Coronation Street Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Frank Barlow was the father of Ken and David Barlow and husband of Ida.

A Coronation Street resident from 1938 to 1964, Frank moved into No.3 with his wife shortly before the Second World War and the birth of Ken. He was serving in the navy when David was born in 1942, returning to his job as a postman when the war ended.

A devoted family man, Frank was devastated when Ida was hit by a bus and killed in 1961. With Ken and David having flown the nest, he spent the next few years building a new life for himself, quitting the GPO to open a DIY shop and becoming engaged to young Christine Appleby though Christine later broke it off. In 1964, Frank won £5,000 on Premium Bonds, sold his shop and moved to Wilmslow, where he died of natural causes some time prior to 1975.

Biography

1913-1961: Early life and marriage to Ida

Frank Barlow young

Frank in the navy

Born and bred in Weatherfield in 1913, Frank Barlow married Ida Leathers on 1st May, 1938 and they had a son Ken before Frank was called out to war in 1939. Due to his military service he wasn't there to help raise Ken and David (born 1942), but when the war ended in 1945 he resumed his previous job as a postman. The family lived in 3 Coronation Street, Weatherfield, until the 1960s.

Frank was a man typical of the area at the time. Hard working, a caring father, he expected Ida to care for the family and cook meals, and he frequented the Rovers Return down the street. He was shocked when Ken, who he expected to follow in his footsteps or learn a trade, decided to go on to university and mix with students of a higher class, and their influence rubbed off on Ken. Frank tried his best to rein in Ken's radical ideas and forbade him to go on a student march - Ken went anyway.

In the sorting office Frank worked with Alf Roberts. In 1961, Frank's supervisor Norman Chadwick left the GPO and Frank got his job. He thought Ida should give up work as he could now support them on his own, but in September Ida was hit by a bus and died.

1961-1963: Florrie and Christine

Barlows 1960

Frank, second to left, and the Barlows in 1960

Frank was devastated by Ida's death. He was almost left on his own as Ken was going to take a teaching job in Surrey but stayed in Weatherfield because of Frank. David had left to play football for the a London club after starting professionally with Weatherfield County FC. In October, Frank met Jim Foster, who drove the bus that hit Ida, who told him the accident was unavoidable.

In 1962, Frank got friendly with Florrie Lindley, owner of the Corner Shop. He liked talking to her but wasn't looking for someone to replace Ida at that point in time and was shocked when Florrie revealed she wanted more from the relationship. He didn't know how to handle the situation and avoided her for a while, later confessing that he only wanted companionship. Florrie was hurt but didn't let Frank know about it.

Episode241

1963: Christine Hardman says no to Frank

Later in the year Frank started seeing Christine Appleby, a neighbour young enough to be his daughter. In fact, she had gone to school with Ken. He told Ken he was serious about the relationship. Ken was ashamed at Frank, and refused to speak to him. The neighbours found the issue interesting too, and Frank and Christine found themselves victims of a lot of gossip in the street. Frank asked Christine to marry him in 1963, but she left him waiting for an answer for weeks and even met up with ex-boyfriend Joe Makinson in the intervening time. When he finished with her, she told Frank she would marry him, but she had only said yes because of the pressure she was under, and was in denial about how she really felt about Frank. She eventually told him and he was shocked but took the news well.

To take his mind off Christine, Frank gave himself another new start and resigned from the GPO to open a DIY shop. The shop was a success but Frank had trouble with the shop flat tenant Ethel Tyson, who refused to pay a rent increase and tried to put customers off the shop. Ethel brought in her brother and his son to help her out with Frank, and they started a fire in the shop. They left when Frank threatened to bring in the police.

1964-1971: Leaving Weatherfield

Frank last

1971: Frank's sad last visit for Val's funeral

In 1964, Frank won £5,000 on Premium Bonds, and sold his shop for £6,000. He enjoyed throwing his weight around in the street with his new-found wealth and went on to buy a detached house in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and moved there immediately, without saying goodbye to Ken. Frank became a grandfather in 1965 when Ken's children, Peter and Susan, were born. His third grandchild, David's son Darren, was born three years later.

Frank paid two return visits to Weatherfield. His first visit was in 1967 when David summoned him to try and persuade Ken to pay a £5 fine for taking part in a student demo rather than go to prison for seven days. Ken refused to compromise and was subsequently imprisoned. His second, and last, visit was for his daughter-in-law Valerie's funeral in February 1971.

He died at home from natural causes at some point afterwards. In April 1975, Ken reminisced about his father to his son Peter, who was initially unaware of his grandfather's death. During the chat, Peter had asked if his grandfather was still alive, and Ken said he wasn't.

Personality

Duckworths 1983
"If you've owt to say, spit it out before it flamin' well chokes yer"
This article or section is unfinished.
Please edit this article to fill in the missing parts and remove this message when done.

Relationships

Duckworths 1983
"If you've owt to say, spit it out before it flamin' well chokes yer"
This article or section is unfinished.
Please edit this article to fill in the missing parts and remove this message when done.

Background information

Frank was one of the original characters created by Tony Warren. Frank Pemberton was offered the role on the day of his audition.

Frank was axed by producer Tim Aspinall along with many other popular characters (such as Martha Longhurst) in 1964. Pemberton suffered a stroke on 24th February 1965 which impaired his mobility. The character made two further appearances in the programme in Episode 652 (15th March 1967) and Episode 1049 (3rd February 1971) to see if the actor was able to come into the show again long-term but it was not to be. In both appearances, Mr Pemberton was seen sitting down and unable to move his left arm. He passed away on 26th March 1971, six weeks after his final appearance as Frank Barlow. The character's death has been spoken about in the series (see below).

Reference books, such as Daran Little's 40 Years of Coronation Street, state that Frank died on 21st April 1975 however in the episode shown on that date (Episode 1487), young Peter Barlow asks father Ken Barlow if his grandfather is still alive and is told no. Frank's exact date of death is therefore unknown.

First and last lines

"What's up?" (First line, to son Ken)

---

"Aye, it’s a true saying is that, Mrs Sharples." (Final line)

Appendices

List of addresses

Address Duration
6 Mawdsley Street 19th October 1913 to 30th April 1938
3 Coronation Street 30th April 1938 to 27th May 1964
Wilmslow 27th May 1964 to early 1970s

Employment history

Role Institution Duration
Telegram Boy GPO c.1929 (six-month stint)
Junior Officer Royal Navy c.1930 to c.1932
Postman GPO c.1932 to 1939
Serviceman British Army - 7th Cheshire Regiment 1939 to 1945
Postman GPO 1945 to August 1961
Supervisor GPO August 1961 to May 1963
Owner Frank's DIY Shop June 1963 to 13th May 1964

See also

External links


Original characters
Ken Barlow | Frank Barlow | Ida Barlow | David Barlow | Jack Walker | Annie Walker | Elsie Tanner | Dennis Tanner | Linda Cheveski | Ivan Cheveski | Harry Hewitt | Lucille Hewitt | Concepta Riley | Ena Sharples | Minnie Caldwell | Martha Longhurst | Albert Tatlock | Christine Hardman | Florrie Lindley | Esther Hayes | Leonard Swindley
Advertisement