| Peter Barlow | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chris Gascoyne as Peter in 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Robert Heanue (1965–70) Chris Dormer (1970–71) Linus Roache (1973–75) Joseph McKenner (1977) David Lonsdale (1986) Chris Gascoyne (2000—) |
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| Introduced by | H. V. Kershaw (1965) June Howson (1973) Susi Hush (1975) Bill Podmore (1977) Jane MacNaught (2000) Steve Frost (2007) Kim Crowther (2008) |
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| Duration | 1965–71, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1986, 2000–03, 2007, 2008— | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 15 April 1965 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 15 April 1965 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | 9a Rosamund Street | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Bookmaker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Peter Francis Barlow is a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera Coronation Street. The character first appeared onscreen during the episode aired on 15 April 1965. Currently portrayed by Chris Gascoyne[1], who has portrayed the character in episodes since 2000, the character has been previously portrayed by five different actors.
Raised with his twin sister Susan, by his grandparents from the age of 5 after the death of his mother Valerie Barlow (Anne Reid), Peter grew up apart from his father; Ken (William Roache). He joined the Royal Navy in 1980 and married Jessica Midgeley 10 years later. The marriage lasted 10 years, after which Peter returned to Weatherfield. Having bought the Bookies, Peter married both Shelley Unwin (Sally Lindsay) and Lucy Richards (Katy Carmichael) in a high profile bigamous storyline. Having been discovered, Peter was left alone and fled Weatherfield. He returned in 2008 with a son, Simon (Alex Bain) with whom he had with Lucy who had died from cancer. Struggling to cope with fatherhood, Peter took to drinking and after numerous relationships, got engaged and married to Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson).
Peter has been favorably viewed on by critics and Gascoyne has received both a nomination for "Best Actor" at the 2011 All About Soap Bubbles Awards and a "Best Actor" nomination in the British Soap Awards 2011.
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Peter and his twin sister Susan are born to Ken and Valerie Barlow on 15 April 1965. They are the first ever twins in Coronation Street. Their names are decided the next day and they come home on 26 April 1965. When Peter and Susan are six years old, Ken and Valerie plan to move to Jamaica because Ken has been offered a teaching post there. On 27 January 1971, the residents of Coronation Street organise a going-away party for them in the Rovers Return Inn. When Valerie is getting ready for the party, she is electrocuted and killed by a faulty hairdryer. Ken finds it too hard to raise the twins by himself and so sends them to Glasgow to live with Valerie's parents. Peter is unable to make it to Ken's wedding to Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride) in 1981 as he is at sea having joined the Navy. In 1986 Peter returns for Susan's wedding to Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs). As Ken is refusing to go to the wedding, Peter makes an emotional appeal to his father saying that at 21 years old he and Susan had barely seen their father in the last 15 years and that he always assumed that given half a chance Ken would step up when his children needed him and he was able to help them. Ken reconsiders and attends the wedding.
Peter returns in December 2000. In early 2001, Peter accidentally lets slip that Susan has a teenage son, Adam Barlow by Mike Baldwin whom she'd told Mike she'd aborted. When Deirdre finds out, she tells her ex-flame Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin), who tells Mike. Susan (Joanna Foster), who has been visiting Ken at the time, tries to flee when Mike threatens her with legal action, and she is killed in a car accident. Peter is devastated and blames himself as well as Deirdre for Susan's death. Peter then gets a job at the local bookies, stealing money from the dodgy owner and making it look like a break-in. He begins dating barmaid Shelley Unwin but when Peter's old Navy friend Ciaran McCarthy (Keith Duffy) comes to visit, he makes a pass at Shelley. Peter believes Ciaran's side of the story and Shelley moves out, though the couple later get back together.
Peter later meets florist Lucy Richards when he is buying flowers for Shelley. Instantly attracted to her, an affair begins. Lucy, unknown to Peter, hires his stepsister Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) to cover her maternity leave. When Tracy tells Peter her employer is pregnant, Peter realises that he is the child's father. Peter marries Lucy while engaged to Shelley, promising Lucy it is over with the Rovers' landlady; however, Lucy kicks him out when she discovers the truth. Lucy gives birth to her son Simon in early July 2003 but doesn't want Peter involved. Peter is torn between his son and Shelley. Peter and Shelley are married in a big church wedding. The final showdown comes in the Rovers' with Shelley meeting Lucy, who shows her the wedding photos. When Shelley finds out the truth, she punches Peter in the middle of the packed pub. Lucy tricks him into thinking they have a future together, but announces she is moving to Australia with Simon. Peter resigns himself to never knowing his son and leaves the Street soon after.
On January 8, 2007 Peter returns to Weatherfield after Ken has contacted him regarding Tracy's tempestuous relationship with her boyfriend, Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward). Only hours after his return, he is viciously attacked by Stubbs who thinks that Peter has just slept with Tracy. Tracy later kills Charlie, supposedly in self defence, and he decides to stay on when she is charged with murder to see her court case. He also has a brief dalliance with Maria Sutherland (Samia Smith), who had been involved with Charlie. However, once Tracy is convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison, Peter leaves Weatherfield again, taking his nephew Adam (Sam Robertson) with him to go and open a bookmakers in Portsmouth.
In 2008, Lucy dies of cancer and Peter gets custody of their five-year-old son Simon (Alexander Bain). Peter returns to Weatherfield with Simon, seeking help from Ken and Deirdre. Ken suspects that Peter plans to ditch Simon and leave, but Peter learns he will inherit Lucy's estate, so he buys the local bookmakers, renaming it Barlow Bookies. Peter becomes attracted to Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) but she is at first non-committal as she suspects he has a drink problem. Eventually, Leanne agrees to go out with Peter but they have had no more than a handful of dates when Peter has to go back to Portsmouth on business and while he is away his drink problems come to a head and he ends up in rehab. When he returns, Leanne learns he had a fling with another woman while he was away. She dumps him and leaves Weatherfield. Peter's drink problem remains far from under control until he passes out drunk and accidentally sets fire to the flat while Simon is asleep in bed. Tony Gordon (Gray O'Brien) and Luke Strong (Craig Kelly) rescue them, and Peter finally faces the fact that he is an alcoholic, giving up booze and attending a support group. He takes Michelle Connor (Kym Marsh) on a date, but they decide it will not work. Leanne returns and she and Peter get back together. They decide to open up a bar but Ken is hesitant because of Peter's drinking, but Lucy's father George, offers to fund the project.
The bar never opens because Peter falls off the wagon and goes back into rehab, and while he is away, George applies for full custody of Simon. George and his wife Eve take Simon to Blackpool but the little boy runs away from them. Peter frantically searches for him, but Simon arrives home by himself, unharmed, and George gives up his claim for custody. Peter and Leanne get engaged, but Peter feels threatened by the return of Leanne's ex-husband Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) until Leanne convinces him that Nick is simply a friend now. Nick decides to re-open the bar and offers Leanne a job managing it and since Peter believes that it will make Leanne happy he persuades her to take the job. Peter starts to mentor Leanne's friend Carla Connor (Alison King) when he realises she has a drink problem, but is annoyed when she tries to seduce him. Peter celebrates his stag party in his former bar, The Joinery, on 6 December 2010, but the bar explodes due to a problem with the gas and a tram is derailed by the explosion. The bar is destroyed and Peter is stuck in the rubble with Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) and Nick. Peter is crushed and Nick and Ashley help him out. Ashley sacrifices his life to help Peter escape the rubble. Peter is rushed to hospital with crush injuries to the legs and trauma to the lower back and chest, and suffers from a cardiac tamponade. Very aware that he is unlikely to survive, he marries Leanne at his bedside but goes into cardiac arrest moments after the ceremony concludes. He survives but has a long road of recovery ahead. He leaves hospital in a wheel chair and moves in with his dad for a couple of weeks while unable to manage the stairs at the flat. Towards the end of December 2010, he and Leanne go on their honeymoon.
Upon returning from their honeymoon, Nick, jealously wanting Leanne back, convinces Peter to start drinking again, but he gives up again for Simon's sake. Leanne and Peter decide to renew their vows but Peter is devastated when he learns that Leanne has had an affair with Nick. Peter uses the blessing to announce that he knows about the affair and tells Leanne he wants a divorce. Peter gets revenge on Nick by scaring him in the ruins of the Joinery before reconciling with Leanne. Peter, Leanne and Simon go on holiday to celebrate their reunion. On their return, Peter returns to work at the bookmakers, although he is still walking with a crutch. In April, he is finally seen fully recovered from the accident.
In June 2011, Peter becomes friendly with Carla again, but this causes Leanne to become extremely insecure and leads to several arguments. The new manageress at The Rovers, Stella Price (Michelle Collins), saves Leanne from an armed robber when she is alone in the shop while Peter collects Simon. To express gratitude, Peter and Leanne invite Stella around for dinner, but during the evening Stella steals a picture of Leanne from the flat. Peter finds the picture in Stella's purse, which she accidentally leaves in the bookies, and confronts her about it - whereupon she confesses to him that she is Leanne's biological mother. During Leanne's 30th birthday party at the Rovers, Stella reveals the truth to Leanne, who is furious with her mother for abandoning her as a baby - and with Peter for not telling her as soon as he found out.
In July 2011, a pregnancy test confirms that Leanne and Peter are going to have a baby. Leanne is overjoyed, but although Peter also seems happy on the surface, he admits to Ken that he isn't sure they are ready. While Peter and Leanne celebrate in the Rovers, Carla Connor (Alison King) overhears Deirdre and Ken congratulating them and later pushes Peter into confirming her guess that Leanne must be pregnant. Leanne is furious when she realises Carla knows about her pregnancy, all the more so when Carla drops hints to Simon about it. She confronts Peter, and they have a heated row which ends with Leanne hurling quite vicious insults at Peter about his alcoholism. Rather than respond, he storms out of the flat. Feeling guilty, Leanne runs after him, but trips and falls down the stairs, where she is later found by Stella, who raises the alarm. At the hospital, a doctor confirms that Leanne has suffered a miscarriage. Peter feels guilty about the stress Leanne has been under lately and feels he may have jinxed the pregnancy with his reservations. When Leanne realises that Peter had doubts about the pregnancy, she assumes it means that he hasn't fully forgiven her for the affair with Nick and orders him to leave. Carla finds Peter in a highly agitated state and takes advantage of his vulnerability to try to seduce him again - he almost succumbs, but at the last minute pushes her away. After talking things through with Ken, Peter returns to the hospital and tells Leanne that he wants them to try for another baby when she is recovered.
In December 2011, Peter Barlow starts drinking again, and starts an affair with Carla, telling her she's the woman he loves not Leanne, and that he'll leave Leanne for her.
Robert Heanue was the first actor to portray the character from 1965 to 1970. Chris Dormer played the role from 1970 to 1972 when the seven year old actor was written out of the soap due to his parents' emigration to Canada. He did not continue to act and reflected on his time as the young Peter in 2001, "I really enjoyed the Street. I remember Pat Phoenix and Julie Goodyear kissing and tickling me because they thought I was cute. Most of the actors were nice, but some weren't. Violet Carson, who played Ena Sharples, was very grumpy. She didn't like children and really scared me." On-screen Peter and his sister Susan were written out of the soap to live with their grandparents when their mother Valerie Barlow was killed off.[2]
One of the six actors who has portrayed the character is Linus Roache, the real-life son of William Roache who portrays Peter's father, Ken Barlow in the show. Linus returned to the show in 2010, playing Lawrence Cunningham, another son of Ken Barlow.
Upon the character's return to the show in October 2008, Chris Gascoyne spoke of his character's destructive personality in an interview with Digital Spy, he stated; "He's been trying against the odds to sort his life out, but he can't. And when it doesn't work and it all goes wrong for him, he has a drink. There are hurdles in his way all the time. He's stubborn and resents people telling him what to do. He'll listen to advice, but he won't take any notice if he thinks the person giving it isn't in a place to do so. That happens a lot with Ken."[3]
Extracts from an interview with ITV actor Chris Gascoyne made certain statements about his character's personality and fatherhood stating: "Drink is becoming an issue and his self-esteem is low. He can’t see a way out and he can’t imagine doing this for the rest of his life (fatherhood)."[1] During the storyline he described his character as being seen as a coward.[1] Going on to say: "He has the potential to be a very good dad but at the minute he feels like everything is conspiring against him and he hasn’t got the confidence or the self-esteem to cope."[1]
Ahead of the fire storyline in March 2009, The Fire Minister Sadiq Khan said: "I would like to thank Coronation Street for highlighting this very important issue. Peter Barlow's actions show how dangerous it is to go to sleep while smoking, putting not only his but son Simon's life at risk too".[4] The episode in which the fire was screened drew in 10.3 million viewers (42.6% audience share) in March 2009.[5]
In February 2011, Gascoyne was nominated for Best Actor at the 2011 All About Soap Bubbles Awards for his portrayal of Peter.[6] He was nominated in the category of "Best Actor" at the 2011 British Soap Awards.[7]