Darren was a nurse who worked at Weatherfield General when, in November 2016, one of his patients was Ken Barlow. He had suffered a stroke the month before which had affected his speech and the movement on his right side though it was hoped both would improve with time and rehabilitation. Ken grew so frustrated with himself that he reached the stage of banning any visitors from his bedside as he was unable to communicate with them, and, as usual within the Barlow family, there were conflicts, this time between Peter and Tracy as to who was to blame for his condition.
Frustrated with her banishment, Tracy asked nurse Rana Habeeb if she could do anything to persuade Ken to relent, even though the hospital was not her usual place of work. She agreed to do what she could and obtained Darren’s reluctant permission to speak to his patient. Ken was able to slur out the words that it was too soon to be bothered with his family and Rana gave up, but on her way out of the ward Darren told her that it wasn't true that Ken wasn't having visitors as he had seen somebody most afternoons for the past two weeks. Peter and Tracy were at a loss to think who the person could be, and when they were joined by Adam Barlow upon his return from Canada to see his grandfather, they made a visit to the hospital, determined to solve the mystery. Darren would still not let them past, promising to tell Ken that one of his visitors had come so far to see him, but Tracy had had enough and led the party into the ward to see what was going on. There they found Ken’s other son, Daniel Osbourne, who had made a welcome return into his life after many years absence, and was allowed to stay with him as he spent hours reading books which his father found therapeutic and aided his gradual recovery to the point where he accepted the rest of his family back.
- Credited as "Nurse", the character's name was given in dialogue in his first appearance.