For Gord's sake... I meant no harm; The big interview Scot Gray O'Brien on the Old Firm remark in Corrie that caused a storm and led to a war of words.

Byline: By PAUL ENGLISH

It's not often a Coronation Street murderer becomes the subject of discussion on the Old Firm web forums but Tony Gordon broke new ground last week.

The Underworld boss made a throwaway comment which incensed Gers fans but had the Hoops supporters writing songs online in his honour.

But, despite growing up shouting for Celtic, Ayrshire actor Gray O'Brien, who plays the renegade pants boss, was amazed at the fuss it caused.

And he admits he's concerned about fans' reaction to him next time he's at home. The scene in question came when Tony's fiancee Carla quizzed him about his relationship with teen temptress Rosie Webster.

Rebuffing her questions, Tony said: "I could be no more interested in Rosie Webster than I could support Glasgow Rangers."

Within five minutes, Gray O'Brien's phone was ringing and a war of words was unfolding over the internet. It even led to Corrie bosses banning any further anti-Rangers jibes from the show.

Choosing his answers carefully, under the hawkish eye of the Corrie PR department, Gray confesses it had nothing to do with him.

The actor, whose character this week bumps off love rival Liam Connor in a tense week-long storyline, says: "I have absolutely no input into the scripts - everything really has to be verbatim in this show.

"Everyone seems to think that I get to ad-lib and say what I like.

"But it was a scripted line and I had no idea it was going to cause what it's caused. Unfortunately, something like that will always get picked up in Scotland though.

"I didn't really give it a lot of thought.

It's well-documented that I'm a Celtic supporter but I need to be clear that I certainly wasn't going out of my way to antagonise Rangers fans.

"I have a couple of friends who texted me after it but I also got people texting me about it saying 'you had better watch what you're doing now'.

"I have had to explain to the people at Corrie about the implications. It's not Man City and Man United we're talking about here, it's Rangers and Celtic.

"We have all been brought up with that on the west coast. It's the way it always was when you've been brought up there and the way it always will be. Now I'm wondering if I'm going to be able to walk around Glasgow without getting a lot of hassle."

The clip is now a YouTube favourite, and some online Celtic fans have even composed a rude ditty about the most controversial four seconds of Gray's career so far.

He says: "Tony Gordon is a Scottish guy and so it stands to reason that he would have a football team but the writers absolutely weren't writing that line for me.

"No-one realised that it would have been such a talking point until the comments started flying in.

"But one thing it also shows you is how many guys who go to the football on a Saturday also watch Corrie."

And those same guys are in for a treat this week, as the normally bread-and-butter soap morphs into a tensionloaded thriller.

Three endings have been filmed for the murder of Liam at the hands of cuckcolded Tony - and, at the time of talking, Gray had been sworn to secrecy about which ending has been chosen by the soap's thinkers.

A murder in cold blood on his paint balling stag do, a hit-and-run or the old 'thrown from the top of a building' ruse?

Fans will no doubt have their favourite. Gray does too.

He says: "I just love the gun one.

Basically, Liam's been hit during paintball and he says something to Tony like 'I suppose that's game over for me, then'.

"Tony says: 'No it's not' and then pulls out a real gun."

Soap bosses took the unusual step of being up-front about Tony's hand in the murder after he discovers Liam has been having a fling with his fiancee Carla. Instead of a who dunnit, this is a how dunnit. Butwith Tony now in the frame for the murder of a man whose partner Maria has just discovered she was pregnant, is there much scope for the Scot hanging around on the Corrie cobbles? Or will he go the way of Tracey Barlow?

Gray says: "I suspect that Maria is going to twig before very much longer.

"She'll find text messages on the phone and will start asking questions and doing some undercover work.

"He'll certainly try to get away with it as long as he can. But let's be honest, a Corrie villain isn't going to be here forever.

"I knew that when I took on the job but I'm very happy to play that out.

Tony will certainly be around for a wee while yet."

Gray, who last year became the first actor in the UK to appear as two soap characters at the same time when his River City departure and Corrie introduction overlapped, also appeared alongside Kylie Minongue in the Doctor Who 2007 Christmas Special.

Earlier roles in daytime dramas Doctors and Peak Practice sit alongside a run in Taggart and a supporting role in Oscar-winning Helen Mirren movie The Queen on his CV.

Despite admitting he overstayed his welcome on River City, he seems concerned about changes on the Shieldinch soap.

He says: "It has a very loyal following, and I hope whatever changes they're making work for the better of the people working there and the fans.

"But I really do have much more fun playing Tony than Billy.

"Billy was a total geezer when I joined, but once I left he'd become quite put-upon.

"I probably stayed longer than I should have at River City but it suited my life at that time. But now to play the Corrie villain and the factory boss - an iconic character - are two great tags to have."

It's also meant an upturn in his private life, with reports suggesting he's seeing Weatherfield make-up artist Jill Farrimond.

Having split from his wife Lynn, he's fiercely protective for the sake of his eight-year-old son Conor, but admits to being shocked at the level of attention his private life draws now that he's in the country's most popular soap.

He says: "It does surprise me. But then being on this show and being in people's living rooms five times a week, I suppose I can understand that.

"At the end of the day, I've always tried to protect my privacy because as far as I'm concerned I'm just a jobbing actor who comes in, goes to work, goes home and gets on with his life.

"I have a wee boy who I love dearly, and I don't like that stuff to have any impact on him.

"But you can't be in Corrie five times a week and not expect people to be interested in what you do.

"It doesn't annoy me, it just surprises me sometimes."

'Tony Gordon is a Scottish guy and so it stands to reason that the would have a football team - but the writers absolutely weren't writing that line in just for me'

Memorable murders in soapland

Tony Gordon will this week bump off love rival Liam Connor in what is sure to be another Corrie ratings winner. We take a look at other memorable soap murders.

TREVOR JORDACHE (BROOKSIDE)

Wife-beater Trevor Jordache (Brian Murray) met his end in 1993 with a soap plot which has since crossed over into everyday parlance. Wife Mandy finally snapped after years of abuse and stabbed him in front of daughter Beth. The pair resolved to bury his corpse under the patio only for it to be discovered three years later.

MARCUS MCKENZIE (RIVER CITY)

Aussie soap star Stefan Denis ended up in the Glasgow soap by dint of his real-life wife's Weegie roots. Originally a good guy, Dr Marcus performed life-saving surgery on Sheildinch tot Franco Rossi, and was soon attracting admiring glances from the ladyfolk of River City. Gina was the lucky lady who landed him, but it all turned sour when he attempted to rape her. Ended up pan-bread after being stabbed by Heather, who he'd also attacked.

RICHARD HILLMAN (CORONATION STREET)

His own demise was more suicide than murder, but Killman Hillman (Brian Capron) will forever be remembered as soapland's most notorious killer, having bumped three souls off the Corrie cobbles - Duggie Ferguson, Patricia Hillman and Maxine Peacock. Tried to bump off the Platt family by driving them into a canal. The family escaped; he didn't.

TOM KING (EMMERDALE)

Emmerdale character Tom King (Ken Farrington) was pushed through a window after being biffed over the head with an ornament. Final scene was lying in a morgue with a coroner standing over him confirming he'd died of a broken neck. Turned out nasty Carl King (Tom Lister) was the culprit.

CAPTION(S):

AN ITEM... Tony and Rosie Webster; ROLE MODEL... Gray, above left, kissing Jo in River City, and with Ganiat Kasumu in Casualty; STREET STAR... Tony gets to grips with Liam, right, and on the set, below; Main Picture: ITV; WIFE BEATER... Marcus