Soaps

Coronation Street: What exactly did happen to Gail’s husbands? Here’s how they all died (and the one who survived)

She's had some heartache...

After 50 years on the cobbles, Coronation Street character Gail Platt has certainly had her fair share of husbands that’s for sure.

Five, to be exact. From heart attacks to deaths (real and fake), Gail is certainly cursed in the love department.

But who were her husbands? And what happened to them? We take a look back at Weatherfield’s answer to Henry VIII.

Brian and Gail smiling
Brian was Gail’s first husband (Credit: ITV/ Shutterstock)

1. Coronation Street: Gail and Brian Tilsley

Gail’s first marriage lasted a whopping nine years, which is pretty good considering her track record. She was married to Brian from 1979 to 1987.

He was Gail’s first love, but not all was perfect with old Brian.

The pair fell into some money troubles, and to take the pressure off her life, Gail started an affair with Brian’s cousin, Ian Latimer. Definitely keeping it in the family…

From this affair, Gail fell pregnant with Sarah Platt. She confessed the truth to Brian, as she could not tell who the father was. Back in the 1980s, this was a huge shock to living rooms around the country.

Gail and Brian subsequently divorced in 1987. They briefly reconciled their love, but it was short lived as Brian was stabbed outside a nightclub by Darren Whateley in 1988.

Martin was said to be Gail’s ‘one true love’ (Credit: ITV/ Shutterstock)

2. Coronation Street: Gail and Martin Platt

Here we get Gail’s permanent surname. She was originally a Potter, but took on different names through her various marriages.

It took Gail around a year to get over her shock of Brian’s death. She moved onto Martin Platt in 1989, much to the surprise of the Street…

Gail was 10 years older than Martin, which led to many weird stares at first. They both married in 1990, and managed to survive 10 years together.

Here, the couple welcomed David to the family. They encountered a few challenges, however, including Sarah falling pregnant at 13 with Bethany.

They survived many challenges, but fell apart when Martin caught eyes with Gail’s close friend, Rebecca Hopkins. Martin engaged in an affair with the nurse, which sent Gail packing to the divorce lawyer. They just weren’t meant to be…

Gail will never forget this ex (Credit: ITV/ Shutterstock)

3. Richard Hillman

Richard Hillman is a name that fills any soap fan with dread. Gail isn’t known for good pairings – but this one truly takes the biscuit for the worst.

Gail fell head over heels for the charm of smooth talker Richard in 2002. The financial advisor’s intentions did not match up with his chat, however.

Richard was a murdered. He killed hairdresser Maxine Peacock and his ex-wife Patricia Hillman. Richard also left his business partner, Duggie Ferguson, to die when he fell through a banister. He was a nasty piece of work…

The marriage ended in 2003, when Richard tried to end his own life and the rest of the family’s by driving them into the canal. Richard was the only one to die, putting an end to their marriage.

They never were endgame (Credit: ITV/ Shutterstock)

4. Joe McIntyre

Gail (understandably) took a break from love following her close brush with death. A few years later, Gail then fell for another charming man – Joe McIntyre.

Joe also brought his daughter and soap favourite, Tina McIntyre into the equation. David and Tina also had a relationship, just to make things a bit more awkward…

But turns out Joe wasn’t very nice either. A month after their wedding, Joe faked his own death and framed Gail for his murder.

While she was found not guilty, Joe later ended his own life and Gail was widowed once more. As we said, Gail doesn’t have much luck…

Michael met a grisly fate (Credit: ITV/ Shutterstock)

5. Michael Rodwell

Fans are sure to remember Michael, who also caused Gail some heartache.

They got married in 2015 but the marriage was short-lived when Michael died of a heart attack caused by one of Corrie’s villains Pat Phelan.

Long live Gail and Eileen’s feud…

Since then, Gail has, perhaps intelligently, stayed single. However, with new ‘friend’ Jesse Chadwick on the scene, could we see another romance brewing?

Read more: Complete Coronation Street cast list 2024 – meet them all here!

6 dramatic Coronation Street spoilers (21st-25th October)

Coronation Street usually airs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV.

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Claudia Trotman
Freelance Soaps Writer