Ken Barlow

Kenneth Barlow was born in Coronation Street in 1939 and has lived there all his life.

The son of postman Frank Barlow and kitchen cleaner Ida, Ken long aspired to escape from his working class background and began his working life as an English teacher at the local Bessie Street School after graduating from University in 1961. Despite his ambitions, he remained in Coronation Street and married hairdresser Valerie Tatlock, despite their very different personalities.

Ken and Val had two children - twins Peter and Susan, born in 1965, although Ken left most of the parenting to Val. Ken was widowed in 1971 and sent the twins to live with Val's parents in Glasgow, after realising he couldn't take care of them. In the 1970s, Ken left the teaching profession and took a variety of jobs, including a taxi driver, Community Development Officer and Editor for the free newspaper Weatherfield Recorder. He married Janet Reid in 1973 but they separated the following year as they wanted different things.

In 1981, Ken married divorcee Deirdre Langton, later adopting Deirdre's daughter Tracy in 1986, keen for them to be a proper family. Ken was more mellowed in his views and aspirations by this point, almost to a fault; Deirdre, who was more than ten years younger than Ken, was often bored by their relationship and had an affair with businessman Mike Baldwin in 1983. Ken and Deirdre stayed together but Ken and Mike developed an acrimony for each other which lasted for many years.

Ken and Deirdre divorced when Ken had an affair with Wendy Crozier in 1989. The 1990s were a difficult time for Ken as he drifted between jobs and homes until his eventual reconciliation with Deirdre. Prior to that, he fathered an illigitimate son with Denise Osbourne. Although he fought for custody of Daniel, Denise left the street without him.

In later years, Ken returned to teaching before retiring in 2003. He re-married Deirdre in 2005 and currently lives at 1 Coronation Street with Deirdre and her mother Blanche Hunt.

Upbringing and education
Kenneth Barlow was born on 9th October 1939 at 3 Coronation Street, Weatherfield. During the early years of Ken's life, his dad Frank Barlow was away serving with the British forces in World War II - by the time the war ended Ken had already started at Bessie Street School, with mum Ida raising Ken and his younger brother David in Frank's absence.

Unlike most of his peers, Ken continued with his education after leaving school, entering Manchester University in 1957 while continuing to live at No.3. This was a learning experience for Ken, who had come from a working class background and was now finding himself mixing with mainly the middle class. Although his parents were proud of him, they knew that Ken's background was occasionally an embarrassment to him and Frank was worried that Ken would grow to be resentful of his parents.

Ken was something of a radical, and went on a student march even though Frank had forbade it. In 1960, Ken dated fellow student Susan Cunningham, but was worried about showing her where he lived. Ken thought about moving into lodgings but the tension between him and his father soon eased.

In 1961, Ken had a fling with Marian Lund, a university librarian 11 years his senior, but it ended when Marian got engaged to a lecturer and left the University. Thinking about his career prospects, Ken considered emigrating to Australia, but when Ida broke down after finding some brochures he had picked up Ken said they were for a friend to spare her feelings and dropped the idea.

Ken graduated with 2nd class honours in teaching History and English.

Early career and courting Valerie
Later that year, Ida died in a road accident. The job of supporting Frank largely fell to Ken, as David now lived in London. Ken turned down a teaching job in Surrey so he didn't have to leave Weatherfield, and told Frank he was turned down so Frank wouldn't feel guilty. Ken started work as Assistant Personnel Officer at Amalgamated Steel, but soon quit as he hated it. Ken was determined to pay for his keep at No.3 and stooped to asking neighbours Jack Walker and Dennis Tanner for a job, though they both turned him down. Embarrassed by his circumstances and tired of Frank accusing him of being idle, Ken decided to seek out a better life in London, but a chat with Christine Hardman at the train station changed his mind. A few days later, he got a teaching job at Bessie Street School.

That same year, Valerie Tatlock came to Coronation Street for an extended stay to visit her uncle Albert, who was a neighbour of Ken's. Valerie was a hairdresser and didn't have much in common with Ken but Ken fell for her and persuaded her to go out with him. He was disappointed when she moved to Glasgow.

Early in 1962, Ken's article The Student and the Working Class was published in Survival magazine. A local newspaper reported the article as an attack on the working class, and Ken's neighbours felt he was attacking them in particular. Ken was determined not to apologize and go about his business as usual, and even accepted the magazine's offer of a follow-up article. He also started work on a novel which similarly reflected his experiences of growing up in a northern backstreet, but Ken abandoned it when it was rejected by his publisher.

Ken seized the opportunity to look up Valerie when he went to Scotland with the school, and proposed to her almost right away. They got married at St. Mary's Parish Church on 4th August 1962 and after a honeymoon in London they moved into 9 Coronation Street.

Dreams of a better life
With renewed interest in his novel, Ken considered leaving teaching to focus on his writing career, which would mean the Barlows would be living on the money Valerie earned from the salon she had opened in the front room of their house. Further, Ken enjoyed meeting his old student and teaching friends for dinner, but Valerie didn't enjoy it as she was always excluded from conversations as they talked about things she didn't know anything about. Valerie always supported Ken anyway but fortunately Ken saw sense and held onto his job to avoid any financial uncertainty. He continued to write occasionally, including a script inspired by some of the events he had witnessed in the street, but they were rejected by a TV company and he lost interest.

At Christmas, Ken took over the school production of Julius Caesar along with his colleague Dave Robbins. Valerie didn't like Dave being at No.9 and was dismayed when Ken let him lodge there for a while when Dave had nowhere to live. When Dave moved in, Ken spent more time with him than with Valerie. In 1964, Ken put a promotion to Head of English in jeopardy by pushing for a school crossing in Rosamund Street with Dave. When a pupil, Susan Schofield, was knocked down outside the school, Ken and Dave's cause got some publicity, and Ken gave a TV interview without the school's permission. Valerie tried to support Ken as he lost out on the promotion, but it wasn't enough for Ken, who thought she didn't understand him. After drowning his sorrows in the Rovers Return Inn, Ken discovered Valerie had walked out on him and went to stay with Dave. Ken went to Dave's flat to get his wife back, but Valerie returned to Ken when Dave wasn't interested in her enough for fight for her.

Shortly afterwards, Ken took a job as Head of English at Granston Technical College. The prospect of teaching students older than he was used to concerned him as he was worried about not being familiar enough with the more advanced subject material. He went to night school classes to study up before starting at the new job.

At a party, Ken met dancer Pip Mistral and flirted with her. Valerie was jealous when she found out.

Parenthood
Ken was dismayed when Valerie told him she was pregnant, with the baby due in 1965. He had not planned for children and blamed Valerie for getting pregnant, but soon warmed to the idea. Valerie in fact had twins - Peter and Susan, born on 5th April. Ken was able to leave most of the parental responsibilities to Valerie, who closed the salon in the front room and became a full-time mother. This largely allowed Ken to continue with his life as before, but later in the year the twins almost died when in Ken's care, as a piece of coal fell from the fire at No.9 while Ken was out buying cigarettes. Valerie returned before Ken did and put out the fire, but only forgave Ken when her friends persuaded her to give him another chance.

For a while, Ken did his best to be a devoted husband and father. However temptation beckoned in 1966 when he met newspaper reporter Jackie Marsh. Ken helped her out on an article and found himself attracted to her. When neighbour Elsie Tanner saw Ken and Jackie kiss, Ken didn't stop her from telling Valerie, deciding he was serious about Jackie, but when they arranged a trip together with Ken telling Valerie he was going to a conference, Ken had doubts about committing to a less stable relationship and stood Jackie up, telling her it was over when he saw her next. Valerie found out and left Ken, thinking he didn't love her, but again Ken convinced his wife to return.

For a year, Ken and Valerie had a more trouble-free marriage. Again it was Ken who caused trouble when in 1967 he went to an anti-Vietnam student demo at the town hall. The students were removed by the police and several of them including Ken were charged. When he refused to pay the £5 fine, Ken faced the alternative - seven days in prison. Ken's principles couldn't let him admit he was wrong by paying the fine, although Valerie told him if their positions were reversed she would have paid it.

With his criminal record, Ken found opposition from the management committee at the college, but he was able to keep his job.

Life at the Maisonette
In 1968, Valerie persuaded Ken that No.9 was too small and that they should sell the house and move. Ken put their names down for one of the new Maisonettes across the street but was disappointed when they were offered No.14 as he wasn't keen. Ken sold No.9 to Len Fairclough for £9,000.

The Barlows were shaken shortly after moving into No.14 when Valerie was held hostage in her home by Frank Riley while Ken was away rehearsing a play. Riley was caught by the police, but Ken couldn't believe that Riley, a convicted rapist, hadn't hurt Valerie. Valerie insisted she hadn't been touched and Ken eventually believed her.

The following year, Valerie took a full-time job at Alan Howard's Salon. Ken got interested in buying the Salon, even though he had no experience as a businessman. He asked bookie Dave Smith for a loan, but Dave immediately bought the Salon himself.

In 1970, Ken was given a grant to visit New York and study technical education. Valerie wasn't happy about it as he would be away for two months. While he was away, Ray Langton gave Valerie driving lessons, and Ken received an anonymous letter warning him that Valerie was having an affair with Ray (which she wasn't). The letter was written by Emily Nugent.

Ken was delighted when he was offered a teaching job in Jamaica. Ken accepted the job despite worrying about the poverty in Jamaica and the Barlows made arrangements to move. The night before the family was to emigrate, the residents of Coronation Street threw them a going-away party, but while Ken and the others waited for Valerie in the Rovers, Valerie suffered a fatal accident, electrocuting herself due to a faulty plug. The accident caused a fire which burned down the maisonettes, but fortunately the twins were not there at the time.

Ken the widower
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 as a single father. Ken rented No.3, took his old job at the college back, and employed Margaret Lacey as a housekeeper/nanny, but Margaret resigned when Lucille Hewitt told Ken about Margaret's sadistic behaviour towards children when she worked at Lucille's orphanage. Ken was informed by the twins' schoolteacher that Peter and Susan were becoming moody. Valerie's mother Edith Tatlock was prepared to fight for custody of the twins but was talked out of it by Ken's friends.

Leading the batchelor life again, Ken then began to chase after a new wife to keep him company and be a stepmother to his children. He soon began to go out with hotel receptionist Yvonne Chappell, being Ken's first love interest since Valerie 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.

As Ken accepted a job as Deputy Head at Bessie Street School, the pressure of raising Peter and Susan on his own proved too much him and Ken sent them to live with Valerie's parents in Glasgow.

In 1972, Ken thought one of his pupils, Terry Bates, was being worked too hard by his parents and became friendly with Rita Bates, common-law wife of Terry's father Harry. Even though nothing happened between Ken and Rita, it didn't stop the gossip.

In April Ken moved into No.1 with Valerie's Uncle Albert. Norma Ford started work as assistant in the Corner Shop soon afterwards, and Ken found himself being chased by her. Ken agreed to teach Norma english literature and also helped out Norma's dad Jacko Ford on a burglary charge. He worried that Norma might be too serious about a relationship and told her he couldn't love her.

At a staff dinner at headmaster Wilfred Perkins' house, Ken was smitten with Perkins' daughter Elaine and tried to impress her. After a few dates Ken proposed to Elaine but when she turned him down he took up with Norma. Since he was on the rebound the relationship didn't last. Soon afterwards he met up again with the now single Rita who was on the rebound from Len Fairclough and they spent the night together. Norma accused Ken of using her and of being selfish. Albert also laid into Ken, although Ken defended himself by saying he wasn't going to marry another Valerie to please Albert. Ken stood Rita up and went to Glasgow instead.

Second marriage
Upon his return to Weatherfield Ken started seeing Janet Reid, who worked at the Department of Education and who was a former lover of Len Fairclough. Ken wanted Peter and Susan to move back in with him but Janet didn't want to be a housewife. Despite this, Ken and Janet eloped during a trip to Scotland.

Ken's second marriage was never a happy one. Janet dashed Ken's hopes of helping him with the kids as she had no interest in being a stepmother. She had her sights set on a £12,000 detached house but Ken lost it when he was late paying a deposit. When Alan and Elsie Howard moved to Newcastle, Ken was offered a fully-furnished No.11 to rent and they accepted it. Janet's refusal to live with the twins, now 9, was a sore point with Ken, but when she gave in in 1974 Ken was shocked to discover that Peter and Susan didn't want to live in Weatherfield.

Ken was offered a job as Nothern Executive Administrative Assistant by Sir Julius Berlin, boss of the company that owned the Mark Brittain Warehouse in Coronation Street, to be paid £1,000 more than he earned at Bessie St. Janet wanted Ken to take the job but as she expected he talked himself out of it, citing that he was better as a teacher. Janet was fed up with Ken's ego and walked out on him. Ken didn't try to get her back as he had done for Valerie when she had left him. Depressed, Ken took the warehouse job after all.

Ken didn't have an especially good time at the warehouse. At first he wasn't entirely sure what his job entailed, but he was largely left in charge of the staff. His arrival coincided with a staff dispute, with the workers threatening to strike unless they were granted a union. Shop steward Peggy Barton was the main proponent, and Ken agreed to give the girls a union if Peggy resigned from it. Peggy was interested in Ken and started an affair with him but soon ended it to avoid any complications at work.

In 1975, Ken was made redundant from the warehouse. While he looked for another job, he was visited by Peter, who said he wanted to stay with him permanently, but Ken found out he was playing truant from school and took him home to sort it out.

Work came Ken's way when he got a job as a taxi driver, which he surprised himself by enjoying. When Ken picked up Janet and her date Vince Denton in his taxi, he was jealous to see his wife with another man.

Later that year, some of Ken's former pupils were caught stealing magazines from The Kabin. Ken felt some responsibility towards them but when he gave them a telling off they let the tyres down on his taxi and wrecked his house, and Kevin Marsh told his dad that Ken had assaulted him. However when Mr. Marsh saw the state of Ken's house he offered him money not to tell the police. The boys hid in the warehouse storeroom but a discarded cigarette started a fire which gutted the warehouse and killed Edna Gee. Ken played the hero by saving Tricia Hopkins who was trapped in a toilet.

Shortly afterwards, Ken got a post as Community Development Officer at the Coronation Street Community Centre. In early 1976, Wendy Nightingale came to the centre to conduct a survey on reading habits, and Ken let her run a Literary Appreciation class at the centre. Ken and Wendy flirted but Wendy put paid to Ken's attempts to get her into bed. Wendy was married but after a meal at Ken's house she agreed to stay the night. Ken didn't pressure Wendy to leave her husband but wanted to know where he stood. Wendy's husband Roger found out about the affair and hit Ken. Wendy left Roger but it was a few weeks before she agreed to move in with Ken. The Centre committee disapproved of Ken's philandering and told him if he continued to live with a married woman he would lose his job; given his association with the Centre his behaviour reflected on them. Ken was willing to fight the ultimatum, but Roger persuaded Wendy to return to him anyway. Heartbroken and disappointed in his colleagues on the committee, Ken was intending to quit his job and leave Weatherfield but stayed on when he realised Uncle Albert, now 81, needed someone to care for him. Ken moved out of No.11 and back into No.1 to live with Albert.

Ken was surprised when Janet turned up at his door in 1977, having been kicked out by Vince. She tried to persuade Vince to take her back, but when that failed she asked Ken to give their relationship another go. Ken wasn't interested in a reconciliation but let her stay the night. Janet took an overdose during the night and was dead by the time she was taken to hospital in the morning. Ken was questioned by the police but it was quickly determined that Janet's death was suicide. Despite the state Janet had been in, Ken blamed himself for her death.

Alone again
After Janet's death, Ken was involved in a dispute with Vince over the money he and Janet had invested in a building society. Ken took the moral high ground and gave Janet's share to her sister.

In 1977, Ken's work included helping to arrange Coronation Street's Silver Jubilee street party. He also fought for Ena Sharples's caretaker job at the centre when the committee tried to retire her. When Peter came down for a visit, Ken fell down a ravine during a walking outing and crushed his leg. Peter got help and Ken found he had torn ligaments. Afterwards, Peter turned down another chance to move to Weatherfield.

The following year, Ken took out Uncle Albert's chiropodist Sally Robson, a divorcee and single parent. Neither was interested in a serious relationship but Sally's daughter Phillipa wanted a father. The relationship didn't last.

Peter came down for another visit after sitting his 'O' levels. He was disappointed with his results but Ken wanted to make sure he sat his exams again and told him he was staying in Weatherfield. To Ken's surprise, Peter applied to join the Navy, where he wanted to go after passing his exams in Glasgow.

In December Ken started teaching illiterate Karen Barnes to read and write. Karen wanted to write to her husband Dave in prison. Dave didn't like Ken teaching Karen, but only because he couldn't read and didn't want Karen to find out. When Dave got out of prison he let himself into No.1 and threatened Ken, accusing him of having an affair with Karen. Ken didn't phone the police as he feared Dave would convince Karen to confess to lie about an affair in court. He stopped Karen's lessons.

Early days with Deirdre
In 1979, Ken organised a disco at the centre and invited Deirdre Langton to go with him. Ken began to pursue her despite Deirdre being over a decade younger than him, not yet divorced from estranged husband Ray Langton and having a two-year-old daughter Tracy. Billy Walker competed with Ken for Deirdre's affections but Deirdre turned down Billy's offer of a new life in Jersey to stay in Weatherfield.

Ken and Deirdre's relationship developed rapidly, with Ken taking Deirdre and Tracy for a holiday after only a few months. Len Fairclough, a friend of Ray's, sent a letter to Ray, telling him about Ken and Deirdre, and the result was Ray asking for a divorce citing Ken as co-respondant. Deirdre was angry that Ken now wanted to distance himself from her to protect his reputation and his job, as he wanted to avoid the trouble his relationship with Wendy Nightingale caused him. Eventually however Ken had a change of heart and stayed with Deirdre.

In the new year, Ken was a little perturbed when he realised the now-divorced Deirdre hinted that she was expecting a proposal. This split them up, with Ken citing their age difference as the reason they were unsuited to each other.

In 1981, Ken asked Deirdre out again, but although Deirdre agreed she stood him up to go out with Dirk Van Der Sterk, a colleague of Ray's. Ken tried to be a gentleman and didn't stand in Deirdre's way as she continued to see Dirk. He was jealous as Deirdre went away to Amsterdam to stay with Dirk. However Dirk was soon out of the way as he moved back to Amsterdam, and Deirdre rekindled her relationship with Ken despite a grumpy Uncle Albert's disapproval.

Returning from a conference in Huddersfield, Ken's car broke down on the moors, preventing Ken from getting to a date with Deirdre. In Ken's absence, Deirdre accepted a dinner invitation from local businessman Mike Baldwin. Ken found himself edged out as Deirdre continued to see Mike. Jealous, Ken proposed to Deirdre as a knee-jerk reaction to get her away from Mike, but Deirdre turned him down as he was too unreliable. On the rebound, Ken asked out beautician Sonia Price and she accompanied him to Mike's flatwarming party. The night turned out best for all concerned as Mike took an interest in Sonia and took her to a nightclub after the party. Feeling taken for granted, Deirdre finished with Mike and once again ended up with Ken.

After a trip to Glasgow together, Ken proposed to Deirdre and she accepted. Though they found a house, they decided to live at No.1 instead as Albert took the news that Ken would be moving out very badly. Ken and Deirdre got married at All Saints Church on the 27th July and went on a honeymoon in Corfu.

After the honeymoon, Ken was aghast to learn that Mike Baldwin had got Susan a barmaid job in London. He tried to make Susan return but she refused.

In 1982, Ken was consulted by the police regarding a spate of recent muggings in the area. Deirdre thought local youth Raymond Attwood was behind the muggings but Ken refused to contact the police without proof, as given his job it wouldn't reflect well on him if she was wrong. When Ken still refused to do anything after Betty Turpin was mugged, Deirdre went behind his back and phoned the police herself. Attwood turned out to be the mugger, but Ken felt betrayed by Deirdre, who was adamant she had done the right thing.

Deirdre's affair with Mike
As the marriage wore on, Deirdre was getting bored by the lack of excitement in her and Ken's relationship. She queried Ken over the issue of having another child, as before the wedding he had agreed that they should try for a baby of their own. At first Ken refused, but after a lot of thought he changed his mind.

Annoyed by Ken's apparent lack of interest in her, Deirdre found a confidante in Mike Baldwin, who did his best to lure her away from Ken. They soon started a love affair, although Deirdre deceived Ken by telling him she was seeing a friend. Deirdre enjoyed the uncertainty of a relationship with Mike compared to the safe, steady one she had with Ken. Oblivious to his wife's adulerty, Ken was more worried about a Social Services job he had applied for. When he didn't get it, he learned it was because the committe thought he didn't have enough drive. Deirdre despaired as Ken sulked about it - she told him he was too boring and admitted to her affair. As they rowed about it, Ken refused to let Deirdre blame him, telling her nothing could excuse what she did. He told her to move out but she was able to change his mind by showing that she was committed to him rather than Mike.

Deirdre suggested she and Ken move. They were ready to buy a house at Buxton Close but Albert convinced them to buy No.1 Coronation Street instead on the condition they stayed together. The sale was opposed by Albert's daughter Beattie Pearson, who thought Ken was stealing her inheritance, but Ken reminded her that he had done a lot more to take care of Albert over the years than she had.

The Recorder
In May, Ken was persuaded by Pam Mitchell, journalist from the Weatherfield Recorder newspaper, to write an article about road safety in the local area, but he wasn't happy as Pam edited his words before publishing the article. However he still allowed himself to be talked into taking on an agony column for the Recorder despite it not being his area of expertise.

Ken developed a good working relationship with Pam and gave her a confidential report from the Town Hall proving that the Council was planning to close down the Youth Clubs and fabricating figures showing they weren't being used to justify it, an operation Ken was opposed to. He was pleased to see the chaos it caused the Council and when under suspicion admitted to being the mole. He expected to lose his job but was offered a new contract which stipulated that he wouldn't leak any more information. Ken refused, telling his boss Peter Bromley that his job was to serve the community, not hide things from them. Ken was sacked.

Ken's unemployment didn't last long. Pam left the Recorder to move to Nottingham so Ken applied for her job. The newspaper's owner Bob Statham asked if he wanted to buy a 33% share in the company instead. Ken agreed, and paid for it using his redundancy money and all of his and Deirdre's savings.

Ken soon realised his new job wasn't what he had hoped. He seized the opportunity to write a damning article about Mike's Graffiti Club, but since the Recorder was a free newspaper and the Graffiti was a major advertiser Statham intervened before Ken published the article and made him write a glowing report of the Club and praise Mike's public spirit. When the Recorder was printed, Mike took great pleasure in thanking Ken for the endorsement.

In 1984 Uncle Albert died, aged 88. That same year, Billy Walker returned to the area and started seeing Ken's secretary Sally Waterman. He spread rumours that Ken was having an affair with Sally, which Deirdre asked Sally about, but since Sally was attracted to Ken she confessed that he had kissed her even though it wasn't true. Deirdre eventually believed Ken. Sally soon left the Recorder for a job at the Weatherfield Gazette, offered to her when she exposed Mavis Riley as a fraud when she won a second honeymoon, even though she never had a first. Ken felt betrayed as he hadn't fired her when she had gone behind his back by telling the Gazette about a story he had refused to print.

Susan returns
In 1985, Ken discussed adopting Tracy with Deirdre. Ray Langton wrote to say he was okay with it.

Susan moved back to Weatherfield, interested in taking a job at the Recorder. When she arrived she became friendly with none other than Mike Baldwin, and spent New Year with him in London. To warn Susan off Mike, Ken told her about his affair with Deirdre, but Ken's interference only made Susan move out of No.1 and into Mike's flat. When Ken heard that Mike was allowing Susan to live with him, he marched over to Mike's factory Baldwin's Casuals and hit him to the floor.

To Ken's dismay, Susan and Mike were engaged within a short time. Ken told Susan he wasn't going to attend her wedding, but that only made everyone turn against him so he pretended to have a change of heart and threw Susan and Peter an expensive joint 21st birthday party, giving him an excuse to suggest Susan and Mike postpone the wedding as he now wouldn't be able to afford it for a while. He also invited Susan's friends from Glasgow and Newcastle to make Mike look out of place due to his age, but Mike won Susan over by buying her a car and offering to pay for the wedding himself. At the last minute Ken decided to give Susan away at the wedding.

After the wedding, Ken forced himself to put up with Mike for Susan's sake.

In 1987, Ken wrote an article criticising the independent Councillors. The local labour party asked Ken to stand in the elections. Ken agreed though this meant he was against neighbour (and Deirdre's employer) Alf Roberts. Ken and Alf enjoyed a rivalry, with Ken slamming Alf in the Recorder, but the conflict of interest caused the newspaper owner to ask Ken to either withdraw from the election or lose his job. Ken was delighted when Deirdre stood as an independent in the election in his place and beat Alf.

Later that year, Ken supported Susan when she split up with Mike. Susan had got pregnant but when she told Mike she had had an abortion he finished with her. Susan moved back to Newcastle.

In 1988 Statham told Ken he was going to sell the Recorder and although Ken was able to meet the price Statham asked for his share, the Clarion Group put in a higher offer and he sold to them instead. The new arrangement was a disaster as Clarion Group owner Nick Cavanagh was heavily in debt and had borrowed in the newspaper's name. However since he hadn't paid Statham for his share of the paper so he never legally owned any part of it. Statham agreed to sell to Ken for £20,000.

Affair with Wendy Crozier
When the Weatherfield Gazette started a free sheet, Ken started printing in the Recorder details of Council business Deirdre had told him. Deirdre refused to be a mole, but Ken found another source in Wendy Crozier, who worked for the Council. Deirdre rowed with Ken as the Council assumed she was behind the leaks, but when she walked out on a Council meeting Ken was able to clear her name by printing information from after she left. Ken promised not to print any more information based on Wendy's insider knowledge.

When Ken broke his promise after only a few weeks, Deirdre told her boss that Wendy was the mole. Wendy was sacked, but Ken offered her a job at the Recorder.

Ken and Wendy started to grow closer. Ken had dinner with Wendy on his birthday under the mistaken belief that Deirdre had forgotten the date. Both of them eagerly entered into an affair but Wendy quickly asked Ken to decide between her and Deirdre. Wendy quit her job at the Recorder, allowing Ken to use his lack of staff as an excuse for his long working days. Deirdre became suspicious after Mike told her he had seen Ken with a woman but when Ken denied having an affair Deirdre believed him. After spending Christmas Eve with Wendy, Ken told Deirdre about the affair but promised to end the relationship with Wendy. When he failed to do so, Deirdre threw him out of No.1 early on New Year's Day 1990.

While he tried to sort his life out, Ken lived with Wendy. However to his surprise Deirdre told him she wanted a divorce - Ken had planned to use Deirdre's affair with Mike to excuse his behaviour. He did his best to keep the Recorder going but had to sell to Ted Lucas, editor of the Gazette, to pay off No.1's mortgage when Deirdre demanded half the house and changed the locks so he couldn't get in. When he thought things couldn't get any worse, Lucas sacked Ken and gave his job to Wendy. To raise cash, Ken sold his car to Curly Watts without telling him it needed repairs. Ken came to realise he shouldn't have left Deirdre and walked out on Wendy, moving into a bedsit at 6 Chepstow Road.

Ken's hopes for a reconciliation with Deirdre were dashed when he found out she was seeing plumber Dave Barton, who had asked Deirdre and Tracy to move in with him. Ken got a job as a supply teacher at Weatherfield Comprehensive school, a job which soon became permanent. As he tried to convince Deirdre to give him another chance, Ken moved into the shop flat in Coronation Street, but Deirdre was having none of it despite Tracy also wanting them to get back together. Ken tried to protect Deirdre when she went out with conman Phil Jennings, but Deirdre only ended up resenting him for interfering and went off with Phil to see in the New Year in Paris. Heartbroken and angry, Ken tried to kill himself by taking an overdose, but was stopped by Bet Gilroy who heard movements inside No.1.

Other relationships
In 1991, Ken began seeing Alma Sedgewick, a former lover of Mike Baldwin. Mike was jealous of the relationship and while Ken spent Christmas with Deirdre and Tracy, Mike lured Alma into bed. Alma was furious at Mike for manipulating her but when she told Ken about it he finished with her. Within a few months Alma was engaged to Mike, despite Ken warning her she was making a big mistake. Mike considered sueing Ken when Ken accused him of conning money out of Emily Bishop, but nobody was willing to testify on Mike's behalf and Ken refused to apologize. Mike dropped the lawsuit for Emily's sake.

When Ken did his back in, Deirdre volunteered to let him stay at No.1 with her and Tracy. They celebrated their divorce together.

Ken next dated Maggie Redman, mother of one of his pupils, Mark Redman. When Tracy started working at Maggie's flower shop she found out from Deirdre that Mark's father was Mike Baldwin. Tracy told Ken, who confronted Maggie about it, telling her about his history with Mike. Although they agreed not to let Mike come between them, the situation became more complicated when Mike started hassling Maggie to let him see Mark and warned her that Ken was only going out with her to get back at him. Ken and Maggie tried to make their relationship work despite this but eventually Maggie got tired of Ken and Mike scoring points off each other and finished with Ken.

In 1993, Ken started seeing more of Deirdre again, and comforted her when Tracy left home to live with her boyfriend Craig Lee. Ken spent Christmas with Deirdre but in January she had to leave to take care of her mother Blanche Hunt who had had a stroke.

Denise and Daniel
1994 saw Ken take up with salon owner Denise Osbourne. The relationship went well until Denise told Ken she was pregnant with his baby, news which stunned Deirdre, who had been hoping for a reconciliation with Ken, especially since Ken had always refused to father a child with her. Ken was worried that fathering an illegitimate child would sully his reputation, and proposed to Denise telling her he wanted to make a commitment to her, but Denise didn't want to marry him as they didn't love each other.

Ken moved from the shop flat to No.12, another flat across the street, when shop owner Reg Holdsworth wanted to use the flat as a storeroom. He rowed with Denise over him feeling trapped in the street because of the baby, but shortly afterwards Denise collapsed in pain and lost the baby. However a scan revealed that Denise was having twins and the other baby had not died.

At the same time, Deirdre was seeing 21-year-old Moroccan Samir Rachid and agreed to marry him. This deepened the rift between Ken and Deirdre as Ken told Deirdre it was obvious they were only marrying to keep Samir in the country and he persuaded Emily Bishop not to witness for them. He grudgingly gave his support at the last minute. At the end of the year, Deirdre announced she was emigrating and selling No.1 to Mike.Denise was becoming tired of Ken's interest in Deirdre and decided to leave, intending to have the baby without him. However Denise had a change of heart when baby Daniel was born and she allowed Ken to be with her for the birth. Ken tried to get Mike to sell No.1 to him, but Denise didn't want to live with him. Ken was upset when Denise left his name off Daniel's birth certificate, but he tried to be supportive and agreed to babysit when Denise needed him. Eventually however, Ken grew tired of being reduced to babysitting his own son and saw a solicitor about getting rights to see his son, only to learn that since his name wasn't on the birth certificate he had no rights.

In the meantime, Ken was homeless having given his flat to Deirdre after Tracy was hospitalised after suffering kidney failure. Bet Gilroy let Ken live at the Rovers. Denise left Weatherfield with Daniel to get away from Ken, but when Ken tracked her down he was surprised when Denise told him she was willing to start again with him and Daniel. Ken only agreed when Denise assured him she wasn't going to change her mind again. Mike sold No.1 to Ken, who moved in with Denise and Daniel.

The arrangement went well until January 1996 when Denise proposed to Ken after feeling guilty over her 2-year affair with her accountant brother-in-law Brian Dunkley. Ken accepted the proposal until he found out about the affair, upon which he threw Denise out and refused to let her take Daniel. To Ken's surprise, Denise didn't fight for Daniel and left with Brian.

Ken was determined to make a success of being a single father but he struggled to cope and employed Kelly Thomson as a child minder. Kelly also moved in although Ken was apprehensive about allowing her to do so as she was a former pupil of his.

Later that year, Ken became friends with colleague Sue Jeffers and comforted her when she was going through a divorce. Ken was worried that she was interested in him and was going to make a move but they came to an understanding. Ken and Deirdre started to grow closer again when Tracy married Robert Preston. Ken and Deirdre spent the night together but while they were doing so Denise returned with Brian, intending to take Daniel away. Ken got there in time but he had to let Denise take Daniel as she had absolute rights to him. Ken fought for custody of Daniel but eventually agreed to an out-of-court settlement when Denise warned him he wouldn't win in court. Ken arranged visitation rights but Daniel stayed with Denise.

Reconciliation with Deirdre
In 1997, Ken asked Deirdre to move in with him but she refused. At the time Ken was fighting against redundancy at Weatherfield Comprehensive but Sue assured him his job was safe. Ken ended up in bed with Sue just as Deirdre called at No.1 to apologize for an argument with Ken. Both Sue and Deirdre were angry with Ken for not being honest with them. Deirdre decided just to remain friends with Ken, so he continued to see Sue although they kept their relationship a secret because other staff members had been made redundant while Ken only kept his job because Sue fancied him. Ken was angry when Sue admitted her bias but when their affair was discovered Sue took all the blame and resigned from her job. Ken was absolved of any responsibility - but he was made redundant anyway because of further cutbacks. Frustrated at his situation Ken took his anger out on Daniel; although he soon regretted his behaviour, Daniel didn't want to see him anymore.

In late 1997, Ken became concerned about Deirdre's relationship with Jon Lindsay - Jon had told Deirdre he was an airline pilot when in fact he only ran a tie shop in the airport. When Deirdre stayed with Jon, and asked Ken to keep up the charade that Jon was a pilot, Ken warned her that Jon was a fake and not to be trusted.

Short of cash, Ken agreed to work for Alec Gilroy's escort agency, which offered companionship for clients. He quit when he was nearly assaulted by a jealous husband at a book launch. His last job saw client Babs Fanshawe die halfway through their meal, and his role in the evening picked up on by the press.

By 1998, Deirdre's relationship with Jon had ended but Deirdre was arrested after being duped by Jon into committing fraud. The case went to court, with Jon claiming that Deirdre was the driving force behind the scheme and she had manipulated him. Mike arranged for Deirdre to leave the country before the trial but Ken convinced her to stay and face the trial. However when under oath Ken testified that Deirdre had asked him to lie about Jon's profession. Deirdre was found guilty on all counts, while Jon was let off with a suspended sentence. Putting his past differences with Mike aside, Ken and Mike secured Deirdre's release with the help of Mary Docherty, a former victim of Jon's. Ken was hoping to get back together with Deirdre, but she refused.

Out of work, Ken found a temporary job at The Kabin.

Deirdre's mother Blanche tried to matchmake between Ken and Deirdre in 1999, and manipulated them into admitting they still had feelings for each other. When Tracy showed up after splitting up with Robert, Ken and Deirdre convinced them to reconcile. Ken was inspired and urged Deirdre to give their relationship one last chance. At last, Deirdre agreed and moved back in.

Barlow family reunited
Deirdre wasn't pleased when Ken took a job as a trolley pusher at Freshco's supermarket, with Ken telling her that a job where he didn't have to think appealed to him. The following year, Blanche came to live at No.1, living in the front room bedsit where Albert had lived during Ken and Deirdre's marriage.

In 2000, Ken started work on a book about the history of Weatherfield. His research uncovered information about Fred Elliott's grandfather, who was hanged in Rosamund Street for murder. He was disappointed when his laptop containing the final draft of the book was stolen, but the disc was handed into the Weatherfield Gazette, after which Ken was offered a column in the Gazette. In July, his book Weatherfield Yesterday was published. He was also instrumental in rallying the street residents to stop Coronation Street being tarmacked later in the year.

At Christmas, Peter showed up at No.1 after splitting up with his wife Jessica. Peter quickly caused trouble by giving his name as Ken after crashing Ken's car, as Peter had a driving ban. Ken lied to the police but had to withdraw his application to become a magistrate to avoid the scrutiny.During the crisis, Peter let slip to Ken that Susan had been keeping a secret from him. This turned out to be that Susan had not had an abortion in 1987 and she now had a 12-year-old son Adam. Susan allowed Ken to meet Adam but told him not to tell Mike about him. Ken went along with it and asked Deirdre to do so also but Deirdre told her employer Dev Alahan, who told Mike. A custody battle threatened to erupt as Mike was determined to gain access to his son, but while driving to London to escape Mike, Susan was killed in a car crash. Ken was determined to follow Susan's wishes and not allow Mike to see Adam but when he couldn't avoid it he started making plans to move to Glasgow, which caused a row with Deirdre as he was adamant that they were going with or without her. Deirdre left to live at the shop flat until she decided whether she wanted to stay with Ken.

At the custody hearing, Mike was granted interim custody of Adam. Deirdre left Ken, apparently for good, when she thought he mainly wanted her back because their appeal to get custody of Adam would be better if they were a couple. On the rebound, Ken started seeing Alma, who was now divorced from Mike, but Alma persuaded Ken and Deirdre to reconcile. Adam eventually moved back to Glasgow and was enrolled in a boarding school.

Later in the year, Ken helped Anita Scott write her memoirs. By 2002, Ken and Deirdre were becoming bored with each other and when Ken confided in Anita his relationship problems, Anita made a pass at him, which he rejected.

Back to teaching
Ken successfully applied for a supply teacher position at Weatherfield Comprehensive. The job became permanent when Ken reported Charlie Ramsden for drinking on the job and he had to take on her classes when Charlie was suspended. Ken was exhausted by the work because of his age but accepted the position of Senior Pupil Mentor when it was offered. However one of his more disruptive pupils, Aidan Critchley, made it his mission to terrorise Ken into leaving. Aidan taunted Ken in class and vandalised his car, but to Deirdre's surprise, Ken was determined to deal with the situation without involving the headmaster or the police.

To raise extra money, Ken took a job standing in for the Gazette's Agony Aunt. Ken dropped Ken's Column to take the new column on.

For a while, Ken's problems with Aidan died down, but they flared up again later in 2002 when Aidan went joyriding in Ken's car by having the keys copied. Ken was none the wiser but confused as he was receiving speeding tickets when he hadn't been speeding. Ken soon suspected Aidan and phoned the police when his car went missing again, but while speeding Aidan crashed the car. Aidan was unharmed and fled but the passenger Sarah Platt was seriously injured.Sarah recovered but Ken felt guilty for not contacting the police earlier. Aidan was taken out of school and arrested but he was released early enough to be able to return to school that same day, where he enjoyed goading Ken. Ken finally snapped and punched Aidan.

Despite the neighbours congratulating Ken, Ken felt guilty and offered to resign from the school, although Deirdre convinced him to stay at his job. He was arrested for assault and entered a guilty plea.

At Christmas, Tracy returned, having left her husband Robert for good. Tracy started seeing Dev Alahan, which Deirdre was against as Deirdre had embarked on a one night stand with Dev a year ago which Ken didn't know about. On the day of Ken's court case, Tracy forced Deirdre to confess all to Ken. Ken received a conditional discharge for assaulting Aidan and after a day of uncertainty forgave Deirdre and agreed to start again with her.

In 2003, Aidan was arrested on charge of murdering Maxine Peacock. Since Aidan was 16 he needed an adult representative and chose Ken. The neighbours were convinced of Aidan's guilt but Ken believed Aidan was telling the truth about being set up. Ken was proved correct when Richard Hillman turned out to be the killer. Ken also resigned from his job before his hearing as he assumed the verdict would not be in his favour.

Re-marrying Deirdre
During the rest of the year, Ken and Deirdre were mainly occupied by the antics of their children, including Peter marrying two women without either of them knowing about it, and Tracy pretending to sleep with Roy Cropper after getting pregnant with Steve McDonald's baby in order to sell her baby to Roy and Hayley Cropper. Peter's son (and Ken's grandson) Simon was born later in the year, but his mother Lucy Barlow was angry with Peter and left Weatherfield so he wouldn't have any contact with her or Simon. Peter moved to Portsmouth.

When Ken's third grandchild was born early in 2004, Tracy decided to go back on her deal to give Amy to the Croppers. Ken persuaded Roy to do the right thing and give the baby to her mother, even though Tracy had behaved despicably. Again, it fell on Ken and Deirdre to keep the peace between Tracy and Steve's wife Karen McDonald.

In 2005, Ken proposed to Deirdre again, but she said no when Ken insinuated he mainly wanted them to marry for financial reasons. Ken assured her this wasn't true so after another proposal she accepted. On the day of the wedding, Amy was involved in a road accident, so Ken and Deirdre abandoned their plans and met up with Tracy and Amy at the hospital, where they were shocked to discover the driver of the car was Ray Langton. Deirdre showed sympathy for Ray as he was dying of stomach cancer but Ken didn't see why they should welcome Ray given his 27-year absence from their lives. In the end, Ray wished the pair well, and Ken got married to Deirdre. However, Ray died at the Rovers during the reception from his cancer. Ray had built up a relationship with his biological daughter, Tracy, on his return to Weatherfield, which had made Ken feel excluded as he had actually raised Tracy with Deirdre. Deirdre was upset by her ex's demise, and their wedding day had most certainly been overshadowed by heartache.

Retirement
Problems with Tracy continued to occupy Ken and Deirdre's time in 2005 and 2006. Ken tried to persuade Adam to apply to University but Adam wasn't interested and ended up working at Mike's factory. Ken was shocked when a dispute in the Baldwin family that resulted in Adam hurriedly returning to Scotland turned out to stem from Mike's Alzheimer's disease. When Mike went missing from hospital, Ken found him outside the factory in Coronation Street suffering from pneumonia. Mike collapsed and died in Ken's arms.

Ken helped Adam fight his case when Mike's other son Danny Baldwin was left everything in Mike's will. Before Mike's death, Danny had manipulated Mike into changing his will to exclude Adam and Mark. Ken and Danny argued about the situation at Mike's funeral. Eventually Danny agreed to give Adam a 40% share of the factory.

Later in the year, Ken and Deirdre worried that Tracy's boyfriend Charlie Stubbs was being violent towards her, unaware that Tracy was only pretending he was abusive. In 2007, Tracy murdered Charlie and claimed it was self-defence. Ken and Deirdre did their best to support Tracy, even meeting the sizeable legal fees to afford the solicitor she had demanded. Before the trial, Deirdre admitted to Ken that Tracy had confessed to her that it was murder and not self-defence, and that Deirdre was panicking about taking the stand and testifying as a character witness. Ken urged Deirdre not to take the stand but she did so anyway and gave a disastrous performance. Tracy was found guilty of murder and when Ken and Deirdre visited Tracy in prison, Tracy disowned them.

The aftermath of Tracy's sentencing was difficult for Ken and Deirdre as they blamed each other for what had happened. Eventually Ken decided he'd had enough and had to get away from his troubles. He went to build a relationship with his son Daniel, and the boy's mother Denise Osbourne. Denise took Ken to make amends with Deirdre, but this resulted in Deirdre slapping Denise in front of a packed Rovers. Deirdre later visited Ken and apologized for her behaviour, begging him to return to Coronation Street, but to no avail. Ken was determined to put Daniel first but failed to make a fatherly connection with him, however he grew closer to Denise. 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. After this embarrassing encounter, Ken decided to return to Coronation Street. He waited for Deirdre at No.1 and they both apologized for their treatment of one another. The couple forgave each other and reconciled once again.

Recent life
In 2008, Ken started working in Roy's Rolls with Becky Granger as cover for Roy when Roy left to visit Hayley in Africa. When Roy returned, Ken continued working there as he enjoyed it. Ken later took an interest in Roy's investigation of a bat colony at Tony Gordon's Victoria Court building site, and helped Roy and Becky to stop Tony's plan to carry on the building work whilst bats, an endangered species, remained on the site.

Ken was given food for thought when he was invited to a University reunion. He was unsure of going at first because he was embarrassed that he hadn't had a successful career. Remembering the dreams of his youth, Ken found his manuscript for the novel he started working on in 1961 and resumed work on it. He became so engrossed in it that Deirdre started to think he wasn't satisfied with the life he had led - or with her. Ken realised that it was foolhardy to dwell on the chances he missed when he was a student and that he should concentrate on the here and now, so he burned his manuscript.

Peter returned later in the year when his estranged wife Lucy died, having asked him to raise Simon, the son he hadn't been allowed to see for five years. Peter made it obvious that he didn't want a son and turned to drink, much to Ken's dismay. Ken was forced to intervene and take Simon away when a drunk Peter made a scene at Simon's school nativity play. Peter admitted to Ken he couldn't cope with fatherhood but Ken persuaded Peter to try harder and stay sober.

In January 2009, Ken met Martha Fraser, an actress starring in a local production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Ken found he had a lot in common with her and befriended her, frequently visiting Martha at her barge at Weatherfield Canal under the pretence of walking the Barlows' dog Eccles. Ken greatly enjoyed his time with Martha, finding they had a lot in common, and became increasingly dissatisfied with his home life. He was reluctant to admit to Martha that he was married, out of fear that it would ruin any chance of a relationship, but later did so anyway out of guilt for spending more time with Martha than his own family when Peter and Simon nearly died in a fire. Martha immediately told Ken to leave.

Despite trying to spend more time with his family, Ken found his dissatisfaction remained, and he eventually sought out Martha, who he convinced to forgive him. Martha told Ken that she was leaving Weatherfield, but that she wanted him to go with her. Convinced this was his last chance for happiness, Ken put affairs in order and left, leaving Deirdre a note explaining his decision. However, after further consideration he made a last minute decision to stay. Deirdre found out when Ken showed her the letter he had written, but despite being angry she quickly forgave him, unwilling to start anew at her time of life. Her forgiveness was offered on condition that the incident was never mentioned again, and things quickly returned to normal.

Personality
Ken is an educated man but he has not made as a great a success of his life as he hoped, which is a source of constant frustration for him. During his University years he remained friendly with his neighbours while casually putting them and Coronation Street down when in the company of his peers, confident that he would eventually leave the Street. Over the years Ken has had several chances to leave Weatherfield to further his career, but he has always found a reason to stay. In the 1960s and 1970s he wore his education like a badge of honour in front of his neighbours, never flaunting it but distancing himself from them enough to remain an outsider.

Ken prides himself in his integrity and morals. He and his family have occasionally suffered because of his insistence on doing the right thing, although in recent years he has been more considerate of his family's wishes. On several occasions Ken has sometimes said one thing and done another, tending to put his morals aside on a whim or if he felt passionate about something. Although Ken can be stubborn in his adherence to his moral code, he is just as stubborn when he breaks his morals, as when he is determined to do something nobody can talk him out of it. When Ken changes his mind about something it only usually comes after days of deliberation.

A fairly quiet man, Ken enjoys a stable life, and generally isn't very spontaneous, only being so when he feels it is expected of him or that it will benefit him in some way. He has tried not to let marriage or children change his lifestyle, although he has mellowed somewhat after years of leading his life by what's most convenient for him led to solitude and depression. In recent years, Ken is more able to recognise the mistakes of his past, even if he rarely learns from them.

Family

 * Main article: Barlow family

Ken has had difficult relationships with virtually all members of his family.

Ken's father Frank Barlow was a postman and was generally supportive of Ken's attempts to forge his own path in life. However they sometimes struggled to find common ground and when their opinions differed both were usually convinced they were right. Over time this drove a wedge between them. In 1963, Frank started dating Christine Hardman, an old school friend of Ken's who was the same age as Ken. Ken was shocked as Frank proposed very soon into the relationship - he refused to speak to Frank and even warned Christine that she was making a mistake. When Frank won £5,000 on Premium Bonds in 1964, he moved to a detached house in Cheshire. After the move, Ken and Frank barely saw each other before Frank's death in 1975.

Ken's mother Ida was more understanding of Ken and as a result they had a closer relationship. Ida died in 1961, before Ken's first marriage.

Perhaps the family member Ken got on with best was his younger brother David. After leaving school, David spent a few years in London pursuing his football career but returned to Weatherfield in 1965, bought the Corner Shop and married Irma Ogden. Ken didn't like the thought of his brother marrying into the Ogden family, as he considered them common. Ken and David were both bright, both politically minded and both of their wives were quite unlike them, and for the years David lived in Weatherfield they enjoyed an amicable relationship, perhaps because they stayed out of each other's private lives. David died in a car crash in Australia in 1970.

As of 1975, both of Ken's parents as well as his brother and wife Valerie had all died. Ken's only surviving immediate family were his two children Peter and Susan. In the 1960s, Valerie took on most of the parental responsibilities, so when she died in 1971 Ken found the pressure of being a single parent too much and sent his children to Glasgow to be taken care of by Valerie's mother Edith Tatlock. As a result, Ken had only a minimal role in their upbringing and both of them turned out nothing like him. In later years Ken made more of an effort with Peter and Susan but by that time they were both adults and it was too little, too late. When Ken thought Peter was a bad father to Peter's son Simon, Peter thought Ken was a hypocrite as Ken wasn't exactly a model father to him.

Marriage to Valerie
Ken and Valerie Tatlock met just after Ken's graduation from University. Valerie had some misgivings about dating Ken - she assumed being University educated he wouldn't have a lot in common with her, and after Ken's mother Ida's death Valerie was worried that Ken was looking for a replacement mother figure. However Ken persuaded Valerie to give him a chance and they married anyway.

During the marriage, Valerie was responsible for the household chores, including all cooking and cleaning. Ken's job took up a lot of his time and attention, with Ken adopting his teacher persona even at home, frequently using Valerie as a sounding board for his opinions on community and politics. Valerie once commented that Ken talked to her as if she was one of his pupils. Ken enjoyed seeing his colleagues outside work and brought Valerie along to his friends houses even though she didn't enjoy it. Even when Valerie was sexually insulted by a friend of Ken's, Ken wanted Valerie to shrug it off. Occasionally their lack of common ground caused Ken to neglect Valerie, and his behaviour sometimes distressed her enough to want to leave him, but whenever this happened Ken realised his mistakes and fought to keep his wife.

Marriage to Deirdre
Ken and Deirdre Langton lived in the same street for several years before they started dating. The age difference between the pair - Ken was 15 years older than Deirdre - initially made them an unlikely pair to marry but as with Valerie Ken fell for Deirdre enough that any differences between them didn't matter.

During the marriage, these issues became much more of an issue. Deirdre was hesitant to slip in to the role Valerie had occupied during Ken's first marriage, and as this was Ken's third marriage the excitement of the new relationship got old faster for him than for Deirdre, who within two years of the wedding was becoming bored as Ken wasn't showing any interest in her. Deirdre told Ken she felt like a part of the wallpaper rather than his wife. Deirdre's affair with Mike tested the marriage but they came out stronger and more devoted to each other, with Ken adopting Deirdre's daughter Tracy.

Both of Ken and Deirdre's marriages have been fraught with difficulties because of Ken's dissatisfaction with his life; Deirdre knows Ken well enough to know he is full of regrets and his occasional attempts to rectify the mistakes of his past have caused problems as the life he led brought him to Deirdre. Ken has been led astray as by overanalysing his life he tends to see problems that aren't there and go out of his way to solve them. It tends to be in coping without Deirdre that Ken realises what she means to him.

Feud with Mike Baldwin
Mike Baldwin moved to Weatherfield in 1976 to open his denim factory, Baldwin's Casuals. Ken didn't agree with Mike's materialistic outlook on life although it wasn't until Deirdre's affair with Mike in 1983 that they developed an eternal dislike of each other. In most of their disputes, Ken believed himself to be fighting the just and moral cause against the money-driven Mike, and Ken resented the fact that part of what attracted Deirdre to Mike was that she found his unpredictability exciting, and that Ken was boring in comparison.

One of Ken and Mike's earliest run-ins concerned an attempt by Ken to oppose Mike opening a disco in Rosamund Street. The disco was passed by the Council despite the residents protesting the plan. Ken was further embittered when his daughter Susan took up with Mike and married him, as it meant he had to tolerate Mike for Susan's sake. After Mike and Susan split up, Ken printed a story in his free newspaper the Weatherfield Recorder accusing Mike of running a sweatshop, which enraged Mike who decided to sue Ken. Mike only dropped the lawsuit when Deirdre asked him to, although that represented a defeat to Ken as he assumed Deirdre had flirted with Mike to win him round.

For years, Ken and Mike were at loggerheads, including when Ken dated Maggie Redman and Alma Sedgewick, both exes of Mike and both of whom ended their relationship with Ken when his feud with Mike interfered with the relationship. However despite no longer being with Ken after 1990 Deirdre never took up with Mike, and eventually reconciled with Ken. Even in hard times, Ken and Mike never passed up an opportunity to get one over on each other; when Mike paid Deirdre's legal fees during her 1998 court case, he later asked Ken to pay him back the money when Deirdre moved back in with Ken upon her release from prison.

In 2000, Ken and Mike were among the hostages taken during a siege at Freshco supermarket. When they were tied up next to each other, they spent their energy bickering, but when Mike had a heart attack they realised they were behaving childishly.

Their feud was given a new lease of life when Mike fought for custody of his son Adam after Susan's death. Again they forced themselves to get along for Adam's benefit. When Mike fought Alzheimer's in 2006, Ken was shocked at his rapid mental decline and was with Mike when he died from a heart attack outside his factory.

Role in the community
Ken is the elder statesman of Coronation Street. His long history in the street, and his jobs as schoolteacher and newspaper editor as well as his position as Community Development Officer, has made him something of a figurehead in the street.

In his youth, Ken was slightly embarrassed at living in Coronation Street, and his neighbours expected him to graduate and move on to bigger and better things. Ken's article on the working class, printed in Survival magazine, didn't portray his neighbours in a favourable light, with Ken descrbing them as being politically ignorant and starved of real culture. Ken experienced life in the street from the perspective of an outsider mixing with the natives, as even though he had grown up there his University life had broadened his horizons.

It was through his teaching job at Bessie Street School that Ken served the community in the 1960s. During his career, Ken occasionally put himself on the line for pupils, including Michael Butterworth, who had found and returned Ena Sharples' pension book which was found to have had a week's money cashed. In this case Ken was disappointed as Michael later turned out to be responsible for vandalising the vestry of the Glad Tidings Mission Hall, where Ena lived.

Ken's ethics were called into question when Willie Piggott tried to persuade him to accept a £200 bribe to guarantee his son Brian passed his exams at Granston Technical College. Ken returned the money and told the police about Piggott, even though wife Valerie was against it. The case went to court and Piggott was fined £150.

In 1967, Ken tutored John Potter, although he didn't think John would be able to pass his GCSEs and tried to persuade his parents to find another tutor. He was shocked when John left home, leaving a suicide note behind, but it turned out he had gone to work in a garage as a mechanic, against his parent's wishes.

As Ken continued to live in Coronation Street, he found himself appreciating the history and sense of community, and he also found himself to be someone the neighbours turned to when they needed help, such as when Annie Walker and Len Fairclough both asked him to help them write their speeches when they were standing for the Council. In the late 1960s, Ken started taking a more active role in the community, putting his planning and organisation skills towards arranging a fancy dress party at the Mission Hall in 1966, a film society in 1967 and a trip to Woburn Abbey in 1973. Ken's position as Community Development Officer cemented his place in the community in 1975.

Except when personal problems called his suitability for the job into question, Ken did his best to put the interests of the community first, and was even willing to take on the Council when he believed they were in the wrong, both when he worked at the Community Centre and when he edited the Recorder. In 1976, ex-convict Eddie Yeats helped Ken out at the centre and started building a playground for the children, but when Eddie's criminal record caused the parents to complain, Ken refused to sack Eddie although he quit anyway.

In later years, with Ken having long relinquished his job at the centre, he is still usually heavily involved in any issue regarding the community. In 2001, Ken gave a talk for the Weatherfield Historical Society; he was a good choice because of his experience writing his novel Weatherfield Yesterday. Although he has retired he is usually willing to help out any neighbours who need private tutoring, including David Platt, Toyah Battersby, Tyrone Dobbs and Janice Battersby.

Hobbies and interests
Ken's interests include literature, theatre, history and music, but writing has always been his main passion and most of his jobs have been in some way connected with writing. He has authored a book called Weatherfield Yesterday, documenting the history of Weatherfield, while his attempts at writing have been largely based on his own life experiences.

On the acting front, Ken occasionally took part in the amateur plays performed at the Glad Tidings Mission Hall and Coronation Street Community Centre in the 1960s and early 1970s, playing Gerald, the Duke of Bannock in Lady Lawson Loses and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest.

Ken can play the trumpet, but he never thought he was any good.

Residences

 * 3 Coronation Street (1939-1962, 1971-1974)
 * 9 Coronation Street (1962-1968)
 * 14 Coronation Street (Maisonette) (1968-1971)
 * 11 Coronation Street (1974-1976)
 * 1 Coronation Street (1976-1990, 1995-)
 * 6 Chepstow Road (1990)
 * 15a Coronation Street (shop flat) (1990-1994)
 * 12 Coronation Street (1994-1995)
 * Rovers Return Inn (1995)

Girlfriends

 * Susan Cunningham
 * Marian Lund
 * Valerie Tatlock
 * Jackie Marsh
 * Yvonne Chappell
 * Rita Littlewood
 * Norma Ford
 * Elaine Perkins
 * Janet Reid
 * Peggy Barton
 * Wendy Nightingale
 * Sally Robson
 * Deirdre Langton
 * Sonia Price
 * Wendy Crozier
 * Alma Sedgewick
 * Maggie Redman
 * Denise Osbourne
 * Sue Jeffers
 * Martha Fraser

Other information

 * Ken is Jack Duckworth's godfather. Jack was to be godfather to twins Billy and Becky Mallett but it wasn't until the service that Jack revealed he hadn't been christened himself. Ken and Jack's wife Vera agreed to be Jack's godparents so that Jack could be a godfather.
 * In 2004, Ken and the other Barlows competed in the television game show Top of the Tree.

Background information

 * Ken entered the storyline as a young radical, the elder of two brothers, epitomising the youth of 1960s Britain. Although the rest of the original family mother Ida, father Frank, brother David) died or moved by the end of the decade, Ken Barlow has remained the constant link throughout the history of Coronation Street.
 * The character of Ken has a reputation amongst viewers to be boring. In 2007, Virgin Media made an article on the history of the soap opera which stated, "Perhaps unfairly dubbed boring, Ken is ultimately an intelligent man, frustrated by the cards life has dealt him – although the hair, clothes and strong morals haven’t helped." He is the Street’s resident intellectual who’s never quite managed to break free from his roots.
 * In the UK, the character '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."
 * ITV publicity made a point about how many relationships and flings he has had with women when asked about his love life stating "This could take a while… Ken has had more girlfriends than most of the Street’s male residents put together." Along with his four wives, the character has had a total of 28 girlfriends. When interviewed for an edition of the series Coronation Street: Secrets, William 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!"
 * For his portrayal of Ken, William Roache won the Lifetime Achievement award at the British Soap Awards in 1999.
 * In 2005 Grace Dent of The Guardian published an article about how the Coronation Street archetypes shaped characters from other soap operas that would appear later. On the character of Ken she stated: "The heavily plagiarised Corrie stalwart is Ken Barlow, who as "resident intellectual" has been looking down his noise at the proletariat since 1960. Just like poor hangdog-faced Ken, brainy people in soapland (Dr Truman, Roy Cropper, Todd Grimshaw, Emmerdale's Ethan the curate) are always miserable and brooding, due to the terrible burden of their mighty intellect in the face of so many simpletons. It rarely pays to be too clever or too rich in soapland as the majority of plotlines rely upon tragic Shakespearian falls from grace which everyone laughs their socks off at."
 * Ken Barlow's storyline gripped the whole stadium of Old Trafford in 1983 when the cumulation of the Ken, Deirdre and Mike storyline was flashed on the scoreboard. The storyline also made national news at the time.
 * Until 1972, Ken was credited as "Kenneth Barlow".

Quotes
Ken: No. No thank you. (First line - to his Ida Barlow who asked if he wanted sauce).

Ken: Just think of it. For fifty weeks of the year (the working class) work to save up for this, a fortnight in Blackpool. Chip shops, stink of onions, lights, some imbecile slideshows, a dirty great concrete fairground and they're happy, or so they think.

Valerie: Course they're happy Ken, they wouldn't come otherwise.

Ken: No, they don't know better, they live in dumps like Coronation Street and they think this is paradise.

Valerie: What's wrong with it?

Ken: Everything - overcrowded, overcharged. It's not right Val, people deserve better than this. Some people work hard, very hard, all the year round and this is what they get at the end of it. If only they could want a bit more.

Valerie: Well it wouldn't do if everyone was alike, would it?

Ken: That's just what they are in this place, like a lot of sheep.

Valerie: Look Ken, you enjoy yourself going to the theatre and reading and all that, well other people are different, they enjoy this.

Ken: You mean they think they do 'cause they don't know any better.