Gail Platt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gail Platt | |||||||||||
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| Image:Gail Hillman 2007.jpg Gail in 2007 | |||||||||||
| Coronation Street | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Helen Worth | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 12 July 1974- | ||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||
| Gender | Female | ||||||||||
| Date of birth | 22 April 1958 | ||||||||||
| Occupation | Receptionist | ||||||||||
| Residence | No.8 Coronation Street | ||||||||||
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Gail Platt (née Potter; previously Tilsley) is a fictional character played by actress Helen Worth on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
Contents |
[edit] Early life on Coronation Street
Gail Potter, born 22 April, 1958, entered the series on 12 July 1974 as a friend of Tricia Hopkins. Kathy Jones played Tricia and was an upcoming star within the Granada Television company, and had the Hopkins family built around her, with the promise of a long-term contract. Helen Worth was cast as Gail, who worked as a clerk at the Mark Brittain Mailorder Warehouse on Coronation Street, and was a colleague of Tricia. The character of Gail was only intended as a 'mate' for Jones' character, but has remained in the programme since her debut. After the Hopkins family left the area, Gail & Tricia moved into the Corner Shop flat and ran the shop, with the help of Betty Turpin.
Between the end of 1975 and early 1976, Gail was plagued by nuisance telephone calls at the flat. On the evening of January 21 1976, a man, calling himself John Lane, turned up at the flat while Gail was alone and claimed to be a GPO engineer, telling Gail that he would intercept any further calls, with the intention of tracing the number. As they waited for a telephone call, Lane's behaviour grew suspicious with Gail realising that in fact he was the person who had been stalking her. Ernest & Emily Bishop found it strange that a GPO engineer would call at nighttime and alerted the police. Lane broke down when the police arrived at the flat and admitted it had been him.
Tricia moved away from Weatherfield, and Elsie Tanner lodged briefly with Gail at the corner shop, before they both moved into Elsie's former home at No.11 Coronation Street. The pair began working at Sylvia's Separates, a dress shop, with Elsie as manageress and Gail as assistant. During the summer of 1976, Gail got involved in a relationship with a sales rep, Roy Thornley, and gave him her virginity. Gail suddenly became involved in a messy divorce case, and was named as co-respondent by Thornley's wife, with Elsie intervening to help clear Gail's name. Thornley's wife agreed not to name Gail when she found her husband was having another affair with the shop owner, Sylvia Matthews.
In 1977, Elsie & Gail were joined at No.11 by Suzie Birchall, and the trio of women would become one of the programme's most popular groups. Gail & Suzie had very different personalities and they brought life to Elsie, showing her maternal side. In March 1977, Suzie & Gail tried to help Elsie by cleaning her chimney using a brick tied to a piece of rope, but when on the roof, Suzie dropped the brick down the wrong chimney and the living room of the house next door (the Ogdens') was covered with soot.
The feud with Ogdens resurfaced again in 1978, when Suzie put her foot through the Ogdens' bedroom ceiling from the loft. The roof of the Ogdens' house had fallen into disrepair and pigeons had started to live in the roofspace, causing nuisance to Elsie and the girls at No.11, with Suzie going up to try and deter the birds. When Elsie refused to pay for the damage to the Ogdens' ceiling, on the grounds that it was their fault in the first place, Hilda beat a hole in Elsie's bedroom ceiling with a broom.
[edit] Life with Brian
A teenager at the time, Gail originally referred to her parents as a happy couple. This theory was later dispelled when mother Audrey entered the show, and Gail was not the top of her priorities. Gail and her first husband Brian had two children: son Nick (born in 1980) and daughter Sarah-Louise (born in 1987). Gail was originally unsure of the identity of Sarah's father, because she had had an affair with Brian's cousin, Ian Latimer, just before becoming pregnant. Brian when he found out had wanted Gail to have an abortion, which she refused point blank. The infidelity caused the break-up of the Tilsley marriage, but after paternity tests proved Brian to be baby Sarah's father, the couple reunited and remarried in 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 Nick. The threat, however, was never to be fulfilled...
[edit] Gail and Martin
When Brian was killed in a nightclub scuffle in 1989, Gail became drawn to the much younger Martin Platt, who had worked for her at the café. The two became involved and soon Gail fell pregnant by him. Gail did not think it was fair for Martin to have a child at his age, and was about to have an abortion when Martin stopped her. 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 Nick changed his name back to Tilsley in order to benefit from the will of his grandmother, Ivy (Sarah hadn't been named in the will as Ivy never truly believed her to be Brian's daughter, despite the DNA tests).
As Nick grew into his teens, he grew increasingly defiant towards his mother and Martin, so Gail eventually sent him away to Canada to live with her brother Stephen. A mature Nick returned in 1997, but shocked his mother by marrying Leanne Battersby. Leanne and Gail would have a similar relationship to that of Gail and Ivy, but eventually Nick and Leanne divorced. Nick left for Canada again.
Martin was much younger than Gail and so was tempted by other women. He cheated on her with nurse Cathy Power, but Gail forgave him. However, his affair with Rebecca ended the marriage and they divorced in 2001.
[edit] Gail and Richard
Gail grew closer to her good friend Alma Baldwin's cousin Richard Hillman. Smooth-talking Richard whisked Gail off her feet, and they married in 2002. But little did she know that her apparently perfect husband was actually a homicidal conman.
He treated Gail and her children to expensive gifts, but Richard was in fact a serial killer who would go to any lengths to maintain his extravagant lifestyle. He murdered several Weatherfield residents and tried to kill many others, including Gail's mother Audrey, who knew all along that Richard was evil. She tried to warn her daughter off but Gail refused to listen and instead believed that her mum was mentally ill.
When Gail 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 in a two-hander episode, admitting to the murders of Maxine Peacock and his ex-wife Patricia. He also revealed thatJust as Gail began to get her life back on track, Richard returned to Weatherfield. He tied Gail up, along with her children and took them for the ride of their lives. Richard sent them flying into a canal in an attempt to kill them all. Gail and her children escaped unharmed, but Richard drowned.
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 fiancial ruin and looked set to lose her house. However, Audrey saved the day when she used her life savings' to buy the house for Gail. Once again, it was time for Gail to start all over again.
[edit] Problems with Sarah and David
[edit] Sarah
However, while Gail's problems with son Nick were now over, her problems with Sarah were just beginning. As Sarah approached her teens, she also grew defiant just like her brother before her. Shortly after Sarah's 13th birthday, Gail and Sarah made the shocking discovery that Sarah was pregnant. Sarah was five months along and as a result it was too late for an abortion. Sarah would give birth to Gail's first grandchild in June 2000.
Since her daughter Sarah's boyfriend Todd Grimshaw cheated on her with another man, Gail has been feuding with Todd's mother Eileen Grimshaw, the antagonism notably peaking in a public street brawl. This situation has been further exacerbated by Eileen competing with Gail for the affections of Gail's most recent love interest, reflexologist Phil Nail, and when Sarah struck up a stormy relationship with Todd's brother, Jason Grimshaw.
Gail had to help Sarah through the trauma of being jilted at the altar by her beloved fiance Jason and was furious with her daughter when she forgave him and they reconciled.
[edit] David
From early 2006 until 21 May, Gail received cards apparently signed by deceased husband Richard Hillman, which caused her to become reliant on sleeping pills and drink. She contacted the police and accused arch-enemy Eileen Grimshaw of sending the cards. Gail was forced to break up with Phil when he pushed her son David across the table; she also wrongly believed that it was Phil who was behind the cards.
Weeks of mystery followed as Gail and viewers tried to work out who was responsible for the Platt family's torment. All kinds of people who suspected of committing the crime. Even Gail herself was mentioned by some as the possible hoaxer.
Her relationship with son David was strained to the point of breakdown when it was finally revealed to be him sending the cards. His motive was both for attention from his mum and also to split Gail up from Phil, who David hated. She marched him to the police to close the case of the Hillman cards for good, but, of course, Gail didn't press charges.
Gail forgave David and believed that he would keep in line, (she also blamed herself for his behaviour as she had broken up with his father and she also brought a serial killer into their house), only to find out later on that he was playing truant. Being a protective mother, trying to rebuild a broken relationship, Gail swallowed David's sob story about being bullied. However, it transpired that this was a lie David had told to get away with skipping school.
The story of David's truancy escalated until, in October 2006, 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. Gail attended the first one on 1 November 2006.
After a 2006 dominated by problems with her children, Gail hoped for an enjoyable Christmas. But troublesome David's behaviour would ensure that Christmas Day 2006 would be anything apart from enjoyable. Not only did he unveil Ivy Brennan's old diary, which revealed episodes from Gail's past that she'd rather have forgotten, including her planned abortion of David, but he also exposed his Gran Audrey Roberts' affair with Bill Webster. Christmas at the Platts and life from late 2005 in general was consequently miserable because of David's actions and bizarre behaviour.
Since Christmas, Gail has endured more and more misery at the hands of her wicked son. David lied in court that he saw the murder of Charlie Stubbs and while Gail couldn't be sure he was telling the truth, she vowed to stand by her son anyway. As GCSE's came up, Gail became increasingly concerned that David wouldn't turn up to take them, and after he set fire to his Geography exam, she told him "I'm just about ready to wash my hands of you." David ran away from home when Gail finally told him that he needed to start paying rent, but knowing her son's deteriorating mental state, Gail was worried sick. David 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 Platt swallowed an ecstacy tablet, left in her dolly's head by David. Bethany was sent to intensive care and Gail finally gathered the strength to tell David to leave home. David was distraught, but Gail remained strong and told him not to attend the wedding of Sarah and Jason.
In an attempt to ruin Sarah and Jason's wedding, David loosened the bolts on some scaffolding so that Jason ended in hospital. While the finger pointed instantly to David, Gail refused to believe her sixteen-year-old son would be capable of such a thing. But Jason Grimshaw confessed to Gail that David had been acting disturbingly for a long time. "He made a gun and started pointing it. But mainly Gail.... he was pointing it at you."
After this bombshell, Gail had a serious talk with David where he told her he didn't know how to be happy. But Gail's primary concern was Sarah and her wedding, and she therefore told David to stay away.
On Sarah's wedding day, David drove his car into the canal where Richard drove. A distraught Gail was forced to wait for hours on news on whether he was alive or dead, and when he finally did arrive home, Gail swore to him she would never let the situation get so out of hand again.
David left this message for Gail to find, on her answerphone:
"So did you not think I meant what I said? In the letter? Did you think 'oh, it's just another one of David's tricks. Or one of his little games'? Yeah well, big mistake there because this isn't a trick or a game. And I just wish I could be there to see the looks on your rotten faces when you realise that! Or... I don't know, maybe you might even be pleased. It's not like any of you wanted me around before is it!? Eh!? ESPECIALLY YOU MOTHER! You even thought about killing me before I was even born didn't you!? You just couldn't quite manage it, could you? Yeah well I can. So happy days. You're finally going to get what you always wanted."
David is now controlling Gail's life all over again, as she struggles to maintain a grip on her unhinged son.
[edit] Italy
In 2007 Stephen Reid, Gails half brother came to stay over Christmas. He offered David a job in Milan and David immediately accepted. However, due to him spoiling Sarah's wedding day, Sarah vowed revenge and planted ecstasy tablets in his drawer at the salon. Audrey, consequently found them, and David was told that he was not going to Milan by mother Gail. He protested his innocence but nobody believed him. Sarah was offered the job and left with Jason and Bethany. At the train station, Sarah told Jason that she planted the drugs and was proud of it. He told her to not get on the train and return home where they could talk about it. Sarah and Bethany continued to Italy whilst Jason returned to Weatherfield. He told Gail everything and she was shocked. David asked her if she was disappointed as Sarah was supposed to be the good girl but she didn't reply as she was trying to digest the news.
[edit] Family
- Father: Ted Paige
- Mother: Audrey Roberts
- Half Brother: Stephen Reid
- Sons: Nick Tilsley, David Platt
- Daughter: Sarah-Louise Grimshaw
- Grandfather: Robert Potter
- Grandmother: Nancy Potter
- Grandson: Billy Platt (deceased)
- Granddaughter: Bethany Platt
[edit] Friends
- Sally Webster
- Jerry Morton
- Claire Peacock
- Emily Bishop
- Deirdre Barlow
- Tricia Hopkins (Former Resident)
- Suzie Birchall (Former Resident)
- Elsie Tanner (Former Resident)
The Platt Family in Coronation Street |
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Martin Platt | Nick Tilsley | Sarah-Louise Grimshaw | Bethany Platt | Billy Platt | David Platt Spouses: Gail Platt | Leanne Battersby | Jason Grimshaw |
The Tilsley Family in Coronation Street |
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Bert Tilsley | Brian Tilsley | Nick Tilsley | Sarah-Louise Grimshaw | Bethany Platt | Billy Platt | Spouses: Ivy Brennan | Gail Platt | Leanne Battersby | Jason Grimshaw |
