Tracy Barlow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Coronation Street character | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tracy Barlow | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1977-2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 24 January 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 8 April 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances | Coronation Street: The Complete Saga | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 24 January 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Divorced | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | HM Prison, Redford (fictitious) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Tracy Lynette Barlow (née Langton; previously Cropper and Preston) was a fictional character on the British television soap opera Coronation Street.
She was most recently portrayed by Kate Ford from 2002 to 2007, the latest in a series of actresses who have played Tracy at various ages. Christabel Finch played her from birth in 1977 to 1985, with Holly Chamarette taking over from 1985 to 1988. Dawn Acton is best known for playing the role regularly from 1988 to 1996, and then for brief reappearances in 1997 and 1999.
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[edit] Overview
Tracy is the daughter of Ray and Deirdre Langton. Ray left the family when Tracy was young, and she was raised by her mother and stepfather, Ken Barlow whom she considers to be her real father and whose surname she later took on after he had adopted her. In 2005, her biological father returned and built a relationship with her before his death as a result of cancer on April 8, 2005, at her mum's wedding reception to adoptive father Ken.
As a teenager, Tracy was a tomboy and a rebel. She was friendly with Steve McDonald and his brother Andy.
However, upon her return in 2002, Tracy would become known primarily as a "soap bitch", most notably for attempting to split up Roy and Hayley Cropper by falsely claiming that he was the father of her child, and later for murdering love-rat boyfriend Charlie Stubbs as revenge for his womanising.
[edit] Storylines
[edit] Medical drama
Her first major storyline came in 1995, when at the age of 18 she collapsed in a nightclub after taking ecstasy. She was diagnosed with permanent kidney damage and was told by doctors that she would need dialysis three times a week for the rest of her life. Ken and Deirdre both volunteered to donate a kidney for a transplant, but could not do so because their kidney tissue types were not a match for Tracy's. Her stepfather Samir Rachid then underwent a test and was surprisingly a perfect match.
On the way to the hospital, Samir was attacked by a gang of youths in the street and was later found unconscious on a canal towpath. He had a fractured skull and later died in hospital, but his kidney was still in a good condition and Deirdre gave the go-ahead for the organ to be donated to Tracy. The transplant was a success.
However, Deirdre resented her daughter, as she had indirectly caused Samir's death. Tracy left Weatherfield for London.
[edit] Marriage to Robert Preston
Tracy arrived back in Weatherfield in 1997 with a fiancé in tow, Robert Preston (played by Julian Kay). They married and lived in London. She came back to Coronation Street several times, however, including once after a row with Robert (which resulted in Ken and Deirdre reuniting) and another time for Ken's 60th birthday.
[edit] Return to Coronation Street
Tracy returned to Weatherfield once again on Christmas Day 2002, this time for good. She announced that Robert had been cheating on her, but it was only when he turned up that it was revealed that she was the one who had been having the affair, and with his best friend at that! The marriage was thus over and they soon divorced.
[edit] Relationship with Dev Alahan
Within hours of her return, Tracy started a relationship with her mum's ex-lover, Dev Alahan. Tracy was shocked to discover that Deirdre had cheated on Ken with Dev and as her stepfather prepared to stand trial for assaulting troublesome teenager Aiden Critchley, she spitefully informed him of the affair.
When Tracy overheard Dev saying that she wasn't 'marriage material', and that he was only in it for fun and nothing serious, she ended the relationship, cut up his best suits and stole his credit card.
[edit] Pregnancy and marriage to Roy Cropper
At her adoptive brother Peter's bigamous wedding to Shelley Unwin, Tracy and a few other women agreed that boring geek Roy Cropper would be the only man who'd never cheat on his wife, Hayley. An eager Tracy placed a bet for 1p that she could bed him. Everyone was stunned when he supposedly got drunk (probably the first time he'd done so) and then slept with Tracy.
Roy was racked with guilt, and when Hayley discovered the apparent fling, she was heartbroken. Tracy then revealed that she was pregnant and threatened to abort the unborn child unless they offered to buy the baby for £15,000. With Hayley, a transsexual woman, unable to have children, they agreed, much to the disgust of Tracy's family.
The Croppers grew fearful that Tracy would flee with their cash. He thus told Tracy that she'd have to marry him to secure the deal. This meant that she wouldn't be able to leave the country with the baby without her husband's permission.
The pair wed while Tracy was pregnant. Her baby daughter (whom Roy and Hayley named "Patience Cropper") was born, and Tracy was duly handed her cash.
Tracy confided in adoptive brother Peter that Roy wasn't actually the biological father - in fact, she hadn't even had sex with him. She drugged Roy, placed him in her bed, where he went straight to sleep, and made it look like they had slept together. The real father was Steve McDonald, who Tracy had always fancied, with whom she'd had a one-night stand a couple of weeks before the 'Roy incident'. As Steve prepared to remarry Karen McDonald, Tracy became jealous and went to such lengths as to try and cancel their wedding, albeit unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, Tracy was determined to expose the truth, and matters came to a head on the wedding day itself, when Tracy blurted out the real identity of her baby's father to the entire congregation. Karen was furious with Tracy for ruining her big day, but the wedding did go ahead after all.
Following the drama in the church, Tracy demanded that the Croppers hand over the baby. They did so reluctantly, and Tracy re-named the child "Amy Barlow". With the encouragement of her family, Tracy made the Croppers godparents to Amy.
Despite Tracy's protestations that she loves her daughter, she tended to prioritise her own enjoyment above Amy's welfare. For example, in the absence of any available baby sitters, she once left Amy at home completely unattended while she went out for a New Year's Eve party.
Now that Tracy is in prison, Steve has custody of Amy.
[edit] Feud with Karen McDonald
For most of 2004, Tracy was feuding with Steve's wife, Karen. Steve secretly started meeting his daughter Amy, which pushed Karen over the edge. She declared total war on Tracy, attacking her at Amy's christening and brawling with her on the cobbles.
When the Barlows entered a game show, 'Top of the Tree', with Steve, more scope for conflict between Tracy and Karen was provided. It was thanks to Karen that they won the prize of a car. When Karen found out, she was furious, and stormed over to the Barlows', dragging Tracy outside and smacking her across the face. Karen demanded that she share the car with the Barlows.
Steve and Karen began to try for a baby. Tracy branded her 'Barren Karen.' This made Karen all the more triumphant when she finally did conceive.
However, when Karen miscarried her and Steve's baby, it was the beginning of the end of their marriage. Liz told Tracy about Karen's ordeal. When Karen found out that Tracy knew, she went ballistic. The situation proved too much for Karen to handle. She had a breakdown and kidnapped Amy in Tracy's car on Christmas Eve 2004. She burned the car, allowing Steve and Tracy to believe that Amy was inside.
Convinced that she had murdered Amy, Tracy lashed out at Karen and a massive catfight broke out on the roof of Underworld on Christmas Day. It was, however, revealed that when Karen destroyed the car, Amy wasn't inside. Nevertheless, Karen had pushed Steve too far this time and he told her that the marriage was over. Karen left Weatherfield on Boxing Day 2004, much to Tracy's joy.
[edit] Custody war
Steve and Tracy then tried to make a go of their relationship. However, Steve didn't truly love Tracy, and he was only doing it to get closer to Amy. When this became known, Tracy made it look like Steve had tried to abduct Amy and take her abroad. He was arrested as a result but was soon released.
With Steve and Tracy at loggerheads, a custody battle began. Tracy stooped to such lows as to accuse Steve of abusing Amy in a bid to prevent him for being granted access. However, the courts saw through Tracy's lies and the Judge ruled that she must give Steve access to Amy. Tracy was livid.
[edit] Other relationships
As well as long-running relationships all of which ended in disaster, Tracy had several short-lived flings during her time in Weatherfield, which consistently failed.
In a quest for a 'sugar daddy', Tracy slept with her grandmother Blanche's admirer Wallis. Deirdre was horrified when she discovered her daughter's money-grabbing antics.
Tracy also had a brief relationship with Rovers' barman Ciaran McCarthy, and they tried unsuccessfully to run a restaurant together.
She had an on-off relationship with mechanic Nathan Harding for most of 2005, but he eventually dumped her after she made some insensitive comments about Ashley Peacock, Nathan's friend who he had accidentally hospitalized during a heated boxing session at the gym.
However, there was one man in whom Tracy would finally meet her match: Charlie Stubbs.
[edit] Charlie Stubbs
Tracy found herself a new boyfriend in December 2005: Charlie Stubbs. After a very short relationship, she moved into his flat, but Charlie was unimpressed with the fact that Tracy had brought Amy along. After initially throwing them out, he informed Tracy that she could move back in on the condition that she did not bring her daughter with her. Tracy agreed with this and, to the disgust of her parents, moved back in, leaving Amy to live at her grandparents' house.
[edit] Fake abortion
This routine did not last very long as a few weeks later Tracy tricked Charlie into thinking that he had made her pregnant whilst they were on holiday. Charlie forced her to have an abortion and even provided the money to do so. Tracy, not really pregnant, took the money and spent it on a new pair of shoes and told Charlie that she had had the abortion. This ploy convinced Charlie that Tracy needed to be with her daughter more than ever. Thus, he allowed Amy to live with them again.
However, as news of Tracy's 'abortion' spread, thanks to Jason Grimshaw telling his girlfriend Sarah Platt, Tracy's mother Deirdre found out and felt she had failed Tracy as a mother by not being there for her, which forced Tracy to tell the truth about it. Deidre was infuriated by this and actually felt sorry for Charlie, whom she loathes. Tracy was then forced to confess the fake abortion to Charlie. Though furious, he opted not to end the relationship, much to Tracy's surprise. However, he took his revenge by way of mind games, namely hiding one of her expensive, new shoes.
[edit] Shelley's pregnancy
In Summer 2006, Tracy had Charlie's soon-to-depart ex-girlfriend Shelley Unwin on her doorstep, confessing to having slept with Charlie just days previously. Tracy initially believed her and responded by slapping her across the face. However, when Tracy was later wrongly led to believe that Shelley was lying, she took revenge by humiliating her love rival at her leaving do. Nevertheless, this saga would come back to haunt Tracy months later.
Shelley returned to Weatherfield briefly later in the year. Tracy discovered that Shelley had been telling the truth when she revealed her fling with Charlie. To add insult to injury, Tracy learned that Shelley was carrying Charlie's baby. This led to a vicious catfight in the Rovers' back room. Tracy forgave Charlie, but warned him never to cross her again.
[edit] Tracy and Charlie's new home
After a very public spat with Keith Appleyard (much to the annoyance of the local residents), Charlie took revenge by sneakily buying Keith's home from under his nose. Although Charlie only bought it to avenge penny pinching Keith (whom he evicted along with grandson Craig Harris), he also bought no. 6 to re-sell it in order to make a profit.
Tracy managed to convince him not to and that they, along with Amy, should live there. Charlie reluctantly agreed and they moved into the house on a trial basis, which Charlie completely refurbished.
[edit] The murder
In November 2006, after she discovered that Charlie had been unfaithful again, having conducted an affair with Maria Sutherland for several weeks, Tracy left Charlie briefly, before returning to him, but with one thing in mind: revenge.
In an explosive storyline, Tracy manipulated the residents of the street and convinced them that Charlie was abusing her, most notably by staging loud rows in the house, and locking herself in the bedroom by removing the outside handle (this was in an attempt to make it look like Charlie had removed it). This attracted the attention of naive Claire Peacock, her neighbour. Tracy even burned herself with an iron in an attempt to frame Charlie for abuse.
Tracy's adoptive brother Peter returned to the Street to set up the climax; Peter was sent by Ken and Deirdre to sleep at no.6 to keep an eye on Charlie and to ensure that the bully-boy builder wasn't abusing their beloved daughter. After Peter and Tracy returned from an excursion, Charlie's best friend Jason Grimshaw saw Tracy with her arm around a man walking towards the house. Jason was clearly unable to identify Peter and suggested to Charlie that Tracy had been cheating. As Tracy had been making threats about an affair, Charlie returned to the house by which point Peter was in the shower. Charlie interrogated Tracy as to the identity of the man.
Although she eventually identified him, Tracy initially hinted that the man upstairs was a secret lover rather than her brother. Charlie beat Peter to a pulp as a result, leaving him barely conscious on the street with a black eye and several cracked ribs. The Police were called and arrested Charlie, charging him with ABH. Tracy's plan had worked exactly as she had planned; following his violent outburst, everyone believed that Charlie was abusing her, too.
Charlie, having twigged Tracy's game, was furious and ordered her to have packed her bags and to have left the house when he returned from court. During the row, Tracy revealed the lengths that she had gone to frame Charlie for abuse, enabling her to get away with murdering him. She announced in no uncertain terms that she was going to kill Charlie. After Charlie pleaded guilty on 12 January 2007, he returned home, having been given community service. Tracy was still there and in no mood to leave. Charlie went upstairs to pack a few bags and ordered her to leave immediately. However, after a chat with neighbour Claire, she was more determined to punish Charlie for his womanising than ever. She managed to seduce him by lap dancing and claiming that they'd spend the rest of their lives together. Suddenly, she picked up a large metal sculpture and smacked him around the head with it, dazing him.
Tracy then taunted Charlie. She relished informing her lover of how she hated him, before dealing a second blow, knocking Charlie to the floor. Tracy then ransacked the house, putting a large knife in Charlie's hand, and emptying the bags in the hallway, by which time panic had ensued outside and Ken, Deirdre and Peter were about to break in. Eventually, Tracy phoned for an ambulance. The police arrived and Tracy was taken in for questioning, before being released for a few days. Tracy was horrified to discover that Charlie was not yet dead. When he finally did die three days later, on 15 January 2007, Tracy could barely contain her delight.
[edit] Prosecution and conviction
However, her joy would prove short lived when she was charged with murder and remanded in custody to await trial.
Eventually though, Tracy was able to get the legal help she wanted which in turn managed to win her bail, but was soon blackmailed by David Platt who claimed to witness the killing. He told her that she had to be 'nice' to him so that he would testify in her favour. David announced that he would only give evidence if she slept with him beforehand. Tracy, however, managed to put it off, promising him passion after the court case.
The trial began in March 2007. The night before the court case began, Tracy's mother Deirdre had a heart to heart with her daughter about the trial and the mess that Tracy had found herself in. Deirdre admitted to Tracy that she doubted her innocence. Although Tracy protested that she killed Charlie in self-defence initially, Deirdre said that she was prepared to lie for her in court. Tracy then confessed to her horrified mother that Charlie had never raised a hand to her. She admitted that she had accused Charlie of domestic violence in a bid to escape justice for his murder, making it look like self-defence. Deirdre was devastated that Tracy was guilty all along and later told a shocked Ken the terrible truth. During the trial, Deirdre even told Tracy's solicitor that her client was guilty.
The trial saw Jason Grimshaw and Maria Sutherland testify for the Prosecution. Tracy gave evidence on her own behalf, along with fellow defence witnesses Claire, David and Deirdre. The Prosecution exposed Claire's previous mental health problems. David went through with his lie but the Prosecution tore him to shreds. Deirdre became confused and had a panic attack on the stand, much to Tracy's anger. She later disowned a devastated Deirdre for the damage that she had done to the defence case. Following David's disastrous testimony, Tracy informed him that she was stringing him along all the time and that they would most definitely not sleep together.
The verdict of Tracy's trial was given on 2 April 2007, in an episode attracting 12.6 million viewers. Tracy was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, with the judge recommending that she should serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars before parole could be considered. On being sent down, Tracy screamed at the court for not believing her, shouting at the guards that she was defending herself and her child when she killed Charlie.
On 8 April 2007, Ken and Deirdre visited her in Redford Prison. Tracy wanted them to pay for an appeal. Ken, however, replied that they were nearly ruined because of spending money on her legal fees. In this encounter, Tracy attempted to make her mum, Deirdre, feel guilty for her poor performance in the witness box. Ken and Deirdre's visit ended with them refusing to fund her retrial, which infuriated Tracy who was ushered back to her prison cell, and on her way there she turned back to her parents and told them slyly to give Amy a kiss for her.
In her final scene, Tracy was sitting in her prison cell staring at a photo of Amy. Her cellmate asked Tracy if it was a picture of her daughter and remarked that she was like her, to which a tearful Tracy replied, "I hope not... God, I hope not." This indicated that perhaps Tracy finally did feel some remorse for her actions after all and that she had some maternal feelings for her daughter. Tracy will have served a year in prison in April 2008. She has been mentioned a few times and sent Amy a birthday card.
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