Gary Costello

Gary Costello was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Gary Webster from 2003 until the final episode of the series 2005.

Character information

Gary first arrived in Charnham in September 2003, after purchasing Number 12 Stanley Street from Jim Webb and his family who had recently moved to Spain. Gary had lost his job in Chigwell and was forced to move his wife Chrissy, and their daughters Melanie and Chloe to Charnham. A short while later,Gary's mother Myra, moved over from Spain to live with the family. Gary later went into partnership with Dave Matthews and together they set up a business called Gaz n' Dave's, a minicab firm.

Later that year, Chrissy had taken Chloe to the doctors and had told Gary that Chloe had been diagnosed with cancer. This later turned out to be a lie, resulting in the subsequent arrest of Chrissy. Chrissy had duped the local residents into starting a collection for Chloe.

It transpired that Chrissy had suffered from mental illness after losing her sister, Helen as a child.

Gary and Chrissy's marriage went through numerous problems and they separated for a while.

In October 2004, Melanie's ex-boyfriend, Bradley Foster who had lodged with the Costellos for several months, had been accused of sexually abusing Chloe. This led to a fierce showdown on Bonfire Night when Gary wanted a confession and Bradley (who had moved next door to with his mother, Sharon Ingram and her boyfriend Conrad Williams) began goading Gary about how Chloe wouldn't leave him alone. Gary angrily shouted "She's only 10 years old!" and promptly punched Bradley, knocking him out.

Gary was remanded in custody for assault and Bradley, upon receiving a retina operation was arraigned with him, as Bradley had been charged with possession of indecent images. Both were subsequently bailed, but a question mark hung over Gary's future.

On Christmas Eve 2004, Gary proposed to Chrissy to remarry him and she accepted.

Gary stood trial in Spring 2005 for the assault on Bradley and things weren't looking very good. The verdict was rendered and the jury found Gary not guilty.

Shortly afterwards, Gary and Chrissy remarried.

The Costellos had more dramas to worry about when Melanie ran away in May 2005 after a failed relationship with Graham Harker, who was revealed to be the rapist of Melanie's ex-mother-in-law, Denise Boulter.

Gary began to struggle a little with the cab business once Dave left for Scotland.

In the final week of the series, Mel returned home and Gary was very welcoming towards her whereas Chrissy was quite cold. Eventually, Chrissy warmed to Mel's return.

In the final episode of the series on 30 December 2005, Eileen Callan, the former landlady of The Black Swan pub revealed she had a win on the lottery and bought a house in Chigwell and one next door for the Costellos.

Shortly before the credits rolled, Gary said "I'm going to miss this place" (This quote was used in a trailer for the final week of the series)