  |
This article's content is marked as Mature Deirdre Barlow contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature articles are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
|
| “ | "Oh Ken!" | „ |
| ~ Deirdre's catchphrase whenever she is talking to her beloved husband Ken Barlow. |
Deirdre Barlow is a fictional character and central protagonist of the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street.
She has been portrayed by Anne Kirkbride up until the actress passed away on 19th January 2015.
Biography[]
Deirdre Barlow arrived in Weatherfield on 20th November 1972 and became one of the longest-standing residents of the street.
Upon arrival, she got a job at the builder's yard and worked for local hardman Len Fairclough. She was soon introduced to his friend Ray Langton and they began dating until Deirdre believed that he took her for granted, which in turn led to her dating fellow neighbour Billy Walker despite his mother Annie disapproving of the matter. Deirdre eventually won Annie round and got engaged to Billy but they both had doubts and Billy called it off.
Sometime later, Deirdre got back with Langton and they got married before she gave birth to their daughter Tracy. Their marriage started out pleasantly until he cheated on Deirdre by sleeping with his mistress Janice Stubbs and left the area when Deirdre admitted she couldn't forgive him, leaving her to look after Tracy as a single mother though her friend Emily Bishop provided her with great assistance.
In 1981 Deirdre married Ken Barlow. Things seemed to be going well at first as Ken was reliable and genuinely cared for Tracy's well-being but Deirdre began to find home life dull and often felt ignored by Ken. This resulted in an affair with his rival Mike Baldwin which almost ruined their marriage when Deirdre confessed about things to Ken but he ultimately forgave her and warned Mike to stay away from his family.
When Mike married Ken's daughter Susan Deirdre tried to convince him to call it off as she shared Ken's suspicion he was doing it out of revenge but Mike dismissed her and told her his intentions toward Susan were genuine. When Mike's marriage to Susan ended after she aborted his child Deirdre took pity on him and lent him a sympathetic ear. This infuriated Ken who demanded Deirdre not go anywhere near Mike.
After Ken was forced to drop out of the council election against Alf Roberts Deirdre ran against him in Ken's place and won. her position on the council led to her attempting to help a man named Brian Roscoe. Roscoe felt Deirdre's efforts to help were half-hearted and took her hostage but she escaped and was given emotional support by Ken.
In 1989 Deirdre threw Ken out after learning of his affair with Wendy Crozier and tried to take him for everything he had which was encouraged by Mike. Despite the strained relationship Ken still cared for Deirdre and tried to warn her about getting involved with conman Phil Jennings. Deirdre dismissed Ken but he was proven right when Phil smeared Alf during a re-election and caused Deirdre to lose her council seat.
Deirdre married kind man named Samir Rachid with Ken ultimately giving the relationship his blessing despite initially accusing them of only marrying so Samir could stay in the country. When Tracy was taken with kidney failure Samir was match and offered to donate his kidney to save Tracy's life but was beaten to death by thugs on his way to the hospital. The transplant went through anyway but Deirdre bitterly blamed Tracy for what had happened despite Ken trying to convince her otherwise. Ultimately Deirdre and Tracy were able to reconcile.
Deirdre then dated a man named Jon Lindsay who Ken distrusted. Unfortunately Lindsay turned out to be a conman with no real love for her and framed her for fraud to conceal his own crimes, resulting in her spending a few months in prison. United by their love for the same woman Mike and Ken called a temporary truce and got Deirdre released with the help of another victim of Lindsay's.
Ken and Deirdre later got back together when they helped Tracy reconcile with her husband Robert Preston. Deirdre was annoyed by the continuing feud between Ken and Mike such as when Mike demanded Ken pay back the legal costs he'd covered for Deirdre during her trial and when Ken wrote articles criticizing the way Mike ran his factory which resulted in Deirdre quitting her job in protest when Mike accused her of being Ken's mole. Ken had often felt Deirdre prioritised Mike over him and this became a major problem in 2001 when The Barlows discovered from Ken's son Peter that Susan had lied about the abortion all those years ago and had given birth to Mike's son Adam . She asked the family to keep Adam secret from Mike which most happily did but Deirdre felt they were being unfair and confided in her employer Dev Alahan who agreed with her and informed Mike of the truth.
When Susan died in a car crash, trying to get away from Mike Peter bitterly accused Deirdre of causing her death. In the aftermath there was a bitter custody battle between Ken and Mike which devastated Deirdre. Deirdre was deeply hurt when Ken proposed marriage to increase his chances of winning a court case against Mike and the entire situation almost destroyed their relationship but Mike's ex wife Alma who had briefly dated Ken in the early nineties helped them to reconcile. After Mike won the custody battle he and Ken mellowed towards each other.
Deirdre cheated on Ken with Dev which he later found out about from Tracy who had began dating Dev. Despite this Ken forgave Deirdre and they managed to remain quite happy. Tracy had become an incredibly nasty and manipulative woman since her time away and upon her return constantly disappointed her parents with her underhanded schemes and callous treatment of people. While Ken was more willing to acknowledge Tracy's flaws Deirdre continued to see the best in her daughter and was frequently manipulated by her. Ken and Deirdre remarried in 2005
When Mike died in 2006 Deirdre went into a long period of mourning which Ken couldn't help resenting.
When Tracy murdered her boyfriend Charlie Stubbs and claimed it was self-defence Deirdre reluctantly agreed to lie for her in court but her testimony was torn to shreds by the prosecution. Ken and Deirdre had almost bankrupt themselves to help their daughter but that mattered little to Tracy who demanded they pay for an appeal, prompting Ken and Deirdre to finally have enough of their daughter's villainous behaviour and sever all contact with her. The ordeal had a terrible affect on The Barlows' marriage as they blamed each other but they ultimately reconciled.
Ken had an affair with Martha Frasier which he confessed to Deirdre who forgave him. When Deirdre got news that her mother Blanche had died Ken supported her. When Tracy was let out of prison she was welcomed with open arms by her parents but it wasn't long before she was up to her old tricks as she framed Becky Granger as being responsible for her miscarriage in a plot to manipulate Steve McDonald into marrying her. When Deirdre found out she keep quiet as Tracy threatened to kill herself but the truth was revealed by Becky with the help of her sister Kylie at Tracy's wedding to Steve. Ken was disgusted not only with his daughter but with his wife for her behaviour though he eventually forgave them both.
Deirdre took a dislike to Tracy's boyfriend Rob Donovan but later accepted him since he made her happy. She also supported Peter when he lost the bookies. When Peter was imprisoned for killing Tina McIntyre Deirdre struggled to cope with the stress and left the street to stay with her friend Bev Unwin for awhile. Deirdre never came back and died of a aneurysm. Ken found out from Bev on the day of the funeral that Deirdre postponed her return because of the way Tracy had humiliated her friend Liz McDonald by having an affair with her boyfriend Tony Stewart and laid into Tracy for all the pain and suffering she caused her mother while she was alive.
Gallery[]
[]
| Soap Opera Heroes | ||
|
EastEnders Coronation Street Emmerdale Hollyoaks Casualty | ||
Trivia[]
- She made a total of 3346 appearances throughout her time on the show.