Amy Barlow

Amy Katherine Barlow (formerly Patience Cropper) is the daughter of Tracy Barlow and Steve McDonald. She has two half-brothers; Ruairi McDonald who was stillborn and Oliver Battersby.

Shortly after her birth in 2004, Amy was sold by Tracy to Roy Cropper, the believed father, who named her Patience; however, he returned her to Tracy when she admitted Steve was the real father and the baby's name was changed to Amy.

After Tracy was convicted and sent to prison for killing her boyfriend Charlie Stubbs in 2007, Amy went to live with her father. When Steve started a relationship with Becky Granger, Amy had a good relationship with her, and Becky was also the one who told Amy about Tracy being a killer after Amy was bullied at school over it.

When Tracy was released from prison in 2010 due to the forensic evidence being discredited, she took Amy back when it was discovered Steve and Becky bought a little boy called Max from Becky's sister Kylie. Amy's parents began a relationship in 2011 and later married, but they separated on their wedding day.

In 2014, Amy began to develop a devious streak like her mother. She lied to Tracy about threats of violence from her babysitter Maddie Heath and would argue with her cousin Simon Barlow. In 2015, Amy was rescued from a fire at Victoria Court by Kal Nazir who perished, but she quickly recovered from the incident.

Amy is currently in shared custody between Tracy and Steve.

2004-2010: Early life and mother in prison
After a one-night stand with Steve McDonald in 2003, Tracy Barlow became pregnant. However, one night she drugged Roy Cropper, took him back to her house and shared a bed with him, fooling him into thinking they'd had sex. She later led him on to believe that he was the father of her unborn child. Although Roy was shocked and humiliated at first, after a talk through with his wife Hayley, they decided it was a good thing and that they could keep the baby. Tracy offered to sell the baby to Roy for a large sum of money and Roy even married Tracy to ensure he got the baby. Tracy's parents, Ken and Deirdre Barlow, did not approve of Tracy wanting to give the baby to the Croppers, with Tracy's grandmother Blanche Hunt being particularly disgusted, as she believed the Croppers were "loonies".

Tracy gave birth to a girl in February 2004. Although Tracy had admitted to Steve that he was the real father, he told her to give her daughter to the Croppers, as he didn't want anything to do with her. Tracy sold the baby to Roy and Hayley for £25,000, with the Croppers choosing to name the child Patience. When Tracy changed her mind and wanted the baby back, she arrived at Steve and Karen McDonald's wedding and demanded the Croppers hand her over. It was here that she revealed to everyone, including Karen, who the real father was. The Croppers fled during an argument at the wedding and refused to return the baby to Tracy, also telling Tracy's family, to their horror, that the baby had been sold to them, not given. After a talk with Ken, Roy conceded defeat and returned Patience to Tracy. The Croppers were devastated but Tracy was thrilled. Tracy renamed her daughter Amy. Throughout the year, Steve gradually accepted his role as Amy's father, while his wife Karen resented her. Tracy also had a feud with Karen during this time, with Karen turning up to Amy's christening and causing a scene by fighting with Tracy.



When Steve won a car in a competition (with the help of Karen), he gave it to Tracy. During Christmas 2004, when Tracy had briefly left Amy in the back of the car, Karen stole it, although she didn't realise at first that Amy was actually in the back seat. She burned the car and made Tracy believe Amy was still in it when it was set on fire, leading Tracy to go on a rampage against Karen. Although it was later revealed Amy was safe and sound with Roy, Steve was furious with Karen for making him believe Amy had been killed. He told Karen to leave and never return.

In 2005, Steve tried to start a relationship with Tracy so he could see more of Amy and gain partial custody of her. Tracy eventually saw through his acts and wanted revenge. Tracy told Steve that Amy had a fascination with planes and told him to take her to an airport. This was actually a trick and Tracy told the police that Steve was planning on fleeing the country with Amy. Steve was let off and continued to fight for parental rights, but this was further made difficult when Tracy lied to the courts that Steve was physically abusive. The courts saw through Tracy's acts and Steve was eventually granted rights to see his daughter later that year.

Tracy started a relationship with builder Charlie Stubbs in early 2006. Tracy decided to move in with Charlie, bringing Amy with her, however, Charlie did not want Amy there so Tracy sent her to live with Ken and Deirdre. Tracy manipulated Charlie into allowing Amy to stay with them when she lied to him about becoming pregnant and having an abortion. In 2007, Tracy murdered Charlie after discovering his affair with Maria Sutherland but unsuccessfully tried to make out it was self-defence. She was sent down for fifteen years but Steve didn't know how to tell Amy since she was so young. Amy moved in full-time with her father and paternal grandmother, Liz McDonald, at the Rovers Return Inn.

In February 2008, Alex Neeson was meant to be babysitting Amy, but he dumped her outside where she was almost knocked down by Harry Mason's van. In 2009, Steve married Becky Granger, a rough and tumble girl with a genuine side who saw Amy as her own daughter. When Amy began to get picked on by a boy at school over Tracy being a murderer, Becky told her the truth which Steve wasn't happy with the first time round but they agreed that it was time that Amy should now see Tracy. Everyone on the street believed Becky was a much better mother to Amy, since no-one liked Tracy. Becky and Steve had plans in 2010 to adopt a child when Becky found out she was unable to have children of her own. Around this time, Amy's great-grandmother Blanche had passed away, which upset her. When a social worker was visiting over the adoption plans, Becky explained Blanche's death in a loving and caring way which made Amy feel better, impressing the social worker.

2010-: Growing up with Tracy
During Blanche's funeral in May 2010, Tracy was allowed compassionate leave from prison to attend the funeral. Tracy also got a chance to be reunited with Amy, who was initially frightened and reluctant towards her relatively unfamiliar mother. The tension between Tracy and the McDonalds became even worse when a jealous Tracy confronted Becky over her closeness with Amy and eventually attacked her, leading to a hyped-up Tracy to be ushered away from the crematorium by police officers. The situation upset Amy deeply. Back in prison, Tracy tried her best to be a part of Amy's life and she encouraged Becky and Steve to have a word with the warden so she could be moved to an open prison and finally have a bit of her freedom back in exchange for Tracy giving the McDonalds a good reference so they could adopt a baby. Tracy threatened Becky, and said that one word or action and she could easily ruin their adoption plans and they could even lose custody of Amy.



Becky's half-sister Kylie Turner gave Steve and Becky a bad reference, making them unable to adopt, but she offered to sell her young son Max Turner to them. Becky agreed to the purchase and Max moved in with the McDonalds as Amy's younger brother. Over Christmas 2010, Tracy was released from prison when the forensics investigator on her case was discovered to have created fraudulent evidence. When Amy told Tracy that Max had been bought, not adopted, Tracy took Amy away from the McDonalds, threatening to tell the police about Max. Amy moved back in with the Barlows. Steve was able to keep partial custody over Amy by tricking Tracy into believing that he would give her the manager job the Rovers.

In April 2011, Tracy was accused of poisoning Amy when she became ill. It was later revealed that Amy was actually lactose intolerant. Tracy started seducing Steve, taking him and Amy on a trip to Blackpool, where Amy briefly ran off during an argument. Amy started drinking milk on purpose so that her parents would stop feuding. Tracy briefly moved to London with Amy but returned when she discovered she was pregnant with twins from a one-night-stand with Steve. However, she later miscarried. Amy's parents married in January 2012 but separated on the wedding day when Steve learned that Tracy had lied about Becky causing her miscarriage by pushing her down a flight of stairs.

In 2013, Ken and Deirdre complained that Tracy was neglectful of Amy, due to Tracy's relationship with new boyfriend Rob Donovan. As Tracy's relationship with Rob became more intense, she temporarily relinquished the care of Amy, with majority custody given to Steve, living with Deirdre for the rest of the time.

In August 2014, Amy had begun to grow bitter over her cousin Simon getting constant attention after his father Peter was wrongfully arrested for murdering Tina McIntyre. Whilst being babysat by Maddie Heath and Sophie Webster, Amy grew annoyed at their pandering to Simon and went out with the family dog Eccles to Barlow's Buys to tell her mother that Maddie had threatened to slap her. This enraged Tracy, who then warned a confused Maddie to not come near Amy again. A couple of weeks later however, Amy was again looked after by Maddie and Sophie along with Simon and Eccles. Again growing envy, Amy untied Eccles from outside The Kabin and allowed her to escape, although she was later found and brought home.

In September, Amy came to blows with Simon at No.1 when Tracy allowed Simon to feed Eccles. Amy took the dog into the backyard and blocked the door. When Simon managed to get the door open Amy had cut her hand, and wanting to get back at Simon claimed that Eccles had bit her. This annoyed Tracy who told Deirdre to put Eccles down, although Deirdre had deduced that Amy was trying to get attention. Eccles was later snatched by Maddie and Sophie after Simon was worried that Tracy was going to kill Eccles. She was later retrieved by Ken, and Amy eventually confessed to lying about Eccles biting her stating that she'd felt left out because of Simon getting constant attention. Ken and Deirdre however assured Amy that she was still important to them.

2015-2016: Disowning her mother


In May 2015, Amy and Carla Connor became trapped inside 12 Victoria Court after Tracy unintentionally started a fire there after leaving a lit candle near a lampshade. Carla was rescued whilst Leanne Tilsley and her partner Kal Nazir went inside to rescue Amy, but the trio became trapped when the roof caved in and blocked the door. Eventually, the fire brigade arrived and got Amy and Leanne down a ladder to safety. However, a gas cannister caught fire, causing an explosion to happen, killing Kal. Despite being rescued, Amy showed little care about Kal's death, only feeling pleased and somewhat excited at the fact she was rescued from a fire.

In September 2015, Amy started attending Weatherfield High. That November, she was physically attacked by Simon after she made fun of him over his troubles with his stepmother Leanne. In May 2016, Tracy spitefully ruined the wedding of Nick Tilsley and Carla Connor by telling Nick that Carla had slept with Tracy's then-boyfriend (and former husband) Robert Preston. Tracy's joy at causing the newly married couple's separation was short-lived when a furious Amy disowned her for her behaviour, choosing to move in full-time with Steve. However in July, Amy decided to forgive Tracy, but on the condition, some of her demands were met with one of them being a raise in pocket money.

2016-2017: Ruairi's death and Oliver's birth
In October, Michelle Connor snapped at Amy after she assumed she'd overheard her making an appointment with the genetic counsellor. However, Amy had being minding her own business and hadn't heard anything. When Amy complained to Liz about Michelle's attitude, Liz accidentally dropped a hint that Michelle Connor was pregnant. The news delighted Amy, but she was left horrified when she discovered that Michelle had been researching abortion clinics on the tablet.



After being questioned by Amy, Michelle was able to explain that Steve had recently learnt the news that his father Jim McDonald was suffering from a hereditary disease (Myotonic Dystrophy) which could be passed onto the baby thus causing complications, however Amy refused to accept the abortion. Taking Amy's thoughts on board, Michelle later decided to go through with her pregnancy - despite the health risks - and in December Steve thrilled Amy by showing her the scan photo of her baby brother.

Meanwhile, Amy's adoptive uncle Daniel Osbourne and cousin Adam Barlow arrived to take care of Ken in the aftermath of his stroke. Later, Tracy began to date Luke Britton and eventually told her daughter - having originally shielded her from the latest in a string of relationships. Amy was unfazed by the revelation and asked her mother to invite him round for dinner at No.1. During the dinner, Amy questioned Luke intensely but he was eventually able to win her round.

In January 2017, Amy suggested that they plan a baby shower for Michelle - but Toyah Battersby and Eva Price had the same idea of a baby shower for Leanne. An agreement was reached and a joint party was organised for both of Steve's children. At the party, Michelle began to suffer from pains and was driven to Weatherfield General by Leanne. Later that day Michelle went into premature labour and gave birth to a stillborn son Ruairi McDonald - although the birth was classed as a late miscarriage. Steve informed Amy of his passing a few days later and she decided to print a poem off the internet to give to Michelle.

By February, Leanne gave birth to her son Oliver Battersby and Nick started to pass him off as his own. However, when Steve was given the baby to hold by David Platt, after some drinks got spilled at Nick's Bistro, he was unable to give his son up and confessed to Michelle that he had a one-night-stand with Leanne. Michelle was devastated by his confession, and slapped Leanne before leaving the Rovers - threatening legal action against Steve. When Amy learnt the truth, she was disgusted by her father's actions and was upset that she had lost yet another stepmother.

2017: Whodunit suspect and killer return


In March 2017, Ken was seriously assaulted after being hit on the head and pushed down the stairs at No.1.



In May 2017, Amy was left shocked to discover that Rob had returned after escaping from prison.

2017-2018: Steve and Tracy reunite
In December 2017, Steve decided to move on from his relationship with Michelle - and part time engagement to Leanne - by using an online dating App. However, he was shocked to discover that his perfect match was Tracy. Upon spending the night together, Steve received a phone call from Tracy on Christmas Day claiming that the night had been a "mistake" - although, it was later revealed that Amy had sent the text as she dreaded her parents reuniting due to the fact that it always ended disastrously. Amy also attempted to make Tracy angry with Steve by taking Eccles and making her believe that Steve had left the door open and allowed the dog to escape. Despite her attempts, Steve and Tracy saw through her plan and decided to make their relationship official.

In January 2018, Amy began to feel jealous about the lack of attention she was receiving from her parents. This jealousy was heightened when Steve presented Tracy with a lavish gift of a trip to Paris but refused to buy her a new phone, even after she had purposely broken her current one and was now forced to go without. Steve challenged Amy to a contest, that he could go longer without his phone than she could, and promised if she beat him that he would buy her the new phone. Over the next week and a half, Steve began to cheat and secretly use his phone while nobody was around but Amy eventually got her revenge by going to a house party instead of the cinema on night in February. As a result of not having a phone, Steve was unable to contact Amy - but they eventually located her, humiliating her in front of her friends and crush Matthew Begley, but Tracy ordered Steve to buy his daughter a new phone so that incidents of the same nature wouldn't arise again.



Elsewhere, Billy Mayhew asked Tracy if Amy could team up with Summer on a school project - but Tracy refused as Summer was the bottom of the class and she didn't want her pulling Amy's grades down. Amy was more sympathetic to her friend, and later agreed to help her track Billy down after he had went AWOL. However, their attempts to find Billy proved futile and almost led them to be abducted by a man who had pretended to have information about Billy's whereabouts - but the pair were luckily saved by Amy's uncle Peter.

Eventually, Amy began to warm to the idea of both her parents being back together. However, Steve had started to doubt the longevity of the pairing - although for Amy's sake he proposed to Tracy in June. Tracy immediately accepted the proposal, but was left annoyed when Daniel stole her limelight by proposing to his girlfriend Sinead Tinker on the same day. Tracy soon began to plan a lavish wedding at a castle, but decided to settle for the Chariot Square Hotel after the castle burnt down - something that Steve took to be an omen.

However, in August Steve kissed Abi Franklin while comforting her and began to realise that he didn't want to marry Tracy - this led to him having another one-night stand with Leanne only a week before the wedding. The wedding was plagued by more trouble as Amy slipped at a spa and broke her arm meaning that she was unable to attend, and Daniel spontaneously organised his wedding for the same day - stealing a large majority of the guest list including Ken, and Tracy's best friend Beth Sutherland. As predicted the wedding ended in chaos, when the truth about Steve and Leanne's affair was revealed, and Tracy punched Steve during their first dance routine. Despite declaring that their relationship was over, Tracy joined Steve in Morocco for their honeymoon - but later stole his wallet and passport before abandoning him in a dessert and returning home alone. Upon finding his way home himself, Steve begged for Tracy's forgiveness - and she later accepted on the condition that he hired Abi to work at Street Cars.



Amy had at first been enraged that her mother had even considered taking Steve back, but later plotted with Adam to create a legally binding contract for them both to sign in order for them to gain her acceptance. Steve and Tracy both signed without thoroughly reading the papers and were later horrified to discover that they now had to live their lives governed by rules designed to make the trio a better family such as; scheduled family time and fines for name calling. Despite at first allowing the contract to control their lives, Steve and Tracy later found a way to outsmart Amy by organising "family time" when she wanted to hang around with her friends.

2019-present: Pregnancy and termination
In January 2019, Amy took a pregnancy test and was shocked to discover that she was pregnant. At first she believed that she was only a couple of weeks pregnant and planned to have a secret abortion, but soon discovered that she had confused the dates and was much further along than she had first thought - this meant that she would need a surgical abortion. When the abortion clinic advised Amy to open up to someone close to her, preferably a family member, she confessed everything to her grandmother Liz. Later that same day, Amy also decided to tell her parents - although they had already discovered her secret after finding a pregnancy test in the bin. Steve and Tracy were initially furious about the revelation and demanded to know who the baby's father was, but Amy kept his identity a secret. However, she was eventually forced to reveal that the father was Tyler Jefferies as Steve and Tracy had began to point the finger at several other residents such as; Aadi Alahan and her cousin Simon.



Steve and Tracy were disgusted to learn that Tyler was the culprit, as that meant that he had committed statutory rape - as he was seventeen at the time of the conception while Amy was underage. When Tracy suggested contacting the police about Tyler, Amy angrily refused and eventually decided against having an abortion as her parents informed her that they would raise the child as their own if she wasn't ready to be a mother. Tyler's mother Vicky Jefferies soon learnt of Steve and Tracy's plan to raise Amy's baby and was left upset by the prospect of not being part of the child's life.

When Vicky began to interfere in things by talking to Amy and getting Tyler a job at the Viaduct Bistro, Tracy decided that she needed to get him out of their lives and offered him five thousand pounds if he left them alone. Tyler refused Tracy's offer and, seeing red, she contacted the police about his sexual activity with her daughter. The police questioned Amy about Tyler, but she told them that she didn't want him to get into trouble and wouldn't testify against him. Later, Amy met Tyler at the Community Garden and he revealed that he didn't want to be a father. After speaking to Bethany Platt, who was able to sympathise with Amy's situation as her mother Sarah Platt had been a teen mother too, Amy decided to have an abortion. Bethany accompanied her on the day that she had it and advised her to be honest with her parents, although Amy kept it a secret from them after realising how much they were looking forward to the child.

Other information

 * Amy has grown up with a number of stepmothers. Stepmother number one, Karen Phillips, resented her presence but second stepmother Becky Granger saw Amy as her own. By the time her third stepmother, Michelle Connor entered her life, Amy was resentful at first but they eventually bonded.
 * In December 2014 Amy pretended (with the encouragement of her mother) that she was able to speak to dead people in a bid to wind Norris Cole up.
 * In 2015, Ken persuaded Amy to start learning to play the violin, but the noise it created caused a great deal of annoyance to the rest of Amy's family.

Background information

 * Amy was born on 9th February 2004 with babies Holly Bowyer and Rebecca Pike jointly playing the role. A third baby, Amber Chadwick, also appeared briefly in that month for three episodes. Bowyer departed at the end of March 2004, while Pike continued to play Amy until June 2005. Louisa Morris took over the role in the same month as Pike's departure. She would play the role for three months until September 2005, although on 29th August and 7th September the role was instead played by Rachel & Sarah Corker. Morris was replaced by Madison Hampson in late-September.
 * Hampson played the role until March 2006. Later that month it was reported in the news that her parents had taken her out of the part because they believed she was finding it "too harrowing", however Coronation Street bosses denied the claims, insisting that they followed "very strict guidelines" regarding child welfare and that Hampson was instead taken out because it was common for young child actors to be replaced.
 * Following Hampson's withdrawal, Amber Chadwick made a return to the role, becoming a regular cast member for the first time. She took over in late-March 2006 and played Amy for four years until April 2010. Shortly before Chadwick's final appearance, it was reported that Amy was to be recast as producers wanted an older and more capable actress to play the role in time for her on-screen mother Tracy's return. It was also revealed that producers had been planning to replace Chadwick for a while, but her parents had persuaded them not to.


 * Elle Mulvaney, a student of the Carol Godby Theatre Workshop, was announced to be the next actress to play Amy. Mulvaney debuted on-screen in May 2010 and remains with the programme to the present day.
 * Amy is the character with the most actors playing the part in the show, with Peter Barlow coming in second as he was played by 7 actors.
 * Elle has been the most successful actress to play Amy, being nominated for "Best Young Actor" in the Inside Soap Awards three years' running.

First and last lines
"Mama!" (First line, to mum Tracy)

Appendices
(To be completed)