Gail Platt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Coronation Street character | |
 |
|
| Gail Platt | |
|---|---|
| Played by | Helen Worth |
| Duration | 1973- |
| Marital Status | Widowed |
| Occupation | Receptionist |
| Family | Nick, Sarah, David, Audrey, Bethany |
Gail Platt (née Potter; previously Tilsley and Hillman) 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 entered the series on 12 July 1974 as a friend of Tricia Hopkins. Kathy Jones played Tricia and was an up-coming star within the Granada Television company, and had the Hopkins family built round 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's character, but would remain in the programme for 32 years. 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 infact he was the person who had been stalking her. Ernest & Emily Bishop found it strange that a GPO engineer would call at nightime 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 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] Marriage to Brian Tilsley
Gail married Brian Tilsley November 28, 1979. This set off a fifteen-year feud between Gail and Brian's mother Ivy, who hated Gail, and challenged her on many occasions — which ranged from Gail not attending Catholic Church to Ivy believing that Gail was simply not a good wife for Brian. Gail's friend Suzie left the Street in 1979 and returned in 1983, intent on having an affair with Brian. He resisted Suzie's advances and told Gail, who — with the help of Elsie Tanner — sent Suzie packing.
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. The infidelity caused the break-up of the Tilsley marriage, but after paternity tests proved Brian to be baby Sarah's father, the couple got back together and remarried in 1988.
[edit] Second Marriage
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 committed to each other after Gail fell pregnant by him. 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.
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 and Nick left for Canada again.
However, while Gail's problems with 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.
[edit] Third Marriage
Gail was divorced from Martin, in 2001, when he cheated on her, and in 2002 she married Richard Hillman who turned out to be a murderer. Gail was horrified to discover he had killed his ex-wife and also Maxine Peacock. This, along with the other factors (including the sexual abuse), resulted in her refusal to cover for him. Richard decided that Gail and her children needed to die with him and attempted to drown them. Gail survived, as did her children. Once Richard had died, Gail resumed using the surname "Platt" and is again on good terms with Martin.
[edit] Problems with Sarah and David
Since her daughter Sarah's boyfriend Todd Grimshaw cheated on her with another man, Gail has been feuding on and off 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 2005 love interest, podiatrist Phil Nail, and when Sarah struck up a stormy relationship with Todd's brother, Jason Grimshaw.
From early 2006 until May 21, Gail received cards signed by the deceased husband Richard Hillman which caused her to become reliant on sleeping pills and drink. She rang the police and accused Eileen Grimshaw of sending the cards. Gail was forced to break up with Phil when he pushed her son David across the table. Meanwhile, her relationship with her youngest, son David was strained to the point of breakdown, when it was revealed to be him sending the cards.
Gail forgave David and believed that he would keep in line, only to find out later on that he was skipping school. Being a protective mother, trying to rebuild a broken relationship, Gail swallowed David's sob story about being bullied.
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 November 13th 2006.
[edit] Family
- Mother: Audrey Roberts
- Father Ted Paige
- Half-brother: Stephen Reid
- Husband: Richard Hillman (deceased)
- Sons: Nick Tilsley, David Platt
- Daughter: Sarah-Louise Platt
- Grandchildren: Bethany Platt, Billy Platt (deceased)
