Janet refuses to do this, and in 1974 they separate. Aspinall culled a variety of characters from the serial, including fan favourite Martha Longhurst (Lynne Carol), and Ken was one of the characters he wished to axe: "He had a kind of hit list of characters. The character developed a reputation as a ladies' man; plots saw Ken dating numerous women, marrying four times to three women (Valerie Tatlock in 1962, Janet Reid in 1972, Deirdre Hunt in 1981 and again in 2005), fathering four children with three different women (Lawrence Cunningham in 1961 from Ken's affair with Susan Cunningham – though he never knew about Lawrence until 2010 – twins Susan Barlow and Peter Barlow in 1965 from Ken's marriage to Valerie Tatlock, and in 1995 Daniel Osbourne from Ken's affair with Denise Osbourne), as well as later adopting Deirdre's daughter Tracy Barlow. it soon became clear that the marriage was not going to be a happy one, and Janet was no Val. "[47], Janet and Ken split up in 1974. [106] The pair resolved to put the past behind them; it was a temporary reprieve. Little dubbed Ken Coronation Street's elder statesman and lynch-pin, a one-man Greek tragedy, and the greatest survivor in Weatherfield. Brian Viner said, "It is easy enough to see, despite the extraordinary number of broken relationships and personal crises in his wake, why Ken tends not to make the pulse race when he opens his mouth. Ken has numerous flings, including a one-night stand with Rita Littlewood (Barbara Knox), but his next serious relationship occurs in 1973, when Ken marries Janet Reid (Judith Barker), in the hope that she will mother his two children. ", Of the love triangle storyline, Briggs has said, "the way it captured the nation was amazing. They had an on/off relationship and a wedding was planned in 1996; however, in a plot twist, it was revealed to Ken that Denise, unable to "hold her primitive lusts in check", was having an affair with her brother-in-law, Brian. Ken begins teaching, and marries Valerie Tatlock (Anne Reid) in July 1962. Ken Barlow was born and raised at 3 Coronation Street, Weatherfield, Lancashire. [115] Harvey has suggested that when he researched the play, in the top five storylines for each of the 50 years of Coronation Street, three characters regularly featured—Ken, Deirdre and Gail Platt. Roache was given a six-month contract in early 1961, followed by a one-year contract in June of that year, which he deemed amazing security at a time when he had been "leading a hand-to-mouth existence". [126] Despite Ken being fictional, critic Jim Shelley, writing for the Daily Mirror in 2009, labelled Ken "the most boring man you could ever meet". [citation needed] He stated in 2010 that although he initially only intended to feature in Coronation Street for a short time, once he had filmed it and it was transmitted with "such colossal impact", he realised it was something special. It took a lot to get Ken angry but after the way Mike had treated his daughter, he was furious. [7], Spiritual enlightenment and a desire for self-improvement led Roache to consider quitting the series in the early 1970s, as he struggled with being in "the most ego-driven profession there is". 7. When Albert revealed he could not pay his bills on his pension, Ken opted to stay. He's been married three times, had 24 girlfriends and is head of a totally dysfunctional family. The storyline "horrified" viewers, and Craig received abusive letters from angry fans. She openly showed her dislike for his children and sent them to boarding school. Daniel's mother Denise, now single, gets the wrong idea and attempts to rekindle a romance with Ken; Ken rebuffs her advances and returns to Deirdre. William Roache has appeared as Ken Barlow in 4639 episodes of Coronation Street from 1960 onwards as well as appearing in the spin-off insert for the 1969 Christmas All Star Comedy Carnival, the Establishing Episode (US promotion) in 1972, the video The Jubilee Years in 1985, the ten internet episodes titled Ken and Deirdre's Bedtime Stories in 2011 and the charity sketch Text Santa in 2012. [119], A parody song written about the character, entitled "Ken! Community content is available under. In that house, Elsie Tanner confronts her son, Dennis, about 2/- missing from her purse. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. The highest bid on a photograph was for a shot of Ken, standing amongst rubble after the Weatherfield tram crash in 2010, a storyline marking the show's 50th anniversary. [75], Ken was disdainful of his parents, Frank (Pemberton) and Ida (Dyson). [107], The feud came to an end on-screen in 2006, when Briggs quit the role of Mike. [44] Roache said, "I was pleased. [61] Upon the discovery, Ken's happiness was snatched away in what has been described by Sunday Mail as "harrowing circumstances", and one of the character's worst moments. '"[83] Roache has suggested that the subsequent problems in his children's adulthood were Ken's fault: "I blame Ken for how they've all turned out. He decided who he wanted out, while others including myself were put on warning that we were likely to be given the chop at a later date. Despite being generally "well-meaning", Roache assessed that for the first two decades of Coronation Street, Ken had a ruthless streak where women were involved. He’s … This frustrated Susan, who actually liked Coronation Street. He later discovers that Peter has sacked his lawyer and it becomes even more likely that he will be found guilty of the murder. [77] Upon separating from Elaine, Ken confided in his friend Rita (Knox) that, "There were other fellers more glamorous, more successful, more wealthy and more interesting than me." Ken takes the separation badly and attempts suicide by overdose, but is prevented from doing so by his friend, Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear). [76] He is left a single parent following Valerie's untimely death; she perishes after being electrocuted in January 1971, and he is left heartbroken. Denise doesn't mean to cause so much pain. Their close relationship resulted in Roache challenging the series producers when a script required Ken to allow Daniel to be taken away by his mother. Culshaw wanted to include his impression of Ken in the show, saying "We were just looking for an excuse to get him in", so he decided that Ken and Pat would have a "secret romantic tryst at a motorway service station" somewhere between Weatherfield and the EastEnders' setting of Walford. [104] The storyline had significant cultural impact, with the press claiming that the country was divided between those who thought Deirdre should remain with Ken, and those who thought she should leave with Mike. Val he was close to her uncle Albert Tatlock and so… In the corner shop at the end of Coronation Street in the town of Weatherfield, Lancashire, new owner Florrie Lindley takes over from Elsie Lappin who is retiring but staying on a short while to show her the ropes. Black was pleased to be invited back, saying "I don't think that you can have Ken Barlow’s baby and forget about it, can you? Valerie accused him of attempted murder on one occasion when a small house fire occurred – with the twins trapped inside. [14] He became the only original character to remain with the show continuously into 2010, its 50th year. Although no calls were made, 20 million viewers watched the wedding episode. I always thought of him during that first decade as a young man who had a very stubborn streak in him when it came to his principles and what he thought was right. Denise agrees to marry Ken, but is having an affair with her brother-in-law Brian Dunkley (Benny Young) at the same time. It isn't an option and I don't want to even consider it [...] I love the Street and while they want me and while I can do it I want to carry on. [18], Tony Warren created Ken as a "zeitgeist" of modern times in 1960,[citation needed] and it has been suggested that Ken is a "prism through which to read the political and cultural history of the last half century". Susan has a son named Lawrence (Linus Roache), who turns out to be Ken's child. Nursing the notion that he's been thwarted by life, he decides to leave Deirdre to sail off into the sunset – or possibly Runcorn – with Martha. "[89], Ken had a largely antagonistic relationship with his "acid-tongued" mother-in-law Blanche, Deirdre's mother, who has been described as a "thorn in Ken's side". He has been described as the most famous fictional reader of The Guardian, a newspaper that attracts readers of the mainstream left of British political opinion. When Ken writes a scathing newspaper article about his uneducated neighbours in Weatherfield, Frank and the community are outraged. In November 2020, Barlow was again presented with the Guinness World Record for the longest serving TV soap star in the world for his six decades in Coronation Street.[3]. [96] In the storyline, Ken finds a letter which discloses he had a secret son with a short-term girlfriend. "[65] Denise's return was used as a catalyst to cause further problems in Ken and Deirdre's marriage, Ken having grown discontented. The production, which is based on Coronation Street, featured Roache playing his on-screen alias, Ken, in a pre-recorded segment. [44] Their relationship featured various affairs, break-ups and reunions over the years. "[101] It was suggested in an ITV documentary in 2006 that Ken and Mike's hatred was a clash of cultures: "Barlow the lefty do-gooder versus Baldwin, the cut-and-thrust money grabber. The letter is written by Ken's first girlfriend, Susan Cunningham (Patricia Shakesby), whom Ken had dated in 1960. Mike hates the thought of Ken spending Christmas Day with his son, but Ken's pride gets the better of him. You want a wonderful dysfunctional one like the one I've got, they're great and Deirdre is wonderful. [48], In 1972, Deirdre Hunt, played by Anne Kirkbride, was introduced into Coronation Street; the character would become synonymous with Ken's narrative when, in the early 1980s, Deirdre became Ken's third wife. [13], According to writer Daran Little, Roache was partly responsible for the name of the street where the soap is set, Coronation Street, which also serves as the programme's title. [42] The following episode ended with Ken walking through the burned remains of their home, in a scene that Roache has deemed one of his "most enjoyable and satisfying moments in Coronation Street. We take a look at the moment we met the great Ken Barlow. [28] Karen Price of the Western Mail called him the Street's resident intellectual, who has never quite managed to break free from his roots. Scenes since have seen Tracy and his son Peter Barlow … We really are like an old married couple who have had their ups and downs, lived through them and come out the other side. He denies the label, particularly given that Ken has had numerous romantic dalliances during his tenure. All these years and Ken still doesn't realise it's not Deirdre who's the dead weight in his life, it's he himself. Denise was reintroduced for several months in 2007, over a decade after she had last appeared. Ken sees James as his "intellectual match", and has a lot of respect for him because he is a "well-educated, erudite young man". [138] She noted that although Ken had many relationships, "he could hardly be described as an early 'Dirty Den'", a character notable for his womanising in the soap opera EastEnders. In July 2015, Deirdre dies and Ken is absolutely devastated by this news. In a scene which aired in 1990, Mike punched Ken, knocking him over a table in the Rovers Return public house. [91] When Ken's affair with Martha was exposed, Blanche took her comments too far: she tormented Deirdre for staying with him, which resulted in her being thrown out of the Barlow household and forced to live with Peter. In early 2019, Ken begins a relationship with Audrey's frenemy Claudia Colby (Rula Lenska). Roache said he looked forward "immensely" to working with his children during the fiftieth-anniversary year. He has played little part in 'wealth creation' [...] and is still stuck in the same house he lived in when he was a student, leading his carousel life, stoically and decently. In late 1976, Barker was asked to reprise the role for a final time. It was appalling", recalled Roache. [49] Their wedding coincided with professional unease for actor Roache, who feared that Ken was becoming boring, to the detriment of his own self-confidence. I had my flat in London, I was getting acting parts and it all looked very rosy. He has played Ken Barlow in the soap opera Coronation Street since its first episode on 9 December 1960. "[41], — Roache, on Ken and Janet's relationship. He made his debut in the soap's first episode, broadcast on 9 December 1960. After all, he usually opens it only to drink halves of bitter, or to say something sensible or worthy. 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