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Coronation Street airs major Maria Connor decision concerning Gary Windass's future in early ITVX release

Warning: Contains spoilers for Thursday's episode of Coronation Street, which airs at 8.30pm on ITV1 or can be streamed now on ITVX.

Maria confronts Gary in the kitchen in a scene from Coronation Street

ITV

Published: Thursday, 23 July 2026 at 1:00 pm

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Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) faced a serious dilemma in today's (23 July) episode of Coronation Street.

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For months, she battled with the belief that husband Gary Windass (Mikey North) was having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien). During a disastrous dinner party, where she decided to challenge the pair over their 'infidelity', a flashback revealed the truth to viewers.

Gary had actually been Sarah's first contact after she'd murdered Theo Silverton (James Cartwright), by hitting him over the head with a pipe and sending him flying off the side of some scaffolding.

After being caught up in her crime, Gary needed an alibi. Just hours before, he'd smashed up Theo's van and threatened him. Maria unknowingly agreed to pretend that they'd spent the night together at the builder's yard so that the police couldn't pin the blame on him.

However, following Sarah's arrest and charges being made earlier this week, Maria began to wonder whether there was something more to the story than she was being told.

Gary hugs Sarah in Coronation Street

Mikey North as Gary Windass and Tina O'Brien as Sarah Platt in Coronation Street. ITV

She'd clocked a picture from Carla and Lisa Connor-Swain's (Alison King and Vicky Myers) wedding – the night Theo died – on Sally Metcalfe's (Sally Dynevor) phone, which showed Gary quite visibly in the background. He was stood on the street, despite telling the police that he was at the yard the entire evening.

With little choice, Gary opened up about what he'd done. He said that after Sarah killed Theo, he disposed of the weapon and helped cover her tracks. Maria was furious and pointed out that he's now accessory to murder, though their conversation was cut short by the arrival of sons Liam (Charlie Wrenshall) and Jake (Bobby Bradshaw).

In today's episode, Sarah's partner Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) continued to be conflicted by the situation. He knows that, by supporting her, it could have a detrimental effect on his career as a police officer. But he also has her young son Harry (Joshua Leavy) to support, which is proving a challenge.

Luckily, her ex-husband Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson) stepped in to defuse the tension between them both.

Meanwhile, Maria was putting on a façade in front of her children, while battling the thought of retracting her statement she gave to the police with the false alibi.

Samia Longchambon as Maria Connor and Mikey North as Gary Windass

Samia Longchambon as Maria Connor and Mikey North as Gary Windass. ITV

He urged her to reconsider, but she was determined to tell the truth. When she returned home, Gary breathed a sigh of relief to hear that Maria didn't want to cause anymore upheaval for their boys.

However, she warned that their future depended on whether Sarah kept his name out of the very sticky situation.

She also asserted that it was clear Gary loved Sarah more than her, even if there was no affair. He begged her to give him a second chance, and she decided to have a word with Sarah at the prison.

What are Maria's intentions?

Read more:

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 or can be streamed from 7am on ITVX.

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Authors

Michael Adams wearing a white t-shirt and beige gilet against a white background

Michael AdamsSoaps Editor

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

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