Peter Barlow


Full name: Peter Francis Barlow
Parents:
Ken and Valerie Barlow
Born:
15 April 1965
Siblings:

  1. Susan Ida (elder twin)
  2. Daniel Osbourne b: 4 January 1995 - half-brother (same father)
  3. Tracy Barlow by adoption
  4. Lawrence Cunningham (half brother, same father)

Married: Jessica (divorced), Lucy Carmichael (24 March 2003 divorced), Shelly Unwin (20 July 2003 - invalid, Peter was still married to Lucy at the time. divorced), Leanne Battersby (9 December 2010, divorced 2012),Carla Connor (4 December 2013)
Children:

  1. Simon Barlow (by Lucy, 6 July 2003)


Played by:

  1. John Heanneau
  2. Mark Duncan
  3. Linus Roache
  4. Christopher Dormerr
  5. Joseph McKenna (22 August 1977 - 25 October 1978)
  6. David Lonsdale (1986 - 1988)
  7. Chris Gascoyne (8 December 2000 - 2003, 2007, 2008 - )

First appeared: 1965

After his mother's death, Peter lived in Glasgow with his maternal grandparents, but came down to Weatherfield to see his father from time to time - curiously his appearance altered each time !

Peter served in the navy for many years. He married Jessica but after she was unfaithful, he left the navy and came to Weatherfield with a chip on his shoulder. He got involved with several local woman including Karen Philips (later McDonald) and had flirtations with Linda Baldwin as well. He got into a car accident and gave his father's name instead of his own but convinced Ken to cover for him. He worked in the Rovers for awhile under Duggie's management and was discovered sneaking booze and not paying for it. Toyah Battersby found out and Peter was angry at her for causing him to lose his job. He was suspected of raping Toyah not long after but was cleared and was then instrumental in helping to capture Toyah's actual rapist, an acquaintance of hers.

Peter got work at the local bookies and when the opportunity came up to buy the place, Peter stole some money from the dodgey owner, making it look like a break in and using Karen as cover which caused some ructions between her and her now husband, Steve. He ran the bookies fairly successfully however, renting the flat over top to young couple Sarah Platt and Todd Grimshaw. He started dating Shelly Unwin who was working in the Rovers and they moved in together in a flat next to the one over the bookies. His old navy pal Ciaran McCarthy came to visit. Ciaran seemed jealous of Peter's success and happiness and came on to Shelly one night. Shelly firmly rejected him but he told Peter that Shelly was the one that came on to him. Peter believed Ciaran and Shelly moved out.

They got back together though, and Ciaran was chucked out on his ear. At their engagement party, however, Ciaran returned. Shelly was angry when she found out that Peter was still friends with Ciaran but backed off eventually. Ciaran moved into Peter's flat when Peter moved in to the Rovers with Shelly.

Peter met florist Lucy Carmichael when he was buying a bouquet for Shelley. He was immediately intrigued and soon began an affair. They broke off for awhile but when Tracy was hired by Lucy who had no idea of the connection between Tracy and Peter, and Tracy told Peter that her employer was pregnant, he realized the baby was his. He talked his way back into her heart and married her although he was living with and engaged to Shelley at the same time. As you might expect, it all ended in tears and Peter probably has broken the Corrie record for shortest marriage on the books. Lucy chucked him out days after the wedding when she realized Shelley was still in his life.

Peter's son Simon was born in early July 2003 but at first Lucy didn't want Peter to be involved at all. She relented a little and allowed Peter to see Simon for brief periods. Peter was torn over wanting to be with his son and marrying Shelly. His soon to be mother in law, Bev, was suspicious of him and told Shelly. Peter admitted on the day before the wedding that he had had an affair but it was long over and he really wanted to marry Shelly. (But the divorce from Lucy wasn't complete yet!) Shelly agreed to marry Peter after all.

Shelley and Peter got married in a big, beautiful church wedding in July. Shelley found out that Peter had had an affair but since he insisted it was long over, she married him anyway, deciding to trust him. Of course it wasn't too long before Lucy and Shelley found out about each other and Shelley found out about Peter's baby with Lucy and by the end of the summer, Shelley had kicked Peter to the curb for good. Lucy and Shelley were determined to make Peter pay and they had a good hand in nearly ruining his business and reputation. On charges for bigamy, Peter left town for awhile but returned. He was let off with a fine and a warning. Lucy's final revenge was allowing Peter to think she wanted him back and wanted them all to move to Spain. Peter discovered that she was actually leaving and moving to Australia without him. He could do nothing to stop her and resigned himself to never knowing his son. He left Wetherfield shortly after.

Peter returned briefly in 2007 during the time his sister Tracy was supposedly being abused by her boyfriend Charlie Stubbs. Tracy used Peter's presence in the shower to make Charlie jealous and caused Charlie to beat up Peter. Tracy murdered Charlie shortly after and Peter stayed in Weatherfield until the trial. He dated Maria Sutherland during this time. When the trial was over, he returned to Portsmouth, taking his nephew, Adam Barlow with him.

In 2008, Peter returned. He had a little boy in tow who turned out to be his son Simon by Lucy who had died of cancer. He didn't want to be a father and felt pushed and pressured into it so he started drinking. With the money Lucy left for Simon, he bought the betting shop on Rosamund Street but his drinking was out of control. He fell asleep and his cigarette caused a fire though he and Simon were pulled out by Tony Gordon and Luke Strong. During this time, he had started to date Leanne Battersby but after the fire, he went away to rehab and had an affair. Leanne found out and left Weatherfield and Peter shortly started up a fling with Michelle Connor but it was Leanne he really loved.

He managed to persuade Leanne to come back later in 2009 and persuaded her that it was a good idea to open a bar together in the unit under the viaduct. It was to be called the Joinery. Leanne had her doubts as did everyone else, putting booze in the sights of an alcoholic wasn't a good idea, but Peter had financing from Lucy's father, George, and he was determined to go ahead with it. Unfortunately, Peter hit the bottle again and George and his wife decided to take Simon away from him. This only gave Peter cause to drink more heavily until Simon ran away from George and his wife in Blackpool. By this time, Leanne had given up on the Joinery, realizing it would never work. The Joinery never opened for business. Peter quit drinking again and Leanne stayed with him.

Leanne's ex-husband and first love, Nick Tilsley, returned to Weatherfield. Even though he knew Leanne and Peter were engaged, he wanted her back. He bought the club premises from George and hired Leanne to help him create a new bar and run it as manager. She didn't want to but Peter admitted he was fine with her working for her ex so she and Nick worked together to create a nice bar/restaurant at the end of the street. Peter had a serious flirtation with Carla Connor who had developed feelings for Peter when he was helping her with her own drink problem. Peter resisted taking the relationship further for most of 2010 but Leanne found herself slipping into an affair with Nick as her wedding day came closer and her feet got colder. A recipe for disaster was brewing.

By December 2010, the wedding was nearly upon Peter and Leanne. Leanne decided it was Peter she wanted and broke it off with Nick after her future father-in-law Ken found out about the affair. Peter, meanwhile, was still determined to resist Carla's advances but Carla, pretending to be Leanne's friend, had known about her affair with Nick and she started to wind up Nick, urging him not to give up on Leanne. Then the tram crashed and everything changed. During Peter's stag night, Carla persuaded Nick to confront Peter. The two men were in the office of the newly opened Bistro along with Ashley Peacock when there was a gas explosion, causing a passing tram to come down through the viaduct and into the corner shop and Kabin. The three men were trapped but Ashley managed to keep the roof from collapsing so Nick could get Peter out and then he died when it all came down. Peter was left fighting for his life in hospital while Nick had hardly a scratch. Leanne married Peter in hospital on what she thought was his deathbed but he survived and though his back was damaged, he swore he'd walk down the aisle for a wedding vow renewal on Valentine's Day.

Nick was determined to win Leanne back. Peter was frustrated and not coping well with his disability and rehabilitation and Nick started to slowly introduce booze into Peter's radar and encouraged him to drink. He hoped that if Peter's drinking got out of control again, Leanne would leave him and come back to Nick. Peter discovered Leanne's affair with Nick when his sister Tracy had overheard Leanne and Carla in the ladies' loo. He plotted revenge and at the altar at their second wedding, he presented Leanne with divorce papers. But when, after a few days, Leanne decided to leave town, Ken persuaded Peter that he should give Leanne a second chance. Peter and Leanne stayed together with Simon as a little family.

Peter was still attracted to Carla who still had hopes that she could have Peter for herself. During this time, Leanne had a miscarraige which devastated them both.While she was in hospital, Peter and Carla kissed passionately but he then pushed her away again. Carla turned to her new business partner, Frank Foster who was attracted to her. Leanne's biological mother, Stella Price had returned to Weatherfield and Carla ran her over while drink driving. Frank pretended he was driving and when Peter found out, he kept the secret, too. But Carla tried to overdose, upset at her part in the accident. Peter and Leanne both helped cover that. Frank was jealous of Peter, he could tell that Carla had feelings for Peter even though she promised to marry him. On the even of their wedding, Carla told Frank she wouldn't marry him and he raped her.

In the aftermath of the rape, Peter supported Carla and they eventually began an affair in the weeks up to Frank's rape trial. Frank put a private detective on their trail and got evidence of the affair during the trial. Leanne found out about the affair and Frank was judged not guilty at his trial. Leanne left Peter and Carla moved in. Frank was later murdered and both Peter and Carla were both suspects, Peter having got drunk and was unable to remember that night. He confessed, thinking he might have done it or that Carla did it and he was covering for her. It turned out to be Frank's mother who accidentally killed him. Peter was with someone from the alcoholic support group so had an alibi.

Because Simon hated Carla so much and was having serious behavioural problems, and because Peter had another bout of drinking, Leanne sued for custody even though she and Peter were divorced and she wasn't Simon's legal mother. Peter allowed Simon to stay with Leanne but decided to try to run away with him when Leanne was preventing him from seeing his son. Carla and Peter were going to leave town with Simon but Carla told Leanne where Simon was. It was at the train station, with Leanne on one side and Carla on the other, that Peter let Simon choose and he chose Leanne. Carla and Peter left together for a long break, sailing across the Atlantic and living in L.A. for a few months.

They returned in late 2012 in time for Christmas, planning a Las Vegas wedding and a permanent move to the US, but ended up staying when Peter realized he couldn't leave Simon. Carla left but returned on Christmas Eve. It was during that brief period, when Peter thought she'd left him for good, that he started to flirt with Leanne, who was about to marry Nick. This gave her doubts and on her wedding day, Christmas Day, not knowing Carla had returned, on the way to her wedding, she had the car stopped and she went to Peter and said she'd come back to him. But now that Carla was back, Peter rejected her. This had major repercussions in Leanne's life.

Peter, meanwhile, was happy to have Carla back and they continued on through 2013 running their businesses. But the economy was hard on the betting shop and Peter went bankrupt when Carla's brother, Rob Donovan, placed a particularly high bet and won. Peter leased the shop to Rob and his new girlfriend, Tracy, to run as a buy and sell shop and went to work for Carla in the factory. His self esteem and ego has been taking a beating as their wedding draws closer. Carla is wearing the financial pants, she owns the majority share of the factory and Peter is trying to learn the factory business while Carla is planning a posh wedding. Peter was distracted by problems Simon was having, first with his step dad Nick's recent brain injury and then after a serious and humiliating bullying incident. He has become attracted to young Tina McIntyre who was helping babysit Simon for awhile. After Carla was put to bed drunk on their wedding night, Peter snogged Tina who'd stayed behind after the guests had left. This is not going to end well!

Peter and Tina had an affair behind Carla's back which went on nearly 6 months. He promised he would tell Carla and they would leave together but never did. He did confess to Steve about they affair and insisted he not tell anyone which put Steve in a bad spot. Tina thought she was pregnant and the day she told Peter, he found out that Carla was pregnant, too. It turned out that Tina wasn't pregnant after all. Just when Peter and Tina were going to run away together, Peter joined Carla in the pub and Tina overheard people celebrating Carla's pregnancy. She realized she would never have Peter. He confronted her and they had a row. He went directly back to the pub and confessed the affair to Carla because Tina was going to tell her first then he went out and got very, very drunk. Meanwhile, Rob Donovan also confronted Tina about what she was doing to Carla and in the ensuing row, Tina fell over the balcony of the flat which is over the builder's yard. Rob thought she'd died but she was alive so he killed her. Carla was seen on the balcony by those who found the body. Carla and Peter were both suspected of killing Tina, Peter having no memory due to a blackout. In the end Peter was arrested for Tina's murder and jailed. While waiting for trial he was in prison with Jim McDonald who was conducting a black market booze distribution. Peter paid Jim for booze in return for trying to get Steve to see his father.

Steve did contact Jim but when Peter nearly died of alcohol poisoning, both Steve and Liz condemned Jim, Steve dobbing his father in for the illegal booze. Peter went to trial and was convicted but at Tracy's wedding to Rob, Carla called the police. Rob had confessed to her the night before. The police caught up to Rob who ran and hid. Tracy had called the cops after nearly running away with him herself. She did it partly because of Amy and partly because she would have been arrested for dealing in stolen goods along with Tony Stewart. Peter was finally released and decided he needed to make a fresh start and moved away to Portsmouth, which Simon took badly. He returned in June 2015 for Deirdre's funeral but went back to Portsmouth after.

Peter returned to Weatherfield in the fall of 2016, allegedly for Simon's sake but in reality, he was having an affair with Leanne's sister Toyah who was living in Liverpool. He and Ken rowed and Ken had a stroke. Peter felt guilty that the stress of the row caused the stroke and has finally (or so it seems) come to terms with he and his father's relationship. He has brought the Barlow family together, with the return of Adam Barlow, Ken's grandson back from Canada and his other son, Daniel Osbourne, Ken's son by Denise Osbourne. His affair with Toyah was revealed to Simon over Christmas though it was kept secret from Leanne due to her high blood pressure (she's pregnant with Steve McDonald's baby though everyone thinks it's Nick Tilsley's, Nick knowing the truth as well) The affair finally came out in February 2017 when Leanne thought she was getting Toyah together with her boyfriend "Fred" after they had a fight and then realized that "Wilma" was Peter's nickname for his girlfriend. She put it together, went back to her flat and caught Peter and Toyah snogging. She was furious, especially because Simon and Eva also knew before she did. Peter and Toyah are now planning on having a child together.


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