Ken Barlow
Children:
Adopted child: Tracy Lynette
(formerly Langton); (b:24 January 1977; m: Deirdre
Langton; f: Ray Langton). Adopted
1986.
Played by: Bill Roache
First appeared: 9 December 1960
Ken Barlow is the only surviving member of the characters that
appeared in the very first episode of the Street. Slightly improbably,
Ken has become the Street's lothario - racking up a total of 21
screen lovers; and more improbably he still lives on the street
where he was born, having lived in a total of 8 different addresses
in that one street.
After attending Bessie Street School, Ken continued to live in
No3 Coronation Street with his parents whilst he was a student
at Manchester University (where he gained a 2nd class honours
degree in History and English). It was at university he met Susan
Cunningham. In 1961, Ken's mother
died, and he turned down a teaching post down south to support
his father and started working as a personnel officer at Amalgamated
Steels (and had an affair with librarian Marion Lund).
In August 1961, Valerie Tatlock
moved into No1 to live with her Uncle
Albert as her family had moved to Glasgow. By the time she
left in October, she had become another of Ken's women. She returned
to Uncle Albert's in July 1962, and became the first Mrs Kenneth
Barlow the next month. Ken and Valerie then moved into No9 Coronation
Street. By now, Ken was teaching. In 1964 Ken had a fling with
exotic dancer Pip Mistral. Twins Peter
and Susan were born 15 April 1965.
In January 1966 Ken had an affair with newspaper reporter Jackie
Marsh. Valerie found out and packed her bags and left - but
returned later. In March 1967, Ken spent 7 days in jail after
being arrested on a student march. In June 1968, the Barlows sold
No9 and moved into one of the newly-built maisonettes - No14 Coronation
Street.
In January 1971, Ken was set to move far away from the Street
to a teaching post in Jamaica, but on their last night Valerie
was famously electrocuted by a faulty hairdryer which burned down
the maisonette.
Ken rented No3 Coronation Street (previously his parents house),
but the twins proved more than he could manage, and were sent
to live with their grandparents in Glasgow. Leading the batchelor
life again, Ken went out with hotel receptionist Yvonne
Chappell; Ken proposed to her, but she realised he was only
looking for a replacement for Valerie.
In April 1972, Ken moved into No1 to live with Valerie's Uncle
Albert. In the January, he had started teaching at Bessie Street
School, and soon started got friendly with a pupil's mother -
Rita Bates, common-law wife of
Harry Bates. Norma Ford started
work as assistant in the corner shop in May 1972 (living in the
flat above), and started to make a play for Ken. He held out for
an incredible 13 months as he was chasing Elaine
Perkins - his headmaster's daughter, and only took up with
Norma on the rebund from Elaine. Soon afterwards he again met
up with Rita Bates - now using her maiden name of Rita
Littlewood - who was on the rebound from Len
Fairclough, and they spent the night together.
In October, Ken visited the twins in Glasgow, and came back with
a wife (and prospective stepmother for the twins) - Janet
Reid. However, Janet Barlow didn't want the twins, and the
marriage quickly degenerated. The Barlows rented No11 Coronation
Street from Elsie Howard in the
new year of 1974. By May 1974, Janet Barlow had packed her bags
and left. Ken gave up teaching and became an executive at the
Mark Brittain warehouse - and had an affair with shop steward
Peggy Barton.
1975 was a quiet year for Ken (apart from playing the hero in
a fire that gutted the warehouse) - but he does need a rest sometime
!
In May 1976, Ken was at it again. He had lost his job at the warehouse
after the fire, worked as a taxi driver for a while, but soon
got a post as Community Development Officer, in charge of the
Community Centre, and when Wendy
Nightingale came to the centre to conduct a survey on reading
habits, she fell for him. As Daran Little succinctly puts it:
"it only took two home-cooked meals at No11 to seduce Wendy".
Wendy was married, but left her husband for 5 weeks to live with
Ken. Wendy's husband Roger laid Ken out when he was spurned -
but Wendy went back to him when she found Coronation Street far
too claustrophobic. At the same time, Elsie arrived back on The
Street, demanded her house back, and in the June, Ken was forced
to move back into No1 with Uncle Albert.
In February 1977, Janet Barlow re-appeared. She had been thrown
out by her lover, and begged Ken to take her back. He refused,
but let her stay the night.The next morning Ken found her dead
in bed - she had taken an overdose. Initially the police suspected
Ken of murdering her, but the truth came out; Ken was wracked
with remorse over Janet's death.
By 1978, Ken had recovered sufficiently to take out Uncle Albert's
chiropodist Sally Robson on a
few dates (including rugby league matches !), and in December
togues started wagging (though without cause) as he started to
teach illiterate Karen Barnes
to read and write until he was stopped by her jealous husband.
In November 1978, Ray Langton left
his wife Deirdre for a new life
in Holland. Ken and her became friendly the next year, and despite
the offer of marriage and a new life in Jersey from Billy
Walker, Deirdre stayed in Weatherfield. By January 1980 their
friendship had deepened sufficiently that she strongly hinted
to Ken that if he asked her to marry him she wouldn't say no.
This only scared Ken away - saying he was too old for her and
would be unsuitable as he was twice-married. However, you were
left with the sneeking suspicion that Annie
Walker's warning to Ken that marriage to Deirdre would be
a marriage to a social and intellectual inferior was far closer
to the real reason than Ken would care to admit.
Ken however was still drawn to Deirdre, and in January 1981 he asked her out again, and the romance briefly blossomed, only to be brought to halt by the arrival of Dirk van der Stek, a work collegue of Ray's from Holland. He had called with a birthday present for Tracy from her father, but Dirk and Deirdre were obviously attracted to each other. After they had been out on a few dates and Deirdre had agreed to visit Dirk in Amsterdam and stay in his flat, Ken realised that he would have to fight very hard for the woman he would like to love.
However, it was Deirdre who, once Dirk had left, hinted to Ken that she was still available. They both went out for a meal and agreed to see more of each other without getting tied down. The next month a seemingly innocuous event was to have profound consequences for the rest of Ken's life. Returning from a conference in Huddersfield, his Volkswagen Beetle broke down on the moors and Deirdre was left standing alone in the Rovers, waiting for Ken. Mike Baldwin took pity on her and took her out for a meal. A romance soon blossomed. Ken confronted Deirdre, but she reminded him of their "no strings" agreement. He admitted to her he was jealous and offered her marriage, but she turned him down.
Just a couple of weeks later beautician Sonia Price started teaching at the Community Centre and Ken wasted no time in asking her out. A fortnight later she accompanied Ken to Mike Baldwin's flatwarming party, where Deirdre was hostess. However, it was Sonia that Mike took to a nightclub at the end of the evening, leaving Ken and Deirdre to clear up. Deirdre realised she wouldn't be contented with Mike's casual, fast-paced lifestyle and her romance with Ken was re-kindled. They went away to Glasgow together at Easter 1981 to see Ken's twins, and after a couple of weeks of thought agreed to marry, and on 27 July 1981 Deirdre finally became the third Mrs Kenneth Barlow. Although they planned to buy a house elsewhere, the state of Albert Tatlock's health meant that Deirdre and her four-year-old daughter Tracy moved into No1 with Ken and Uncle Albert.
On their return from honeymoon in Corfu, Ken had his first
major run-in with Mike Baldwin after Mike got Susan Barlow a job
in a friend's London wine bar. Ken virtually accused Mike of selling
Susuan to the white slave trade; Mike retorted that she was old
enough to make up her own mind.
Settled in a mudane relationship, in February 1982 Deirdre broached
the possibilty of them having a child - which Ken very firmly
refused, saying he didn't want the responsibility of another child.
In the following May there was a spate of muggings and DS
Bell asked youth club organiser Ken if he had seen anything
suspicious. Deirdre was immediately suspicious of local lad Ray
Attwood, sporting his new expensive Walkman. Ken refused to contact
the police, priggishly citing his position with the youth club
and lack of firm evidence. After Betty
Turpin was mugged, Deirdre went behind Ken's back and reported
Ray, who was indeed responsible for the muggings. Ken felt Deirdre
had betrayed him, and also had to awkwardly apologise to Betty,
realising if he had reported the matter earlier, she would not
have been mugged. In the same month Ken relented and agreed that
they should try for a child.
By the start of 1983, Deirdre had become bored of Ken, and
started an affair with Mike Baldwin.
After two months and a doorstep row with all three of them, Ken
and Deirdre kissed and made up. In August 1983, faced with the
possible closure of the youth club, Ken gave a confidential council
document to Weatherfield Recorder reporter Pam
Mitchell. Ken was disciplined over the matter, but refused
to give assurances it wouldn't happen again, and so he was sacked.
The next month Pam Mitchell left the Recorder to work as Assistant
editor on a Nottingham paper, and Ken took the chance to buy a
33% share in the Recorder and land himself a new job. He ploughed
all his redundancy and all his and Deirdre's savings into the
purchase. In November 1983 Ken was faced with the realities of
running a free newspaper. There had been a series of incidents
around Mike Baldwin's Graffiti Club and Ken proposed to write
a damning article about it, but as the Graffiti Club was a major
advertiser, especially around Christmas time, Ken was forced to
eat humble pie and write a grovelling article about the club,
much to the annoyance of local residents.
1984 was another traumatic year for Ken - Albert Tatlock died
on 14 May 1984, but the Barlows continued to live in No1. Ken
gave up his Community Centre job and became editor of his own
paper, the Weatherfield Recorder. Here he was tempted,
but didn't have an affair with secretary Sally
Waterman - who was also having an affair with Billy Walker
at the time.
In November 1985, Ken's daughter Susan came to live with them
at No1. To Ken's great annoyance, Susan became infatuated with
Mike Baldwin. Ken refused to give his blessing to their marriage,
and even went as far as thumping Mike in his factory. On the actual
morning of their wedding - 14 May 1986, Ken came to his senses
and gave Susan away. Ken still retained a daughter though, for
in the same year he adopted Tracy.
Ken now has the quietest period of his life. It isn't until October 1989 that
he starts an affair with his secretary, Wendy Crozier.
When Deirdre found out, she shocked Ken by saying she wanted a divorce (Ken
had planned to use the Baldwin affair as an excuse), and early on New Year's
Day 1990, Ken found himself kicked out of Coronation Street. He went to live
with Wendy, but things didn't work out, and worse, he had to sell the newspaper
to pay off No1's mortgage. He ended up living in a little bedsit at 6 Chepstow
Road. By August he returned to the Street, living in the shop flat (much to
Deirdre's consternation) and teaching again, this time at Weatherfield Comprehensive.
Ken was devastated when Deirdre went to Paris with Phil
Jennings to see in 1991, as he hoped for a reconciliation, and New Year's
Eve saw a replay of 1977, with Ken letting himself into No1, arranging some
pills into a large triangle and preparing to take an overdose - only the timely
intervention of Bet Gilroy saved him.
In 1991, two lost souls met up. Alma
Sedgewick had been dumped by Mike Baldwin in favour of future
wife Jackie Ingram, and Alma
started an affair with Ken. However, Mike's marriage only lasted
a week, and on Christmas Day, Mike lured Alma back into his bed
- but only to get back at Ken. Sadly, honesty got the better of
Alma, and she confessed to Ken on New Year's Eve at a posh hotel
they were staying at. Instead of sympathising, Ken walked out
and saw in his second consecutive New Year alone.
1992 saw Ken fall for another of his pupil's mothers - Maggie
Redman. The Baldwin/Barlow fued erupted again, as unbeknown
to Ken, the father of Maggie's son, Mark
was Mike (are you still following ?). Mike hated the thought of
Ken spending Christmas Day with his son, but in the end Ken found
his pride got the better of him, he could not handle the situation
and he and Maggie split up.
By late 1993, Ken and Deirdre had again become close, but Deirdre
had to leave and nurse her mother who had had a stroke, leaving
Ken unsure of his feelings. Ken then took up with hairdresser
Denise Osbourne in a rather
on-off relationship. When Deirdre returned in late spring 1994,
she was keen to try and rebuild a relationship with Ken, but instead
was stunned to hear that Denise was pregnant with twins and Ken
was the father ! Denise would not let Ken move in with her at
No2, so in July 1994, he moved to Reg
Holdsworth's flat across the street at No12 Coronation Street.
Baby Daniel was born on 4 January
1995, but Denise found the situation too much and fled to her
sister's in Macclesfield.
In April 1995, Ken let Deirdre and Samir stay in No12 whilst Tracy
was in hospital, and he temporarily lodged at The Rovers. Denise
returned in May 1995, more sure of her and Ken, and they moved
back into No1, which Ken had improbably bought from Mike Baldwin
(who else !) in July 1995. Things went well for a time, until
Brian Dunkley, Denise's accountant
brother-in-law turned up. It transpired that Brian had been doing
more than Denise's books, and they had been conducting a 2-year
long affair. In January 1996, guilt-stricken, Denise asked Ken
if he still wanted to get married (he had offered to marry her
when she was pregnant, but she refused). He agreed, but then found
out about the affair, and rejected Denise. In February 1996 she
left for a new life "down south" with Brian, but left
baby Daniel with his father.
Ken's happiness of being a single dad was shortlived when in November 1996, Denise came back to snatch Daniel - rather complicated by the fact that Ken had become friendly with Deirdre again, and they were in bed together when she called ! Ken had been hoping that he, Deirdre and Daniel could play happy families together, but Deirdre wasn`t having none of it. It was a double blow for Ken when Kelly Thomson, Daniel's nanny, decided to move in with Denise and Brian. Kelly felt she was doing the best for daniel, but Ken saw it as a betrayal. Poor Ken's hopes of keeping Daniel were dashed again when he was forced into early retirement from his job as teacher at Weatherfield comprehensive.
Ken soon bounced back and helped Deirdre when she was imprisoned for fraud after becoming involved with con man Jon Lindsay in February 1998. He put aside his past differences with old enemy Mike Baldwin and togther, they were successful in getting Deirdre freed from prison. Ken was hoping for a(nother) reconciliation with Deirdre, but it didn`t materialise. So Ken was once again on his own.
Christmas 1998 took an unexpected turn when Deirdre's mother
Blanche Hunt came to visit. Blanche
decided she didn`t want to see Deirdre on her own so she tried
to manipulate Ken into telling him that Deirdre still had feelings
for him. She said the same thing to Deirdre about Ken. At the
Valentine's dance in February, Ken took the opportunity to have
a few dances with Deirdre, much to the amusement of the party
goers. As they were dancing, Ken realised he still had strong
feelings for his ex-wife, and admitted to her he still loved her.
Deirdre was unsure, and Ken backed off for a little while. In
March, Ken and Deirdre had a visit from their Tracy on Mothers'
Day. Deirdre and Ken were dismayed to find that Tracy had left
her husband Robert Preston after
a misunderstanding. Ken and Deirdre joined forces into helping
Tracy and Robert reconcile. They told Tracy they did't want her
to make the same mistakes they did with their marriage. At last
they both convinced Tracy and Robert to get back together, and
they both left Weatherfield happily reconciled again.
Seing how happy Tracy and Robert were, Ken persuaded Deirdre to
give their relationship another try, and Deirdre finally relented
much to Ken's joy...
2001: After a Christmas Day filled with arguments with her mother and with Peter, Deirdre has a one night stand with Dev Alahan, her boss in the corner shop.
2002: Christmas Day, Tracy returns home and wastes no time in getting involved with Dev Alahan, unknowing that he had a fling with her mother a year previously. Ken still doesn't know but within a month, after Sunita spilled the beans, Tracy spitefully tells her father on the day that Ken had to go to court because of hitting a student, Aidan Critchley who had been baiting him in class on purpose. Ken is devastated but in the end, decides to stay with Deirdre. Ken becomes Senior Pupil Mentor at Weatherfield Comprehensive. He quickly made enemies with badboy Aidan Critchley, whom he smashed in the face with his fist once. In the same year, Aidan stole Ken's car, and crashed it on the way. However, when Aidan was accused of killing Maxine Peacock, in January 2003, Ken did not believe the lad could have done it. He even went to talk to Aidan's father who eventually reconciled with the lad after Richard Hillman was discovered to be the real murderer.
In 2005, he proposed to Deirdre again, and Deirdre agreed to the delight of everyone, except ex Ray Langton, who was dying of stomach cancer. In the end, Ray wished the pair well, and Ken got married to Deirdre. The main downside was Ray, who died in the Rovers pub of his terminal disease.
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