Natasha Blakeman was a hairdresser employed by Audrey Roberts in 2008 after her previous salon burned down.
Hired in the absence of Maria Connor, who was on leave having given birth to a stillborn son, Natasha soon integrated herself into the business. Upon Maria's return the pair became friends, but this was tested when Maria became jealous of Natasha's relationship with Tony Gordon and set out to sabotage it.
Eventually Natasha began a relationship with Nick Tilsley, however this was doomed to fail from the start as he was still in love with ex-wife Leanne Battersby. When Natasha fell pregnant with his baby, Nick was dismissive and she decided to have an abortion. However, Nick later warmed to the idea of having a child and so Natasha pretended to still be pregnant. Nick's mother Gail became suspicious and accessed Natasha's medical records - outing her as a fraud. Devastated, Natasha attempted suicide but survived. Making the decision to leave Weatherfield, Natasha settled several scores - getting Gail fired in the process.
Biography
2008-2010: Settling into the community
In December 2008, she informed Audrey that her sister-in-law had just given birth to her niece, Electra. She spotted a good business opportunity in opening the salon for late night trading hours during the week, an idea to which Audrey agreed.
Natasha was drafted in to style Molly Compton's hair for her wedding day in January 2009. In February, she flirted with Steve McDonald in the Rovers and later asked him out on a date. Steve was jealous of Jason Grimshaw and Becky Granger's relationship, but reluctantly agreed to go out with Natasha. Although Natasha wasn't impressed with Steve, for their date they sat in to eat a takeaway and told him that there were no hard feelings.
On 23rd March, 2009, Natasha paid Tony Gordon a visit. The two kissed passionately at first, Natasha did most of the talking, while Tony sat silently. Towards the end of the visit he began to soften towards her; as she left he told her to stop and take her coat off, the pair subsequently had sex. Natasha was in good spirits following her passion with Tony and gloated about it to colleague Maria who was beginning to secretly harbour feelings for Tony. Maria tried to warn Natasha away from him claiming that he would treat her badly and even tried setting her up with Tom Kerrigan but to no avail as Natasha had set her sights firmly on Tony.
Some months later, Natasha began to become suspicious of the amount of time that Tony was spending with Maria. Consumed by jealousy, Natasha told Maria that he was only paying her attention because he was feeling sorry for her. Tony was furious when he discovered what Natasha had said which led to a heated showdown between the couple, they subsequently separated.
2010: Baby troubles with Nick Tilsley and departure
She began a relationship with Nick Tilsley in 2010. He later dumped her, but when she discovered she was pregnant with his child, she tried to ask him back, but he refused. Upset, she went and had an abortion, but then Nick started liking the idea of becoming a dad and asked her back. Natasha went back with him without telling him about the abortion, and hoped to get pregnant again. Nick's mother Gail McIntyre got suspicious when Natasha kept visiting the doctor, and wasn't happy when Natasha and Nick got engaged, so decided to look through her medical files and was shocked to see what Natasha was hiding. Gail then told Nick about the abortion, which resulted in him leaving her. Distressed, Natasha took an overdose and was found by Nick when he arrived to talk things over. She was later saved and Audrey decided to put her up at her house. However, Natasha decided to leave Weatherfield. After some home truths to Nick and also getting Gail the sack for looking through her medical files, Natasha got into the back of a cab and it drove off as Nick watched on.
She gave birth to a son in 2011.
2011-: Single mother and return in Nick's life
Background information
- Natasha was introduced as a new hairdresser working at the salon and appeared on a recurring basis until 2009 when she received a storyline and became part of the regular cast.
- Natasha's 2010 exit came about due to new Coronation Street Producer Phil Collinson axing several characters when he took over.
- Natasha's sister-in-law, Yvonne, was mentioned to have given birth in December 2008, the baby girl was named Electra. She was also said to have an aunt Shirley in January 2009.
- The character was reintroduced in September 2020 following a ten year absence.
First and last lines
"It burned down" (First line, to Audrey Roberts)
See also