014, Gail revealed that she was still in contact with Ted and she received a birthday card from him in April 2016. Gail was upset when finding out Ted had passed away in February 2021, having had little contact with each other over the recent years aside from exchanging occasional cards.
Bethany Platt
"Talk to the elbow, G, at least it’s got a point."- Bethany Platt
Gail played a significant role in Bethany's life when she was a baby, giving up her job at the cafe to help look after her while Sarah attended school in the day. Parenting of Bethany was a frequent cause of clashes between Sarah and Gail over the next few years. Gail was quick to scold Sarah when she felt she was not paying enough attention to Bethany and her responsibilities but was equally quick to react when she felt Sarah was making the wrong decisions for Bethany. Gail was horrified when Gail moved out into a bedsit with Bethany and Todd after she left school in 2003 and when Bethany was electrocuted and hospitalised, Gail believed she had been proved right. Gail reported Sarah and Todd to social services and when Sarah found out it caused a huge rift between mother and daughter. As a result Gail was absent from Bethany's life over the next few months and she began to spend more time with her paternal grandmother, Brenda Fearns, which frustrated Gail.
Sarah and Gail put their differences aside after mentally ill Brenda absconded with Bethany and Gail continued to be a big part of young Bethany's life. Even after she emigrated to Italy, Gail kept in regular contact with Sarah and Beth and visited them when she could. In 2015, Gail was shocked to see Bethany in the Rovers, especially as she was drinking illegally and was disappointed when it transpired that Bethany had run away from Sarah. Bethany viewed her gran like she viewed her mother, a soft touch, but Gail informed Bethany that she couldn't run rings around her, after all Gail had raised David and knew every trick in the book.
In 2018, Gail and Sarah discovered that Bethany was working at lap dancing club Tassels and decided to pay a visit to the club, along with Audrey in order to see if it was a suitable place for Bethany to be working.
Kylie Platt
Typically Gail has been unsatisfied with her children's choice of partners and when David brought Kylie home in February 2011, it was no exception. Kylie was a rough diamond and Gail assumed her to be like her sister. Gail went to Becky for information on Kylie and reported back to David. Furious, Kylie exploded at Gail with the details of her rough upbringing. As her meddling had caused problems before, Gail didn't stand in their way, but with less than 24 hours to go before the wedding, in desperation she offered Kylie £1,000 to disappear. Kylie accepted the money, but spent it on her wedding dress and a honeymoon in Tenerife, telling David it was her wedding present.
When Kylie moved into No.8, to Gail it was like gaining another child; another person with no sense of responsibility for her to skivvy after. Gail doggedly tried to keep the household under her control, getting on at Kylie for being a useless wife. Eventually Kylie decided to prove herself by laying on a barbecue, but instead Gail found them having a play fight in the garden with the house a tip. Incensed, Gail announced she was on strike, but after a few days she gave up and accepted the new status quo.
In August 2011, after David found out that Kylie was having Max put up for adoption, he reacted badly and went out to get drunk. Gail had just started on her when Kylie broke down on the stairs and admitted that she was getting rid of Max as she was afraid of failing him. Putting aside their differences, a sympathetic Gail offered emotional support and some encouraging words which convinced Kylie to go for it.
This moment of understanding helped Gail accept Kylie as a member of the family, although she still thought she was a terrible wife. Just a few weeks after their heart-to-heart, Gail and Kylie were left alone at No.8 when David went on a management course. When she saw Kylie flirting with a lad in the Rovers, Gail went over to them and told the boy she was married and angrily locked Kylie out of the house. Kylie got back into the house using Nick's keys and emptied a pan of water out of the bedroom window, intending to soak Gail, only to drench David.
Despite this event, Gail and Kylie continued to grow closer over time and Gail began to realise that Kylie and Max had made David in to a better person. When David and Kylie's marriage suffered difficulties in December 2012, Gail was keen for them to resolve their differences and was overjoyed when she found out Kylie was pregnant. However, Gail was horrified when she found evidence that suggested Kylie had aided Lewis Archer in defrauding Gail and when backed in to a corner, Kylie was forced to admit to Gail that Lewis had blackmailed her over her unborn child possibly being Nick's. Although Gail was disgusted with Kylie and Nick, she realised she had to keep the secret for David's sake. Months later at the christening of David and Kylie's daughter Lily, Gail discovered David's hate campaign against Nick and sided with Kylie when she broke up with David and didn't want him near the house.
Gail and Kylie both mellowed towards David and Kylie and David once again reunited. By now Gail had come to love Kylie as a member of her family and would attempt to usher reconciliation during later disputes between her and David. Kylie came to love and respect Gail too, realising she was a far better maternal figure than her own mother had been. In 2016, Kylie intervened to help reunite Gail and her estranged husband Michael. It was not long after this that Kylie was fatally stabbed and Gail was with her and David when she died. Kylie told Gail that she was sorry for everything she had put her through over the years and Gail told Kylie that she was honoured to call her family.
In Max, Gail gained a grandson and she has come to treat him like any of her biological grandchildren. After Kylie's death, Gail was there to support David and help look after Max and Lily and like David, has been keen to help the children remember Kylie.
Alma Baldwin
Alma was Gail's employer at Jim's Cafe, having gained the business in her divorce settlement in 1982 and for several years after she was little more as Alma played no part in the day to day running of the cafe. In 1988 Alma discovered Gail had begun a sandwich round with the aid of Gina Seddon and insisted she stop and focus on the cafe instead but compromised and allowed the sandwich round to continue after Gail threatened to resign. By 1989, Alma was broke and offered Gail a 40% share of the cafe. From now on Alma and Gail were business partners and Alma became more hands on, working shifts at the cafe alongside Gail. Gail still took on the brunt of the work a lot of the time as Alma could be idle and neglect her responsibilities at the cafe.
Nevertheless, a firm friendship developed between them as well as a working relationship and they were always there to lend an ear when the other was suffering marital problems. When Gail found herself pregnant and contemplating abortion in 1990, she confided in Alma who opened up to Gail about her own abortion while in a loveless marriage. In 1992, it was Gail who Alma turned to advice from when Mike Baldwin had proposed to her and the following year the boot was on the other foot as Alma was Gail's confidante through her problems with Martin and Carmel. Although Alma was always on hand to support Gail, she had a habit of finding the humour even in serious situations which could frustrate Gail.
in 2001, Alma was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer and died shortly afterwards.
Sally Webster
Gail and Sally became friends after Sally moved to the street in 1986 and their friendship grew when Gail married Martin, who was one of the best friends of Sally's husband Kevin. In 1990, Gail and Sally both discovered they were pregnant at roughly the same time and gave birth within a day of each other that Christmas, ending up next to each other on the maternity ward at the hospital. As two of the only mothers with small children on the street, they raised their families together and would often babysit and look out for each other's children. Gail supported Sally through Kevin's affair with Natalie in 1997 and Sally was there for Gail when her and Martin separated in 2000. When Sarah went into labour the same year, Sally helped Gail get her to the hospital.
In 2001, Gail discovered that Sally and Martin, who she had now divorced, were seeing each other. Gail felt betrayed by Sally. Despite this, Gail and Sally's friendship recovered and the Platt and Webster families spent Christmas Day together in 2006- although this ended in disaster thanks to David. When Gail discovered the truth about Kylie and Nick in 2013, Sally was the one she confided in.
Other friends
As a young woman, two of Gail's best friends were Tricia Hopkins and Suzie Birchall. Suzie was more flirty and feisty than Gail and was protective towards her with the two young women lodging with Elsie Tanner, who acted as their 'mother hen'. Suzie left Weatherfield in 1979 and when she returned in 1983, with an abusive marriage behind her, she resented Gail for having the 'perfect family' leading to them parting acrimoniously. After she moved to Hammond Road, Gail met and became good friends with Pauline Lofthouse with whom she helped organise a local Bonfire Night display and Pauline would often babysit the children for Gail although the pair later lost contact. Other friends over the years have included Jackie Moffatt, Hayley Cropper and Claire Peacock.
Ivy Tilsley
"May god forgive you Gail"- Ivy Tilsley
"Well he might, but you never will."- Gail Tilsley
From the moment Gail started dating Brian in January 1979, Ivy would be a near permanent thorn in her side. Ivy was incredibly close to only child Brian and never believed that Gail was good enough for him. For one thing, Gail didn't meet Ivy's religious approval as Gail had been raised a Protestant in contrast to the Catholic Tilsleys. Furthermore, Ivy thought Gail had too much influence over Brian and when Brian sold his motorbike, Ivy was convinced Gail had pressured him into it, causing an argument in the café. Once Gail and Brian were married, Ivy's interference continued and Gail was keen to move out of the shared No.5 and into another house away from Ivy.
Ivy was stubborn in her values and was offended in 1982 when Gail returned to work at the cafe while a babysitter looked after baby Nicky, believing it was a slight on Brian who was working in Qatar and erupted at anger with Gail when she walked in on her at work. Similar scenarios were repeated over the following years. Whenever Gail and Brian's marriage hit the rocks, Ivy would get involved, although her intentions were mostly good. Ivy believed strongly in the sanctity of marriage and wanted to maintain Brian's happiness. However, Ivy was also somewhat ignorant to Brian's own faults and usually blamed Gail for any problems with the marriage. Her disputes with Ivy strengthened Gail as she had to stand her own ground with Brian often gravitating back towards his mother. This infuriated Gail and she believed Brian didn't stick up for her enough against Ivy. After Gail's infidelity with Ian Latimer in 1986, her relationship with both her husband and her mother-in-law deteriorated to a new low.
After Brian's death in 1989, Ivy's influence in Gail's life continued through Nicky, the grandson Ivy was devoted to. Grief stricken Ivy was desperate to preserve the memory of 'Our Brian' through Nicky, while Gail was keen to move on with her life and started a new family with Martin Platt. When Martin wanted to adopt Nicky and Sarah, something which he and Gail hoped would bring them closer as a family, Ivy saw it as the last remnants of Brian's identity and memory being wiped from her grandchildren lives and fought to prevent it. While Ivy thought she was justifiably looking out for her grandkids, Gail thought Ivy was using them to spite her because she blamed her for Brian's death - an accusation which appalled Ivy.
Although Gail and Ivy were often at loggerheads, they didn't totally despise each other and on several occasions showed warmth and respect to one another. It was the love they had for Brian and the children which put them odds that could also bring them together and Gail was keen for Ivy to continue to be involved in her grandchildren's lives to some degree after Brian's death. Gail offered support to Ivy after the death of her husband Bert and years later Ivy confided in Gail about the adultery of second husband Don.
Even after the nastiness of the adoption case, Gail was keen to make her peace with Ivy and welcome her back into the family home. After Don was badly injured in a car accident in 1992 and a devastated Ivy discovered that he had resumed his affair with Julie Dewhurst, it was Gail who she leaned on for support. Gail continued to do her best to help Ivy, after Don was released from hospital following a foot amputation and moved in to a bedsit to avoid returning home to Ivy. Although Gail wanted to support Ivy with her marital breakdown, her primary concern was still Ivy's role as grandmother to her children and when Ivy turned to alcohol to cope with her split from Don, Gail refused to allow her to babysit the children.
Although they had a better relationship in later years, Gail preferred to keep Ivy at arms length, knowing all too well how interfering she could be. As such, Gail was frustrated when she unwittingly became neighbours with Ivy again in 1991, feeling deceived as she was under the impression that Ivy was moving. Ivy however, recognising how close she had come to pushing them away for good, made a beeline for Gail and even accepted Martin and David as family when she took a birthday present for her 'grandson'. Gail believed Ivy was genuine in her feelings which to some extent was true although as Alf later pointed out to Gail, it was more about tolerating her life with Martin than coming to love him.Gail was concerned when Ivy moved into a religious convent in 1994, recognising how much the children missed her and she was upset when Ivy passed away the following year.
Even beyond the grave, Ivy was capable of causing problems for Gail. The terms of Ivy's will, forged during the adoption dispute, left her house to young Nicky on the condition that he change his surname back to Tilsley, further damaging the then strained relationship between Nicky and Martin. In 2006, Ivy's old diary was discovered and fell into David's hands, once again causing heartache for Gail as it revealed her planned abortion of David.
Eileen Grimshaw
"Run along home now, Gail. The curtains won't twitch themselves, you know."- Eileen Grimshaw
For years, Eileen has been one of Gail's greatest enemies. The long running feud originates with the teenage relationship of Todd and Sarah. Like Gail, Eileen is incredibly protective of her children, having raised her boys as a single mother and believed that Sarah was holding intelligent Todd back from university and a better future. When Eileen was rude and threatening towards Sarah, Gail leapt to her defence, although she too became dissatisfied with Sarah and Todd after Sarah moved out and became pregnant again, meaning she found some common ground with Eileen.
Things escalated after Todd and Sarah's relationship disintegrated in May 2004 and Gail was enraged to discover Eileen had known Todd was gay and hadn't said anything. Gail confronted Eileen in the street and the pair ended up brawling in their dressing gowns. Neither ever truly moved on and when David lied about Eileen's elder son Jason hitting him the following year, Gail and Eileen were fighting on the doorstep again. When Sarah and Jason then began a relationship and got married, Gail and Eileen were reluctantly forced to bite their tongues and be amicable with each other, but the peace couldn't always be maintained and when this relationship also fell apart, both leapt to the defence of their respective children again. After Sarah left for Milan, Jason slept with Becky Granger and Gail found out and told Sarah, there was another fracas with Eileen.
If they weren't fighting about their kids, then it usually involved a man. In 2005, both Gail and Eileen set the sights on reflexologist Phil Nail and competed for his affections. When Gail believed Phil had slept with Eileen, his car having remained outside her house overnight, the pair squabbled in the Rovers. In 2015, Gail was outraged when latest estranged husband Michael moved in with Eileen at No.11 after he walked out on her. When Michael and Eileen then began a relationship themselves, Gail and Eileen inevitably came to blows again with another altercation in the street.
On occasion however the pair have been known to soften towards and support each other. In 2007, Gail supported Eileen when she struggled to give the girl she had believed to be her granddaughter back to her biological mother and helped her come to the right decision. After David smashed up the street in 2008, Eileen reached out to an upset Gail but Gail rebuffed her. In 2018 when Eileen discovered her husband Pat Phelan was a murderer, Gail turned up at No.11 claiming she had come to offer sympathy. But Eileen found Gail's recalling of her own history with Richard to be an attempt at one-upmanship and slung her out.
In 2021, Eileen and Gail came to blows once again when Eileen inadvertently reversed over a wreath during the funeral procession for Gail's father Ted. Although Eileen apologised it was clearly insincere and when Eileen later decided to tease Gail about her distant relation to undertaker George Shuttleworth, who Eileen was pursuing, they exploded into another slanging match in the street.
Background information
Creation and casting
Gail was originally introduced as a short-term character and as the friend of Tricia Hopkins (Kathy Jones), appearing for ten episodes from July to November 1974. Helen Worth returned to the role permanently from Episode 1468 broadcast on the 12th February 1975 and has remained in the role since then, celebrating forty years of the character in July 2014. To mark this milestone, a documentary was produced looking back at Worth's tenure on the show to that point, titled Gail & Me - Forty Years on Coronation Street.
Gail’s backstory was altered slightly when her mother Audrey was first introduced in 1979, played by Sue Nicholls. While Gail had previously referenced her married parents, it was now established that Audrey was a single parent and details on Gail’s absent father were finally expanded on in May 2000.
Brian and Ivy
From Gail's marriage to Brian in 1979, right up until Lynne Perrie's exit in 1994, a significant part of Gail's character was her feud with 'mother-in-law from hell' Ivy Tilsley. On the origins of the feud, archivist and scriptwriter Daran Little said: "Ivy and Gail were both in love with the same man and that was Brian, Ivy's son and Gail's husband" (The Corrie Years). Ivy's religious objections to Protestant Gail marrying her Catholic son were echoed by some viewers who still saw a mixed religious marriage as a taboo which Coronation Street were endorsing, as Helen Worth recalled in The Corrie Years.
In 1988, Christopher Quinten moved to the USA to be closer to his wife and despite his hopes to continue on Coronation Street part-time, the decision was taken by producer Bill Podmore to kill Brian off in a stabbing outside a nightclub, leaving Gail a widow.
The Richard Hillman Saga
One of Gail's biggest storylines to date began in 2001 when she started dating Richard Hillman, played by actor Brian Capron. Gail and Richard's wedding in July 2002 was the first fictional wedding to receive a photo spread in OK! Magazine.
The subsequent storyline which saw Richard evolve into a serial killer was a ratings winner and the episode in which Richard confessed his crimes to Gail in February 2003 brought in 19.4 million viewers, with the National Grid reporting a massive power surge immediately after the episode aired. [1] This made the episode the most watched television programme in the UK in 2003 and the highest rated Coronation Street episode of the 2000s.
Another significant episode followed in March when Richard returned and kidnapped Gail and the rest of the Platt family before driving them into the canal. In order to film the canal episodes, Helen Worth had to learn to swim and overcome a fear of being underwater. Discussing her phobia Worth said: "I am the sort of person who does not even put my head under the shower. I hate getting my hair wet.". Worth was trained by a qualified swimming coach and within four or five lessons was able to do tricks underwater.[2] This was another ratings hit for the show, bringing in 17.4 million viewers and in 2010 was voted as the second greatest moment of the show's first 50 years. Furthermore it was nominated for Greatest Moment of the previous 20 years at the 2018 British Soap Awards, although it lost out to the Hotten Bypass Crash from Emmerdale. [3]
With the relationship between Sarah and Todd Grimshaw, an ongoing feud was conceived between Gail and Eileen Grimshaw, played by Sue Cleaver.
A bride again
The next significant relationship for Gail was with Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale) who would go on to become her fourth husband in 2010. In an interview with Digital Spy, about Gail's relationship with Joe in contrast to her previous husbands, Worth said: "On paper, Joe looks quite normal! He's like any other normal man with problems and they're getting on top of him... When Gail marries him, Joe's problems become her problems and that's the way it should be. That sums their relationship up, really. She'll do anything for him because Gail can't let her dream go. To realise that he's the wrong man would spell the end of her dream, so she's not going to do it." [4]
As of 2019, Helen Worth has made the second-highest number of Coronation Street appearances, behind William Roache and the highest of any female actor.
First and last lines
"He's not coming." (First line, to Tricia Hopkins, referring to Ray Langton)
Appendices
List of addresses
Address | Duration |
---|---|
Richmond Road, Weatherfield | Unknown |
Bath Street | Unknown |
Corner Shop bedsit | February 1975 to May 1976 |
11 Coronation Street | June 1976 to November 1979 |
5 Coronation Street | December 1979 to 18th August 1980 |
5 Buxton Close | 18th August 1980 to 17th October 1983 |
5 Coronation Street | 17th October 1983 to 17th June 1985 |
33 Hammond Road | 17th June 1985 to 23rd December 1991 |
8 Coronation Street | 23rd December 1991 to February 2003 |
5 Grasmere Drive | February 2003 to 2nd March 2003 |
8 Coronation Street | 2nd March 2003 to 25th February 2013 |
4 Coronation Street | 25th February 2013 to 20th March 2013 |
8 Coronation Street | 20th March 2013 to present |
Employment history
Role | Institution | Duration |
---|---|---|
Secretary | Mark Brittain Warehouse | 1974 to 1st October 1975 |
Model | Jet Girl Agency | October 1975 |
Telesales | Weatherfield Heating Bureau | 20th October 1975 to January 1976 |
Shop Assistant | Corner Shop | 2nd February 1976 to May 1976 |
Shop Assistant | Sylvia's Separates | 26th April 1976 to December 1976 |
Barmaid | Rovers Return Inn | 8th November 1976 to 10th November 1976 |
Manager | Western Front | December 1976 to 22nd November 1978 |
Waitress | Dawson's Cafe | 10th January 1979 to January 1980 |
Waitress | Jim's Cafe | 16th January 1980 to May 1980 |
Unemployed | N/A | 1980 to 21st April 1982 |
Waitress | Jim's Cafe | 21st April 1982 to May 1989 |
Co-Owner | Jim's Cafe | May 1989 to May 1997 |
Co-Owner | Roy's Rolls | May 1997 to 2000 |
Receptionist | Rosamund Street Medical Centre | 29th November 2000 to 27th September 2010 |
Waitress/Cleaner | Nick's Bistro | 2011 to 2017 |
Unemployed | N/A | 2017 to March 2019 |
Personal Assistant | Trim Up North | March 2019 to Unknown |
Cleaner | Underworld | January 2021 to unknown |
Cleaner | Viaduct Bistro | June 2022 to present |