Corrie's Gary star 'in real pain' filming stunts as rival played by ex-champion boxer

dailystar.co.uk:

Coronation Street star Mikey North has admitted he "wasn't acting" out the pain his character Gary Windass feels when being strangled in upcoming scenes.Next week, Kelly Neelan is set to find out the truth about her father Rick's death at the hands of her guardian, and sets out to get revenge by hiring a hitman.Determined to see Gary killed off, Kelly unknowingly plunges herself into real danger as the villain turns on her too, putting both their lives on the line – but could this herald Millie Gibson's final exit from the ITV soap?READ MORE:Corrie's Hope star feels 'left out' in 'heated' home life with co-star siblingsSpeaking to Daily Star about the upcoming storyline, Mikey explained that he "enjoys" getting to perform his own stunts, but that they can often be intimidating.With a week full of action, it's no surprise that he "has to take a punch or two".Mikey explained: "I’ve been lucky they do let me do a lot of my own stunts here.

Sometimes they can be careful [about it] but obviously they believe that I can get hit by a car or jump off a roof. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing!"But it’s one of my favourite parts of the job.

I think I’m more of a frustrated stunt man than an actor. It’s something that I always enjoyed getting my teeth stuck into, taking a punch or two."It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, however, as he added: "Weirdly, one of the 'heavies', we call them – one of the baddie's sidekicks in this storyline – was actually an ex-champion boxer. "And let me tell you that when he strangles you he is not acting.

He is doing that for real, and Millie [Gibson] will vouch for that as well. When you see us being strangled that is not acting."The star went on to pay tribute to his co-star.