As Gail Platt she has survived family tragedy, false imprisonment and five husbands – one of whom was a serial killer.
But this week actress Helen Worth will film her final scenes as the beloved character, bidding farewell to the cobbles of Coronation Street after a staggering 50-year career.
Announcing her departure from the show in June, the 73-year-old said: ‘This year felt like the perfect time to leave the show after celebrating 50 years in the most wonderful job on the most wonderful street in the world.
‘I made the decision at the start of the year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding. The fact that I’m leaving hasn’t quite sunk in yet.’
In her final series Gail finds love again but this time with a man 18 years younger after a surprise return from Jesse Chadwick, played by John Thomson, 55.
Coronation Street has changed its theme tune last night following the death of a long-time character
Gail McIntyre played by Helen Worth, getting married at a registry office
Gail Platt getting married in an episode of Coronation Street in 2010
Thomson left the show after two years in 2010 but has come back and struck up a romance with Ms Worth’s character.
Gail, who first appeared on the ITV soap in 1974, holds the record as its most married female character.
Her on-screen husbands include Brian Tilsley, played by Christopher Quinten, and Martin Platt [Sean Wilson].
More than 19million viewers watched her third husband, serial killer Richard Hillman [Brian Capron], drive her into a canal in one of the show’s most dramatic episodes.
Gail marrying Martin Platt, played by Sean Wilson, in 1991. She holds the record as the soap’s most married female character
An episode of Coronation Street in 1988. The series changed its theme tune following Gail’s death to the sound of a flatlining heartbeat
She was falsely imprisoned when her fourth husband Joe McIntyre [Reece Dinsdale] drowned. Her last marriage was to Michael Rodwell [Les Dennis] in 2015.
Ms Worth’s departure is not the only change on the cobbles as the soap altered its iconic theme tune last night to the sound of a flatlining heartbeat following Gail Platt’s cardiac arrest.
In scenes aired last week, Gail was taken to hospital after a heart attack as Coronation Street partnered with the British Heart Foundation to raise awareness about heart disease.