Ken Barlow
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| Coronation Street character | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| William Roache as Ken Barlow in May 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ken Barlow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | William Roache | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Tony Warren | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1960- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 9 December 1960 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances | Coronation Street: The Complete Saga | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | October 9, 1939 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Married | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | No.1 Coronation Street | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Teacher (retired) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kenneth "Ken" Barlow is a fictional character in the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street. He is the only surviving character from the first episode of the series, in 1960 and is commonly known by his fans as the 'Silver Fox', in part because of his ability to survive over the years and in part owing to his never changing now coloured-silver side parted hair style. Barlow is portrayed by William Roache who has played the character since the beginning of the soap.
He has been a teacher, a newspaper editor, a community activist and, most bizarrely of all, a trolley-pusher at a supermarket, before returning to teaching and writing.
He has been married four times, widowed twice, divorced once, and had 27 girlfriends, including a character played by the now-famous actress Joanna Lumley. When interviewed for an edition of the series Coronation Street: Secrets, Roache commented on the number of girlfriends Ken had accumulated, and remarked, "It's not that Ken is a Lothario; he's just not good at holding on to women!"
Contents
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[edit] Overview
Barlow entered the storyline as a young radical son, the elder of two brothers, epitomising the youth of 1960s Britain, where figures like The Beatles, the model Twiggy, The Rolling Stones and The Who were reshaping the concept of youthful rebellion. Though the rest of the original family died or moved, Ken Barlow has remained the constant link throughout 48 years of Coronation Street.
His family has all departed, his mother Ida died after being struck by a bus in 1961, his father Frank left in 1964 and died in 1975 from old age, his brother David was killed in a car accident in 1970, and his daughter Susan died in 2001 in a motorway crash. After his house burned down in 1971 (killing his wife Valerie), he lived with his 'Uncle Albert', another of the Street's original characters - Albert Tatlock was the uncle of Barlow's late wife Valerie. Tatlock himself died in May 1984.
Ken has had four children during the Street's existence: the twins (by Valerie), a daughter (Susan) who was killed in a car accident, and a son (Peter) who returned to live on the street (and was once played by the actor's own son) but has since departed again (after being unmasked as a bigamist). Peter returned to the street several years later but has now left again.
Another son, Daniel, lives with Ken's former girlfriend. Following his split with Deirdre, Ken has embarked on building a relationship with Daniel.
Finally, there is Ken's adopted daughter and really the only one of his children that he actually had a hand in raising, convicted murderess Tracy Barlow (again a street returner, played by the fourth actress to have the role), Dierdre's daughter by her ex-husband Ray Langton. Tracy has perhaps caused Ken more trouble than any other of his children, with her cold-blooded killing of Charlie Stubbs pushing his marriage to Deirdre to the point of meltdown.
Politically, Ken Barlow is left wing in his outlook and reads The Guardian, unlike Bill Roache, who in real life is a staunch Conservative and reads The Daily Telegraph [1].
[edit] Relationship with Valerie Tatlock
In August 1961 Valerie Tatlock moved into Coronation Street to live with her Uncle Albert at Number 1. Ken took an interest in her and they started dating but Valerie moved away from the street in October of the same year. However, she returned in July 1962 and she and Ken married. Their marriage was generally happy at first despite Ken's fling with exotic dancer Pip Mistral. In 1965 Valerie gave birth to twins Peter and Susan. Ken's adventurous nature eventually lead him astray however and he had an affair with newspaper reporter Jackie Marsh. Valerie immediately walked out on Ken when she found out but eventually relented and returned. Ken was to suffer more problems a year later however when he was arrested during a student march and was made to spend seven days in prison.
Ken, Valerie and the twins were finally happy after all the problems they'd suffered and when Ken was offered a teaching post in Jamaica they agreed to move there together and start a new life. The street decided to hold a huge going away party in The Rovers Return Inn for the family on their last night before departing. Ken and Valerie agreed to go but while Ken was waiting for her at the party Valerie electrocuted herself with a faulty hairdryer and was killed instantly. The electrical fault then caused the house to burn down, leaving Ken devastated and a single father.
[edit] After Valerie Tatlock
In the aftermath of Valerie's death Ken tried his best to sort out his life and find a way to raise the twins successfully. The pressure of raising Peter and Susan on his own eventually proved too much for Ken and he sent them to live with Valerie's parents in Glasgow.
Ken then began to chase after a new wife to keep him company and be a stepmother to his children. Yvonne Chappell was Ken's first new love interest and after they started dating Ken proposed to her. Yvonne however realised Ken was only looking for a replacement for Valerie and turned him down. In 1972 Ken moved into number one with Valerie's Uncle Albert and started teaching at Bessie Street school after which he began to become friendly with a pupil's mother Rita Bates. Nothing ever progressed with Rita due to her being married and he found himself being chased by new corner shop assistant Norma Ford.
Ken held off from her however as he was chasing after the daughter of his school's headmaster Elaine Perkins. When he failed he took up with Norma but he only did so because he was on the rebound from failing to win over Elaine and the relationship didn't last. Soon afterwards he met up yet again with the now single Rita who was on the rebound from Len Fairclough and they spent the night together. The fling never developed into anything else, however.
[edit] Relationship with Janet Reid
In October 1972 Ken visited Glasgow to see his children and came back having married Janet Reid. However, Janet had no interest in being a stepmother to Ken's children as he wanted and the marriage quickly broke down. By May 1974, Janet had left Ken. On the re-bound Ken had affairs with Peggy Barton and Wendy Nightingale.
In February 1977 Janet came back to the street having been kicked out by her new lover. She pleaded with Ken to take her back but he refused. He did however let her stay the night and she slept in his bed while he stayed on the couch. The next morning Ken discovered Janet dead, she had taken an overdose. Ken was initially suspected of murdering Janet due to their failed marriage but the truth came out and Ken was in the clear. He did, however, feel guilt over Janet's death and some responsibility for it happening.
[edit] Relationship with Deirdre Hunt
In 1979 Ken began dating divorcée Deirdre Langton (née Hunt) and proposed in 1981. Deirdre and Ken married later that year.
One of the most-watched episodes of the soap was when Ken discovered Deirdre was having an affair with his great rival, Mike Baldwin, and was planning to leave him. William Roache has described how the director allowed him to improvise his reaction to seeing Mike at the front door after Deirdre had confessed to the affair. The question of whether or not Deirdre would leave Ken was a hot news topic at the time.
After Deirdre's romance with Baldwin (who had been her boyfriend before she married Ken), Barlow himself formed a relationship with council secretary Wendy Crozier. When Deirdre found out, she was furious, and famously threw him out just as midnight dawned on the new year in 1990. His relationship with Wendy quickly fizzled, and he attempted suicide just before the new year in 1991, only to be distracted, and inadvertently saved, by Bet Gilroy. Ken and Deirdre subsequently divorced but remained great friends. They supported one another throughout the many trials and tribulations of their lives, most notably Deirdre being falsely accused of fraud in 1998 after con man Jon Lindsay implicated her in a scam.
[edit] After Deirdre Hunt
While Ken and Deirdre were apart, he had relationships with numerous women, including the headmistress of the school where he worked, Baldwin's ex-girlfriend Alma (who later married Mike), and with Maggie Redman, the mother of Baldwin's son Mark. The latter two affairs both resulted in further antagonism between Ken and Mike.
However, true love conquered all and Deirdre and Ken reunited in 1999.
[edit] "Attacking" Aiden Critchley
Ken's teaching career was ruined by pupil-from-hell Aidan Critchley. Aidan mocked and terrorised poor Ken, making fun of his previous occupation of trolley-pusher which resulted in the whole class being disrespectful to him. When Aidan stole and crashed Ken's car, Aidan was arrested but nothing came of it. Aidan goaded Ken, boasting about how he was let off for his crime, prompting a furious Ken to punch him on the spur of the moment.
This resulted in Ken losing his job as teacher and facing criminal charges. He pleaded guilty to assault but received a conditional discharge.
Aidan was arrested under suspicion of being the Street serial killer months later. Ken doubted that Aidan was capable of murder and became an unlikely ally to him. When the real culprit was revealed to be evil Richard Hillman, Aidan was released having made his peace with former enemy Ken.
[edit] Reconciling with Deirdre Hunt
2005 would see Ken and Deirdre remarry in an emotional spring wedding ceremony. The original ceremony in which they had planned to remarry was ruined by the return of Ray Langton. However, they eventually made it up the aisle and everyone was delighted for the happy couple. Coincidentally, the king and queen of soap married just a day before the Prince of Wales wed Camilla Parker-Bowles. This coincidence had occurred previously, with Ken and Deirdre's first wedding in 1981 taking place on the same day as when the Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer.
But tragedy shattered Ken and Deirdre's happiness when Deirdre's former husband Ray, who had built up a relationship with his biological daughter, Tracy, on his return to Weatherfield, died at their Rovers' wedding reception. Deirdre was upset by her ex's demise, and their wedding day had most certainly been overshadowed by heartache.
[edit] Mike Baldwin's death
In the April 7, 2006 episode, Mike Baldwin died in the arms of his nemesis of over twenty years, Ken. The aftermath of Mike's death would dominate the Barlow household for several weeks, with Ken's grandson Adam furious after half-brother Danny Baldwin conned him out of his inheritance. This resulted in a fierce exchange between Ken and Danny at Mike's funeral. Alongside the issue of Adam's inheritance, Ken's marriage to Deirdre was a little shaken by the tragic events. Ken was slightly annoyed at what he considered an excessive amount of grief on Deirdre's part over Mike's demise.
[edit] Separation and reconciling with Deirdre Hunt
Ken's marriage was in turmoil. This was because of his adoptive daughter Tracy's murder conviction, she had been found guilty of killing boyfriend Charlie Stubbs. This proved a great strain on his relationship with Deirdre, who blamed Ken for recent events.
In a blazing row, Ken threatened his wife that if she left the house, he would not be there when she returned. After an emotional farewell with mother-in-law Blanche Hunt, Ken left and began rebuilding a relationship with his son Daniel, and the boy's mother Denise Osbourne. Denise took Ken to make amends with Deirdre on 11 May 2007, but this resulted in Deirdre slapping Denise in front of a packed Rovers Return Inn.
Following the furious showdown between Deirdre and Denise in the Rovers, Deirdre visited Ken and apologised for her behaviour and begged to return to Coronation Street, but to no avail.
Ken and Denise grew closer during his separation from Deirdre. Convinced that Ken wanted to rekindle their passion, Denise made a blatant attempt to win him over but when she leaned in for a kiss, he rejected her advances. Denise was humiliated. After this embarrassing encounter, Ken decided to return to Coronation Street. He waited for Deirdre at no.1 and they both apologised for their treatment of one another. The couple forgave each other and reconciled. Deirdre realised that Ken wanted to keep in touch with Daniel and suggested that he continue with his contact with the lad.
[edit] Working at Roy's Rolls
In February 2008, Ken started working in the café with Becky, as cover for Roy Cropper (as he went to see Hayley in Africa). At the moment, people who come into the café wonder why such a man is working in such a job. This had angered Becky but Ken didn't mind working at the café and got on fairly well with Becky, with her calling him "Kenny." Ken also saw David Platt having an outburst of rage in the street in April 2008 when he started smashing windows, Ken approached David in an attempt to calm him down but the tempered teen hit Ken with a pole, Gail later came over to number 1 to apologize for David's outburst but Ken and Deirdre understood and reassured Gail that they had been through the same thing with Tracy. Ken later showed up for work the next day and was caught in the middle of an argument between Becky and Roy, Ken was adamant that they should get on with their job and tried to convince Roy to accept Becky's ways.
[edit] Fighting Tony Gordon
Ken later took an interest in Roy's investigation of the bats at Tony Gordon's building site and will help Roy and Becky to stop Gordon's plan to carry on the building work whilst there are still bats (an endangered species) there. On 14 April 2008, Roy asked Ken if he could find Gordon and find out what the investigator of the site found, Ken then went into the rovers and asked Carla and Tony what was going on with the bats, Tony replied politely and told Ken that the investigators had found no bats which left Roy at a brick wall. Roy later informed Ken and Becky of a plan to stop the building work, then David came in and apologised for hitting Ken, which he accepted with an angry Deirdre's bitterness. Roy later took Ken and Becky down to garages to unveil his secret plan and asked Ken about his driving licence which he told Roy was fine apart from three points he had taken off. Ken joked to Becky about Roy's plans until Roy unveiled Hayley's car which he got Ken to drive and block the entrance of the building site so no cars could leave or enter whilst still being legally parked.
[edit] Popular culture
Despite this record, Ken's on-screen activities have done little to alter the popular image of the character. In the UK, 'Ken Barlow' remains a synonym for a boring man. The British group Half Man Half Biscuit highlighted this point in their 2001 song Lark Descending, comparing the character from Coronation Street with a member of the US underground music scene with the lyric: "I could have been like Lou Barlow, but I'm more like Ken Barlow."
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