Home > Soaps > Coronation Street: Mikey North (Gary Windass) thanked by soldiers January 30th, 2011 by Lisa McGarry. 1 Comment Mikey North has been thanked by high-ranking members of the Army for his portrayal of post-traumatic stress syndrome. The ‘Coronation Street’ actor – who plays soldier Gary Windass in the ITV1 soap – explained being told by people who have experienced life on the frontline in Afghanistan that he is playing his disturbed alter-ego in a convincing manner was a “big relief”. He said: “I’ve had guys from quite high up in the army contacting me to thank me for the work that I’ve done on the storyline and for portraying it in the way that I have, which is really nice. That’s a big relief for me, because obviously you want to keep it realistic when it’s such a current issue. “One guy even came up to me in the street and said that he’d joined up for the Army because he’d been inspired by Gary and he saw it as a way to do something with his life. That’s a massi...