Daniel Albert Osbourne is the son of Ken Barlow and Denise Osbourne, husband of the late Sinead and father to Bertie Osbourne.
In 1996, Daniel was first abandoned by his mother, who ran away with her lover Brian Dunkley, leaving Ken to raise him alone. However, some months later the pair returned and gained custody of Daniel, taking him to live with them in Scotland. By 2007, Denise had split from Brian and returned to Manchester, but Daniel was unable to form a bond with Ken when he came to stay with them for a couple of weeks. Nevertheless, the pair occasionally kept in contact over the next few years.
In 2010, Denise abandoned a 15-year-old Daniel, who was forced to lie to friends and teachers that she was still around to avoid being taken into care. In 2016, he turned up at Ken's bedside following his stroke and remained in Weatherfield thereafter. In the following months, Daniel ventured into an affair with Sinead Tinker and pushed his father down the stairs after discovering that he had pressured Sinead into aborting their child.
Daniel married Sinead in 2018, by which point she was pregnant again and had also been diagnosed with cervical cancer. Sinead managed her treatment around the birth of Bertie but after an initial remission, the cancer returned more aggressively and she passed away in 2019, leaving Daniel a struggling single father.
A bright young man, Daniel graduated with a degree in English Literature in 2017. He followed this with an MA course in 2018, with the hope of breaking into journalism, but efforts were constantly stymied by his troubles at home. In 2021, Daniel embarked on a PGCE and began a placement, teaching English at Weatherfield High, but after a difficult year he left the school and went to teach at Greenford Secure Training Centre instead.
Having lived at 15a Coronation Street since his return to Weatherfield, Daniel and his fianceé Daisy Midgeley moved into No.1 in 2022. On their wedding day the following year, Daisy was subjected to an acid attack from her stalker Justin Rutherford, but was rescued by Ryan Connor. They remained engaged but split up when Daniel found out that Daisy had slept with Ryan, having grown closer following the acid attack. Daniel then renewed his relationship with an old girlfriend, Bethany Platt. He currently lives alone with Bertie at 19a Victoria Street.
Biography
1995-2016: Early life
Ken Barlow started a relationship with Denise Osbourne in 1994. Soon afterwards, Denise became pregnant but miscarried in the fifth month. It was then discovered that she had actually been carrying twins and the other twin had survived. Ken proposed to Denise, as he didn't want to be a father to an illegitimate child, but Denise turned him down and later broke up with him.
Daniel was born in January 1995 and Denise left Ken's name off the birth certificate, leaving him without parental rights. Denise ran away with Daniel later that year, but when Ken tracked them down, the parents agreed to give their relationship another go. In January 1996, Ken discovered that Denise had been having an affair with her brother-in-law Brian Dunkley and subsequently kicked her out, refusing to let her see Daniel. Denise left with Brian, abandoning Daniel and leaving him in the care of Ken. That November, Denise returned for Daniel, with Ken forced to hand him over as he had no legal rights to his son. Denise, Brian and Daniel moved to Scotland in January 1997. Although Daniel visited Ken the following July, their time together was strained; Daniel failed to recognise Ken as his father and spent most of the time throwing tantrums. Ken felt totally disconnected from his son, and ended up taking him back to Scotland just a few days into what was meant a fortnight-long visit. Ken then allowed himself to fall out of contact with Daniel, feeling that he was nothing more than a stranger to the child.
Sometime later, Denise broke up with Brian and moved back to the Manchester area with Daniel.
In 2007, Denise contacted Ken to offer her sympathy after reading about his daughter Tracy's murder conviction. He learned that Daniel and his mother lived nearby. While his marriage to Deirdre went through a rocky patch, Ken went to visit Denise and Daniel in May, hoping to build a relationship with his estranged son. Daniel and Ken struggled to get to know each other, especially when Deirdre and Ken's mother-in-law Blanche interfered. Ken stayed with Denise for a short while but Daniel began to resent his father's presence, even telling a friend that Ken was actually his grandfather.
Ken remained in contact with Daniel over the next few years but was not especially willing to be open about him to friends and family. When he met his long-lost first son Lawrence Cunningham, Ken neglected to tell him about Daniel, leaving other son Peter to announce his existence in the Rovers Return. During a discussion between Ken and Deirdre about Daniel in 2011, Peter's son Simon asked who he was, to which Deirdre replied "a relative".
Around 2010, when Daniel was fifteen, Denise wanted to move away, however, Daniel refused because of his friends and GCSEs. Denise instead walked out on him, and he didn't hear from her again. Daniel kept Denise's disappearance a secret from friends and teachers as he was afraid of being taken into care. Due to Ken's little to no contact with his son, he was left oblivious about Daniel's situation for the next few years.
2016 to present: Return
In November 2016, Daniel started visiting his father at Weatherfield General after learning he had experienced a stroke. This was a private affair as Ken refused to see his other children Peter and Tracy. The older siblings eventually stormed into the ward to see who Ken's mystery visitor was, leaving Daniel to introduce himself, meeting Peter and Tracy for the first time, as well as his nephew Adam.
Personality
Relationships
Background information
Daniel was played by Lewis Harney from his birth in 1995 until his exit in January 1997. He left alongside his onscreen mother Denise Osbourne played by Denise Black. A brief reprisal in July of that year (without Denise) represented the last appearance of the character for almost a decade.
Daniel made a slightly longer return in May and June 2007, this time played by Dominic Holmes. His reappearance was written to tie in with a storyline involving Ken Barlow having difficulties with his wife Deirdre. Although Holmes expressed an interest in returning to the role later that year, this never materialised [1].
It was announced in July 2016 that Daniel would be re-introduced to the programme later that year alongside Peter Barlow and Adam Barlow, as new producer Kate Oates wanted to strengthen the Barlow family. In September it was revealed that Rob Mallard had been cast as Daniel. Daniel returned on-screen the following November as a full-time character.
In a continuity error, it was stated upon Daniel's return in 2016 that he has been living alone without Denise since 2010, even though Ken went to visit them off-screen in December 2011.
Appendices
List of addresses
Address | Duration |
---|---|
2a Coronation Street | 4th January 1995 to 21st July 1995 |
1 Coronation Street | 21st July 1995 to 24th November 1996 |
Scotland | late November 1996 to around mid 2000s |
52a Bosley Street | c.2007 to late November 2016 |
15a Coronation Street | late November 2016 to 28th October 2022 |
1 Coronation Street | 28th October 2022 to 23rd August 2023 |
19a Victoria Street | 23rd August 2023 to present |
Employment history
Role | Institution | Duration |
---|---|---|
Waiter | Nick's Bistro/Viaduct Bistro | 8th March 2017 to TBC |
TBC | NA | NA |
Teacher | Greenford Secure Training Centre | 13th January 2023 to present |