Natalie Barnes Natalie BarnesMarried:
Children:
Played by: Denise
Welch
Appeared: 26 February 1997 - 31 December 2000
Natalie Horrocks first appeared on Coronation Street in February
1997 after her son Tony, co-owner
of MVB Motors suffered a breakdown due to hitting and killing
Joyce Smedley with his car. She
took over the reigns of the garage, implementing a new billing
system computer program and acting as part owner and Manager in
her son's absence. There she began a relationship with the very
married, and much younger Kevin Webster.
She seduced him and convinced him that she wanted nothing other
than an affair - no strings attached. Kevin, lonely at home as
his wife was in Scarborough nursing her ill mother, decided to
take a chance. They began an affair.
After a period of time, Natalie decided that she wanted Kevin full time - she had fallen in love. She again convinced him that he was unhappy in his marriage to Sally and that he should leave and move in with her. He did. It was a bumpy ride and Natalie became the most hated woman on the Street. Sally demanded money to raise his girls and this put a strain on Natalie and Kevin's relationship. Christmas of the same year, Kevin having come to his senses and missing his family, left Natalie and returned to Sally and his children. Natalie was devastated at the loss.
After finding herself unwanted at the garage, and feeling that it didn't warrant her time, Natalie suddenly showed up in the Rovers working behind the bar. The regulars were dismayed with this particular barmaid and some refused to drink there. With time, the regulars softened and Natalie became less offensive and people started to like her off-the-cuff manner. Her personality softened with the breakup, she began to fit into the Street.
Natalie became friendly with Des Barnes while he was dating Samantha Failsworth, another barmaid at the Rovers. When the relationship floundered, Natalie was there as a friend for Des. Samantha began to stalk Natalie and was jealous of her friendship with Des. When Samantha kidnapped Natalie's cat, the relationship between Des and Natalie grew. She struggled for months to fight her attraction to him but in the end, they found themselves together. This was the relationship they had both longed for. Steady and secure they bounced well off of each other and as far as either of them could tell, it was a perfect match. Clearly theirs was a relationship that would last.
Tony's return to the Street in the autumn of 1998 triggered a watershed of events that soon left Natalie devastated. In early October, Des proposed to Natalie and she accepted. The wedding was the event of the Street and all attended. The marquee was decorated by Hayley Patterson, the best man was Les Battersby and the champagne flowed. It was a union toasted to by all except naturally, Kevin and Sally.
Unknown to all except Des, Tony had arrived on the scene with some excess baggage. He was a drug dealer and he was in big financial trouble. He needed money and his mother was quick to open her wallet and give him what she had although she never knew what it was for. It wasn't enough. While at home one night Tony was accosted by three thugs, looking for the drug money that he owed them. Des happened on the scene as they were beating up Tony and, while trying to come to Tony's aid, he took a hit to the head, which sent him crashing to the coffee table. Married less than a month, Des died in hospital of a heart attack.
Bereft and looking for a new start, Natalie sought out the familiar comfort of the Rovers. Finding that it was for sale, Natalie bought the Rovers from Alec Gilroy on 30 December 1998. After shifting the Duckworths from their lodgings upstairs, Natalie moved in and redecorated. She was finally home.
After taking over the Rovers, Natalie started a relationship with Ian Bentley, unaware that he was the fiancee of Rita Sullivan's former foster daughter Sharon Gaskell and that he and Sharon were soon to marry (although she did know that Ian did have a fiancee but had no idea that it was Sharon). Rovers barmaid Betty Williams spied Natalie and Ian together, and told Rita - who confronted Natalie. Natalie soon finished with Ian (and Sharon ditched him at the altar), however after this Natalie was not well liked by Sharon at all.
After the break-up of her marriage from Nick Tilsley, Leanne moved into the Rovers as resident barmaid with Natalie, but she soon regretted it when the Rovers was robbed on New Year's Day 2000 after Leanne fell into debt with Jez Quigley over her addiction with cocaine. The Rovers robbery left Leanne hospitalised, and after she confessed to Natalie, Natalie agreed to support her, and sought help for her with a drug consellor.
In March 2000 Natalie suffered a terrible ordeal when she discovered
that her son Tony had been found dead and buried on the
new development of Victoria Street. Tony's body had been found
by Natalie's on and off lover Vinny
Sorrell after falling through a hole. Vinny had previously
worked alongside Natalie in the Rovers, but when both dercided
that working together was bad for their
relationship he took a job as a labourer. Natalie suffered a breakdown,
confused over her feelings over Tony's death, as she had hated
him over the murder of Des' death. Tony murdered over drugs.
Colin Barnes turned up at Tony's funeral and caused a scene, which led to the police question him. To avoid arrest he was forced to confess that on the night of Tony's death he and Natalie had slept. Natalie felt ashamed especially as it cracked open her relationship with Vinny Sorrell. Natalie was determined to find out more about the murder of her son Tony, and put up a £10,000 award for information over Tony's death. She didn't expect Steve McDonald to come forward, but he soon told her that Jez had threatened him over using Steve's mini cab firm for supplying drugs, and when Steve stood up to him Jez told him that he would have to face the fate that had befallen Tony. Natalie had Jez arrested, but he was found not guilty in court after Steve's motives as a witness were questioned.
On his release Jez told Steve that he was the murderer who had murdered Tony. Leanne also was threatened by Jez especially when he made it clear he wanted her as his girlfriend, and it wasn't long before Leanne fled the country to escape Jez's clutches and went to Amsterdam to meet up with Mark Redman, whilist Natalie stood back and watched Jez ruin more lives. Jez's reign of terror came to an end after Jim McDonald attacked Jez, getting back at Jez for nearly killing son Steve. Jez later died in hospital due to a ruptured spleen whilist Jim was charged with manslaughter.
Natalie started to get her life back together (knowing that
she was pregnant by Vinny), but she faced another blow when she
discovered that Vinny was having an affair with her sister, Debs who had just recently moved
to Weatherfield after working on cruise ships for many years as
a
hairdresser.Natalie decided that what Debs and Vinny did was unforgiveable
and before giving Debs a notice of eviction from No.6, she washed
her hands of both of them, and they both left Weatherfield for
Southampton, with Vinny hoping for a job alongside his new found
love Debs on
a cruise ship, unaware that Natalie was pregnant.
Natalie began to look forward to a bleak future with a baby,
she did want the baby but decided that she didn't want to bring
her child up in a pub and in Weatherfield. She decided to sell
the Rovers for a new life with her cousin Helen in the cotswolds,
but their was some protesting from the
residents when Natalie decided to sell to the Boozy Chain, who
had intentions on calling the place The Boozy Newt. After some
negotion businessman Duggie Ferguson,
Fred Elliott and Mike
Baldwin agreed to buy the pub and save it from it's fate with
the Boozy Chain. Natalie left the Rovers and Weatherfield with
a lot of bad memories, but she did know that the was leaving the
Rovers in capable hands.....
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