Robert Preston

Robert Preston was a carpet fitter and the first husband of Tracy Barlow. They got married on 13th November 1996. They were going to tie the knot in London, and not tell Ken and Deirdre Barlow the news but Tracy decided to marry in Weatherfield instead as it was cheaper. They married at the Register Office. She bought a £14 wedding dress. After their wedding, they left the street and moved to London. Tracy later had an affair in 2002 leading her to run away to Weatherfield and later divorce Robert, to Deirdre's shock. Deirdre tried to change Tracy's mind about Robert, but she simply refused to go back to him.

Robert returned for Deirdre's funeral in July 2015. He met up with Tracy later at No.1 and made it clear he still loved her despite the way she treated him. The pair started to kiss and were in the midst of getting undressed in the living room before Ken walked in. Ken was appalled at Tracy's actions on the day of Deirdre's funeral and ordered Robert to leave. The next day he turned up at Barlow's Buys where Tracy was getting harassed by two men wanting payment after her business partner Tony Stewart did a disappearing act and Robert threatened to beat up the men, causing them to scarper. The couple then had a drink together in the Rovers where Robert revealed he was now working as a chef, and the reason he returned to the North was because he missed her.

Background information

 * Robert Preston was played by Julian Kay for recurring appearances in 1996, 1999 and finally a one-off in 2003. The character was recast with Tristan Gemmill in the role upon the character's return in 2015 and he signed a one-year contract with the show.
 * Tristan Gemmill previously appeared on the programme for two episodes in January 2000 as drugs counsellor Will Griffiths.

Quotes
"Cheers. Nice to meet you." (First line to Deirdre Barlow)