Craige Els says Derek Milligan is an "accidental villain" with nothing to lose.
The ‘Coronation Street’ star has teased the upcoming Christmas Day (25.12.19) episode, which will see his character turn a gun on evil Gary Windass (Mikey North) when he realises he won’t get to see his family again.
He told Digital Spy: "It isn’t a plot by him to go on the rampage on the street and kill anyone, he is not an evil man.
"He was once a powerful man and he has had all that power taken away from him by the one man who has now taken the most precious thing away from him.
"He has been pushed, he is broken and wild, but he is not evil. There is no malicious intent, there is no premeditation. He is not Pat Phelan or Richard Hillman, he is an accidental gunman, an accidental villain."
His character’s confrontation with Gary takes place on the soap’s Winter Wonderland set with the filming mainly done at night, and Craige described the shoot as a "schoolboy’s dream".
He added: "I could never have imagined when I first started on day one, as hapless Derek who was working for Gary, arriving on the cobbles that it would fast forward seven months and I would be in these scenes having a stunt team showing me how to work in a harness, up a fairground ride waving a gun around and fighting with Gary Windass on Christmas Day!
"That wasn’t lost on me while I was doing it. I have had so many ‘pinch me’ moments, whether it has been on set or even just sat in the green room and William Roache coming over to introduce himself."
Coronation Street’s Craige Els insists Derek Milligan is ‘accidental villain’
