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. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... William Bill Roache MBE, Hon D.Litt (born April 25, 1932 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire) is an English television actor, who plays the part of Ken Barlow in the long-running soap opera, Coronation Street. ... is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tony Warren (born 1936) is a British television scriptwriter, best known for creating the soap opera Coronation Street. ... is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... David Barlow was a fictional character in UK Soap Opera Coronation Street. ... Valerie and Ken Barlow. ... Janet Louise Reid was a fictional character on the television series Coronation Street. ... Deirdre, after the infamous 1983 incident in which her then-husband, Ken, lost all control and started to strangle her. ... Peter Barlow Peter Barlow (1776 - March 1, 1862) was an English writer on pure and applied mathematics. ... Susan Ida Barlow (previously Baldwin), was a fictional character in the British soap opera Coronation Street. ... Daniel Osbourne is an upcoming fictional character played by Dominic Holmes in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... Coronation Street is an award-winning British soap opera. ... William Bill Roache MBE, Hon D.Litt (born April 25, 1932 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire) is an English television actor, who plays the part of Ken Barlow in the long-running soap opera, Coronation Street. ...

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!" Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress and former model who is best known for her roles in The New Avengers, Absolutely Fabulous, Sapphire and Steel and Sensitive Skin. ... Lothario is a character in Nicholas Rowes 1703 play The Fair Penitent. ...

The character is famous for having a quiff. A 2000s youth wearing a 1950s-style Teddy Boy quiff Another, perhaps more extreme, version of the quiff The quiff is a hairstyle that combines the 50s pompadour hairstyle, the 50s flattop, and sometimes a mohawk. ...

Background

Ken as he appeared in 1960.

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 family were killed off or moved, Ken Barlow has remained the constant link throughout 47 years of Coronation Street. Image File history File links Ken_barlow. ... Image File history File links Ken_barlow. ... The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, I Want To Hold Your Hand. ... This article is about the English supermodel. ... This article is about the rock band. ... The Who are a British rock band that first formed in 1964, and grew to be considered one of the greatest[1] and most influential[2] bands in the world. ...

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. In an accident resulting from excessive speed, this concrete truck rolled over into the front garden of a house. ... Albert Tatlock Albert Tatlock was a fictional character on the British soap opera Coronation Street. ...

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. Polygamy, literally many marriages in ancient Greek, is a marital practice in which a person has more than one spouse simultaneously (as opposed to monogamy where each person has a maximum of one spouse at any one time). ...

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's had a hand in raising, convicted murderess Tracy Barlow (again a street returner, played by the fourth actress to have the role!), Deirdre'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. Tracy Lynette Barlow (née Langton; previously Cropper and Preston) was a fictional character on the soap opera Coronation Street. ... Ray Langton was a major character in the British mega-soap Coronation Street. ... Charles Charlie Stubbs was a character in ITVs Coronation Street. ...

Life with Valerie

Ken marrying 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 adventerous nature eventually lead him astray however and he had an affair with newspaper reporter Jackie Marsh. Valerie immedietely 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 7 days in prison. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Valerie and Ken Barlow. ... Valerie and Ken Barlow. ... Albert Tatlock Albert Tatlock was a fictional character on the British soap opera Coronation Street. ... Peter Barlow was a fictional character in Coronation Street. ... Susan Ida Barlow (previously Baldwin), was a fictional character in the British soap opera Coronation Street. ...

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 hairdrier and was killed instantly. The electrical fault then caused the house to burn down, leaving Ken devastated and a single father.

Aftermath of Valerie's Death

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. Rita Sullivan (née Littlewood, previously Fairclough, previously Bates) is a fictional character on Coronation Street. ...

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 whos was on the rebound from Len Fairclough and they spent the night together. The fling never developed into anything else, however. Len Fairclough, (played by Peter Adamson) was, for 23 years, the hard man of Coronation Street. ...

Second Marriage

In October of 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. Janet Louise Reid was a fictional character on the television series Coronation Street. ...

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.

Third Marriage

In 1979 Ken began dating divorcee Deirdre Langton 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. Michael (Mike) Vernon Baldwin was a fictional character on the soap opera Coronation Street. ...

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. Bet Lynch (née Elizabeth Theresa Lynch, previously Gilroy) is a fictional character on the soap opera Coronation Street. ...

Life after Deirdre

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. This article is about the year. ...

Abuse and disgrace

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 disrespecting 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. Richard Hillman was a fictional character in Coronation Street played by Brian Capron. ...

Remarriage

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 Diana Spencer. This article is about the title Prince of Wales. ... Camilla Parker Bowles (born July 17 1947) was mistress, now girlfriend, of Charles, Prince of Wales. ... Lady Diana Spencer is a name shared by several members of the Spencer family, an aristocratic English family related to the Churchills of Blenheim Palace. ...

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.

Mike's death

On April 7, 2006, Mike Baldwin died ironically 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. April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Daniel Danny Baldwin, played by Bradley Walsh, was a fictional character on Coronation Street. ...

Separation

Ken's marriage was in turmoil. This was because of his adoptive daughter Tracy's murder conviction, who was 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. Blanche Hunt (née Linfield) is a fictional character on the soap opera Coronation Street. ... Denise Osbourne was a fictional character played by Denise Black in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The Rovers Return Inn is a fictional public house on the long running British television soap, Coronation Street. ...

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.

Reconciliation

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.

In 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." Nigel Blackwell, singer, guitarist and songwriter Half Man Half Biscuit, often abbreviated to HMHB, are a UK rock band from Birkenhead, active sporadically since the mid-1980s, known for their satirical, sardonic and sometimes surreal songs. ... Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is a musician from the USA credited with helping pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ...

Political views

Politically, Ken Barlow is left wing in his outlook and reads The Guardian, unlike Bill Roache, who in real life is a staunch Conservative [1].

Family

• Father: Frank Barlow (deceased)
• Mother: Ida Barlow (deceased)
• Brother: David Barlow (deceased)
• Wife: Deirdre Barlow
• Sons: Peter Barlow, Daniel Osbourne
• Daughter: Susan Barlow (deceased)
• Adoptive Daughter: Tracy Barlow
• Grandfather: Sidney Barlow (deceased)
• Grandmothers: Edna Barlow (deceased), Nancy Leathers(deceased)
• Grandsons: Adam Barlow, Simon Richards
• Grandaughter (Adoptive) Amy Barlow
• Aunt: Marjorie Barlow
• Nephew: Darren Barlow (deceased)

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Ida Barlow (nee Leathers) was a character in the British soap opera Coronation Street. ... David Barlow was a fictional character in UK Soap Opera Coronation Street. ... Deirdre Anne Barlow (née Hunt, formerly Langton and Rachid) is a long-running fictional character on the British soap opera Coronation Street. ... Peter Barlow was a fictional character in Coronation Street. ... Daniel Osbourne is an upcoming fictional character played by Dominic Holmes in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. ... Susan Ida Barlow (previously Baldwin), was a fictional character in the British soap opera Coronation Street. ... Tracy Lynette Barlow (née Langton; previously Cropper and Preston) was a fictional character on the soap opera Coronation Street. ... Nancy Leathers was a fictional Character in the British Soap Opera Coronation Street. ... Adam Barlow was a fictional character in the British soap opera Coronation Street. ... Amy Barlow is a character in the British soap opera Coronation Street. ...

Friends

• Emily Bishop
• Rita Sullivan
• Norris Cole
• Doreen Fenwick
• Blanche Hunt
• Bet Lynch
• Alf Roberts (Deceased)
• Len Fairclough (Deceased)
• Betty Williams
• Annie Walker (Deceased)
• Esther Hayes
• Alma Baldwin (Deceased)