Gordon Barrett was Jackie Ingram's solicitor during her marriage and speedy divorce from Mike Baldwin in 1991.
Gordon was a naturally pessimistic man; after being informed by his doctor that he should live to be a hundred, he went and took out a life insurance policy. He applied this cynicism to his work, considering it his job to anticipate the worst. When Jackie got engaged to Mike Baldwin, a former salesman under her late husband Peter at Ingram's Textiles, Gordon drew up a pre-marital contract protecting the factory and Jackie's wealth. Made to feel thoroughly guilty by Mike for going along with it, Jackie asked Gordon to draft a new contract giving Mike half of everything upon marrying her. Gordon suggested that they meet half-way, giving Mike 25% of the business, which was agreed by both parties.
The wedding was held in July. Speaking to Mike during the reception at the Midland Hotel, Gordon conceded that he'd made Jackie happier than he ever thought possible. Just a week later, Jackie learned from Phil Jennings that Mike was only ever after the factory and left Mike. Turning to Gordon, she demanded that he free her from Mike as quickly as possible. First they had to get him out of the house; Mike had been waiting for Jackie to return so that he could talk her round. Gordon made sure that Jackie brought him along when she went there to deal with Mike, but Mike wouldn't agree to anything with Gordon present, and Gordon's threat to inform the police about Mike using the company's money to set up Alcazar Holdings and buy Jim's Cafe was laughed off on the basis that it was the company's money and Mike was the manager.
The next day, after another unproductive meeting at the house between Gordon and Mike, Gordon advised Jackie that her only option was to let the law grind Mike down, but warned her that it could be as long as five years before she was fully divorced if Mike continued to fight it. Against Gordon's counsel, Jackie went to the house by herself and offered Mike £100,000 to let the divorce go through uncontested. Accepting defeat, Mike took the money and walked out of Jackie's life.
To speed up the divorce proceedings, Mike cited his former girlfriend Alma Sedgewick as co-respondent. This action came back to haunt him when he started dating Alma the following year. When Alma received a letter from Gordon informing her that she'd been cited, Mike pretended that it was Jackie's doing and met with Gordon asking him to take Alma's name off the divorce petition. Gordon refused to let the divorce drag on by changing it, but Mike got his way by calling on Jackie and getting her consent.
- The character was credited as "Mr. Barrett" in his first appearance and "Gordon Barrett" subsequently.