Leanne Barlow

Leanne Anika Barlow (née Battersby, previously Tilsley) and her family were introduced in the summer of 1997 as the new "common" family. Leanne was, at that time, a mischievous troublemaker. She was sixteen and fresh out of school with no A-levels. Les's biological daughter was Leanne and Toyah was Janice's, but the two girls had grown up together and were friends as well as step-sisters. Les and Janice had lived together for a few years before they got married, which was shortly before they moved into No. 5. As Leanne was not in education, Janice insisted on her getting a job. She got Leanne a job as a cleaner at the factory where she herself worked, but this did not last long as Leanne was lazy and rude to those around her.

Marriage to Nick Tilsley
One of Leanne’s early storylines saw her begin dating and later marry Nick Tilsley. Nick's mother Gail Platt instantly disapproved of the union as she did not like the Battersbys. Leanne and Gail frequently clashed, but this did not stop the teenagers from running away to Scotland to get married in January 1998. In an effort to become a more responsible adult, Leanne quit her hairdressing course and started working with Rita Sullivan in The Kabin. Nick and Leanne's relationship was strained, however, when Leanne became pregnant, and Nick demanded that she abort the unborn child and pretend to everyone else that she had miscarried the baby. Leanne reluctantly agreed, but their relationship couldn't survive such trauma and they consequently divorced. Nick went back to Canada and Leanne took what financial offer she could get from Gail as a divorce settlement.

Newly single, Leanne began dating new resident Vikram Desai who was working at the Corner Shop at the time. Excessive partying and late nights took its toll on Leanne. She subsequently resigned from The Kabin following a misunderstanding over missing money. She then started working behind the bar at the Rovers for Natalie Horrocks.

Becoming a drug addict
Leanne went on to become addicted to cocaine. She ended up deeply in debt to drug dealer Jez Quigley, and upon occasion was forced to sleep with him. She owed him money and became desperate. She was going to allow him to rob the Rovers but at the last minute backed out and landed herself in hospital after a fight with one of Jez's thugs. Leanne was scared and decided to leave Weatherfield. Knowing Jez to be capable of extreme violence, she left Weatherfield for Amsterdam with her friend Mark Redman in 2000 to escape the gangster's clutches.

Dressing as a belly dancer
In June 2004, Les discovered Leanne dressed as a belly dancer in a back street local bar, serving beer. She returned to the Street and moved back in with Janice. She quickly caused trouble for ex-husband Nick and his latest girlfriend Maria Sutherland. She had heard about how Maria had betrayed Toyah by having a fling with John Arnley, and decided to take revenge on both Maria and her former husband. Leanne and Maria’s sparring culminated in a brawl in the Rovers Return. Eventually, Leanne's scheming paid off as Nick left Weatherfield without Maria.

Relationship with the Baldwins
Not long after her return, Leanne started a relationship with Jamie Baldwin. Jamie's stepmother, Frankie Baldwin, hated Leanne, and several ferocious slanging matches ensued. Despite her feud with Frankie, Leanne and Jamie became engaged. However, Leanne began an affair with Jamie's dad, Danny Baldwin, which Frankie discovered. When Jamie learned the truth, he proceeded to call off the engagement, and Leanne temporarily departed the Street to sort her life out.

Leanne and Danny eventually accepted that their respective relationships were over and consequently decided to reunite. When Danny's father, Mike Baldwin, began to suffer from mental illness, Leanne and Danny were the ones who cared for him. However, their main priority was getting their hands on his estate.

Shortly before Mike's death, Danny had managed to manipulate Mike into making a will giving it all to him, and cutting out his other sons, Mark and Adam Barlow. Yet following Mike's death, Leanne discovered a will that post-dated this one and in it, Mike left Adam his fair share. Despite becoming engaged to Leanne, Danny Baldwin truly loved former wife Frankie and ended his relationship with Leanne in a bid for reconciliation. Leanne was devastated and took revenge on Danny by blackmailing him with Mike's latest will. Leanne then double-crossed her ex by giving Mike's second will to Adam, even after Danny gave her the cash which she demanded. Having totally wrecked Danny's life, Leanne then made her exit to Spain.

Prostitution and Paul Connor's death
Leanne returned in March 2007, harbouring the secret that she was now working as an escort. Leanne's beloved former stepmother, Janice Battersby, was horrified to discover the truth and made her disapproval very clear. When Leanne began dating Liam Connor, Janice made her realise that she had to choose between Liam and prostitution. Initially, Leanne chose escorting, but later decided that she should allow her heart to rule her head and gave it up for him. In the latter days of her career as a prostitute, Leanne found herself a new client - Liam's brother Paul Connor.

Leanne went into business with Paul's wife, Carla Connor. They decided to open a restaurant together. In order to gather up the cash to make the purchase, Leanne made a brief return to her work as a prostitute. This business deal would ultimately lead to Leanne's exposure, as Carla came across one of her clients who told her the truth. Carla was shocked, and decided to abandon their business arrangement.

When Carla ended her marriage to Paul after finding out about his visits to escorts, he blamed Leanne and attempted revenge. He lured her to a car park where he bundled her into the boot of his car to drive to Liam and inform him of the truth. However, a horrific car crash took place during the journey. Leanne was hospitalised, but survived. Paul, on the other hand, did not pull through and died shortly after the accident. Carla revealed Leanne’s profession to Liam, who was stunned and decided that he wanted nothing more to do with Leanne.

The restaurant
Leanne decided to go ahead with opening the restaurant herself. She borrowed £10,000 from Janice‘s boyfriend Roger Stiles, but initially struggled with her new business. She took on Paul Clayton as cook at the restaurant, and began to feel hope when business improved. Paul eventually invested money in the restaurant acquiring a share of the business.

She then began dating bookmaker Dan Mason, by which time the restaurant was beginning to show signs of failure. It was Dan who suggested torching Valandros for the insurance money. Leanne manipulated Paul into carrying this out for her, offering the promise of a relationship between the two of them. Paul agreed and carried out the arson attack, but was disappointed to realise Leanne had only been using him. He attempted to take revenge on her by confessing his crime to the police, as well as implicating her. However, Dan and Leanne provided alibis for one another on the night of the fire so they got away with the crime. Realising that he alone was going to be sent down, Paul subsequently fled the country to avoid prosecution.

Leanne subsequently got a job working in the bookies with Dan and his father. She then returned to her old job behind the bar at the Rovers as she was not making enough money at the bookies. She was fired by Michelle Connor after she wrongly accused Leanne of sleeping with her boyfriend Steve McDonald.

Lottery scam
In September 2008, Leanne and Janice discovered that the syndicate Lottery ticket for the factory girls was a winner - to the tune of nearly £25,000. Leanne convinced her stepmother that she should not tell the other girls about it and keep the winnings for themselves. To claim the winnings they had to set up a bogus bank account under the name of Rosie Webster. They were both thrilled when the cash was lodged to the account, they made up a cover story that an uncle of Janice's had died and had left them a sum of money in his will. Leanne then offered to give Dan the £10,000 which he needed to buy the bookies. However, she clashed with Janice over this as in the meantime, Rosie had vanished and the police could see that money was being withdrawn from the account. Unfortunately for Leanne, Dan found out about the scam after Janice was arrested following her admission of guilt and their relationship subsequently ended.

Return of Peter Barlow
In October 2008, Peter Barlow returned to the Street with his son Simon and Leanne took a shine to both. On 17th December 2008, however, a drunken Peter went to kiss Leanne, and though she rejected him, he grabbed her. In self defence, Leanne pushed him and he fell into the decorated Christmas tree resulting in Simon waking up and Leanne walking out. However, she later forgave him when he promised to give up the booze and the pair began a relationship. Early in 2009, Peter was struggling to stay off alcohol and entered a rehabilitation programme with Leanne's support. In his absence she took over running the bookies. Upon his return in March 2009, Leanne discovered he had cheated on her while he was away. Brokenhearted, she subsequently moved to Leeds to take up a job offer managing a restaurant for a friend. Several months later, Peter headed out to Leeds and asked Leanne to give him another chance; she returned to Coronation Street the day after, whereupon they resumed their relationship. Later Leanne and Peter decide to open a bar together in the joinery premises under the viaduct at the end of Coronation Street. Ken was dead set against the plan, but Peter found investment in Lucy's father George Wilson, who was attempting to build a relationship with Simon. As work began on the bar, Peter's drink problem returned. George tried to use the alcoholism against Peter to get custody of Simon for himself.

Despite his personal problems, Peter's relationship with Leanne survived and they became engaged. When Leanne's ex-husband Nick Tilsley moving back to the street, he decided to use the premises at the end of the street to open his own bar, The Joinery, Peter encouraged Leanne to take up his offer of a Manager role.

While Leanne and Nick were working hard to get the bar open, Peter grew close to Leanne's friend Carla Connor when he realised that she had a drink problem. When Leanne asked where he kept going off to, Peter told her that he was supporting a man from AA named Carl. In November, The Joinery opened and Carla became drunk before driving her car home. She was pulled over by police and Peter took her home from the station after she'd been charged with drink driving. Carla made a pass at Peter that night but he told her, while he was tempted, he only wanted to be with Leanne. However, across town after hours at The Joinery, Leanne began an affair with Nick.

Nick begged Leanne not to go through with the wedding as he still loved her. When Leanne told Carla what had happened she told her to choose Nick too, although this was largely down to her plan to snare Peter. Leanne chose to go ahead with the wedding and call off her affair with Nick. At Peter's stag party in The Joinery on 6th December 2010, Nick took Peter into the office to tell him the truth but they were interrupted by Ashley Peacock who had come to say his farewells. Ken went to warn Leanne about Nick's confession, she was celebrating her hen night in the Rovers. They both made there way towards the Joinery when massive gas explosion ripped through the Joinery, damaging the viaduct and causing a tram to derail and crash into the street. Peter was gravely injured and trapped with Nick and Ashley. As the street waited for help, more panic arose when a fire at the Peacock's house was made more aware. Claire had been looking after a group of children including Simon. As Claire and the rest of the children escaped, Simon was trapped upstairs, much to Leanne's distress. Leanne was held back from going into the burning building to rescue him and he was later rescued by Jason Grimshaw. Peter was eventually rescued from the wreckage, but Ashley had died as the viaduct collapsed afterwards. Peter was taken immediately to hospital with Leanne by his side. Believing he was close to death, Peter married Leanne in the that night from his hospital bed.

Peter survived, but his injuries meant that he would have to learn to walk again. He and Leanne moved into Number 1 with Ken and Deirdre while he convalesced. Leanne told Peter that she now knew that 'Carl' was Carla. On Christmas Day, Peter announced in the Rovers Return that he intended to be walking by 14th February when he planned to give Leanne the wedding that she deserved. After a week away over New Year, the pressure of his injuries was already beginning to show. He rejected Ken's help and insisted on moving back to the flat, taking a lot of his frustration out on Leanne. Encouraged by a manipulative Nick, Peter began secretly drinking again. Leanne found out about the drinking and blamed Nick, who Peter defended. A week before Leanne and Peter renewed their vows, her and Nick's affair came to the knowledge of Tracy Barlow. Tracy threatened to tell Peter, but Ken and Deirdre convinced her not to. Nick decided to leave for Italy and wanted Leanne to come with him, but she put the ticket in the bin. Later Peter found the ticket and became suspicious. His suspicions were confirmed by Tracy who told Peter of Leanne and Nick's affair. At the blessing, Peter exposed the affair in front of the whole congregation, and said he wanted a divorce. Thinking she'd lost Peter forever, Leanne decided to leave Weatherfield for London, but after Ken convinced Peter that Leanne was the best thing that had happened to him and Simon, he went to try and stop Leanne from leaving.

Quotes
"About time. What took you?"(First line, to Janice Battersby)

Background Information

 * Leanne's absence from March to September 2009 was due to actress Jane Danson taking maternity leave.