Coronation Street fans have been mistaking Mikey North, who plays Gary Windass, for his former co-star for 15 years – and he’s yet to correct any of them

Gary Windass (Mikey North) has been on the cobbles since 2008, but fans still get him mixed up with another Coronation Street star. Mikey was the latest soap star in Kevin and Liz Fletcher’s Off Script podcast, where he spilled all the tea.

Since he’s been in the show so long, Liz was curious to know what Corrie fans call Gary when they see him on the street. “Is it Gary or Windass?” she asked. However, to Liz’s shock, it was neither.

“It’s Chesney,” he laughed – explaining that he gets mistaken for Chesney actor Sam Aston. “It’s followed me around all these years. It’s funny.

“It’s an in-joke at work that my name is Chesney. I guess people who dip in and out who watched it when Chesney was really young, and then tune in years later and see me, they think that Chesney grew up to be me, if that makes sense?”

Mickey then went on to reveal how himself and Chesney shared a dressing room at the studio for 15 years. “It’s sort of like they were congregating the gingers,” he laughed.

However, Mickey doesn’t bother to correct fans, as he told the hosts he “just goes along with it” when people ask him how Chesney’s late dog Schmeichel is.

Sam Aston first joined the soap in 2003, five years before Mickey. At the time of joining, he was just 10 years old.

Last month, Corrie fans were left stunned when ‘missing’ Gary Windass arrived back on the cobbles after months away from the soap. Prior to this, the character hadn’t been seen on screen since January, leaving fans puzzled by his sudden disappearance.

There had been no mention of where he’d gone, and not a single storyline to explain his absence, leaving fans confused. During his return, Gary told Maria he was planning to sell his shop and buy the builder’s yard in an attempt at a fresh start. However, Maria wasn’t convinced that was a good idea.

Things then became worse for the couple when Maria found out Gary had offered Mick a job at the yard. However, .the position didn’t last long, after Gary discovered that Mick had locked his step-son Liam in a cabinet for hours. Mick was then sacked and the pair ended up having a brawl in broad daylight.

Elsewhere in his podcast episode, Mickey said that he hopes to share the screen with Jeff Hordley‘s character Cain Dingle, when the soaps take part in the historic crossover episode next year.

Asked which Emmerdale characters he wants to be mixing with, the actor replied: “It’s got to be Cain, hasn’t it?” “A Windass and a Dingle, that would be brilliant,” said Kelvin, to which Mikey laughed: “Windass V Dingle.”

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .