Gary Windass has been sentenced to eight months in prison on the latest episode of Coronation Street. The builder, who has been played by Mikey North since 2008, has seemingly exited the ITV soap for now after being caught up in the murder of Theo Silverton.
Sarah Platt's Self-Defence Claim
Earlier this year, Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) came face-to-face with evil Theo, who had been abusing her best friend Todd for months, on the scaffolder's yard roof and ended up hitting him over the head with a metal pipe. At the time, Sarah immediately called Gary for help and he hid the murder weapon.
Sarah was put in prison after being charged with the murder and during her trial, she constantly claimed that her actions had been in self-defence, so, in the end, she walked free.
Shock Twist in Tuesday's Episode
But in a shock twist that aired as part of Tuesday night's episode of the world's longest-running TV soap, it was confirmed that Gary would be sentenced to time behind bars for perverting the cause of justice.
That morning, Gary and Maria had been off to his sentencing and his wife had something of a spat with Sarah in the street about how she had managed to get away with her crime. Later on, Maria returned alone, and stormed into the Bistro to tell Sarah the news.
Reactions to the Sentencing
In disbelief, Sarah said: "Eight months?" as Maria shot back: "There's nowt wrong with your hearing, is there? So, Bethany, an eight-month sentence. Do we think that was lenient of the judge or what?"
Maria's brother Kirk later predicted that Gary would only serve four months of his sentence. Then, calling from prison, he told Maria: "I'm sorry I'm putting you through all this, babe. I'm fine, honestly. I just need you to stay strong for me. It's gonna fly by."
The episode was released early on ITVX, and fans who had already watched were quick to react. On Reddit, viewers were clearly divided over the twist as one said: "so....the male goes to prison, while the female who committed the crime walks free. Soap logic continues to amaze me."
Another said: "Sarah got off on self defence, that doesn't obsolve Gary from what he did," and a third wrote: "This is actually an important storyline to run. Spend some time reading up on this subject, the differing sentencing guidelines between genders and the differing rates of incarceration. There’s a pretty stark reality out there."
A fourth wrote: "Do we think this means Gary has left or are we gonna have eight months of that bloody prison set to look forward to?"
Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
