Peter Barlow

Peter Barlow
Occupation	Bookmaker
Born	5th April 1965
Birthplace	Weatherfield
Residence	9a Rosamund Street
Father	Ken Barlow
Mother	Valerie Barlow
Sibling(s)	Lawrence Cunningham (half-brother) Susan Barlow Daniel Osbourne (half- brother)
Spouse(s)	Jessica Midgeley (1990) Lucy Richards (2003) Shelley Unwin (2003)
Children	Simon Barlow (2003)
First appearance	5th April 1965
Duration	1965-1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1986, 2000-2003, 2007, 2008 to present
Played by	John Heannaue Christopher Dormer Linus Roache Joseph McKenna David Lonsdale Chris Gascoyne

Peter Francis Barlow is the son of Ken and Valerie Barlow and father of Simon. He is the current owner of Barlow's Bookies in Rosamund Street and fiancée of Leanne Battersby.

Peter was born in 1965. He and his twin sister Susan were raised by Ken and Val until Val's death in 1971. Ken initially tried to cope with bringing them up by himself but eventually sent them to Glasgow, into the care of Val's parents Alfred and Edith Tatlock, intending to send for the twins when he had married again. By the time Ken was ready to have his children live with him, Peter and Susan were settled in Glasgow and opted to remain there.

In 1980, Peter joined the Royal Navy and served with them until 2000. He married Jessica Midgeley in 1990 but they separated and later divorced in 2000 after she was unfaithful. After being discharged from the Navy, Peter returned to his native Weatherfield and began to build a life there, buying the Bookies in Rosamund Street and getting engaged to Shelley Unwin. While still with Shelley, Peter became involved with Lucy Richards and married her after finding out she was pregnant with his baby, but he still married an oblivious Shelley and lived a double life until his wives found out. Lucy moved to Australia with Peter's son Simon, and with his life in ruins, Peter moved to Portsmouth.

Peter returned to Weatherfield in 2008 when Lucy died and left Peter all her money in her will, on the condition that he brought up Simon. Peter again bought the Bookies but found the pressures of fatherhood overwhelming, and eventually turned to drink, but quit after burning down his flat and nearly killing Simon. He began a relationship with assistant Leanne Battersby and they got engaged in 2010. Recently, Peter had to fight for custody of Simon when Lucy's affluent father George Wilson saw Peter as a destructive influence on the boy after witnessing Peter fall off the wagon.

Peter's relationship with his father Ken has often been difficult due to Peter's resentment of Ken for never being there for him when he was a youth, and due to their having little in common.

Biography

Early years

Peter was born along with his twin sister Susan in April 1965 to parents Ken and Valerie Barlow. In 1968 they all moved to the newly Maisonettes.

In 1971, when Peter and Susan are six-years old, Ken and Valerie planned to take them to Jamaica as Ken was offered a teaching post there, and would be a new life for them. When Peter and Susan were being babysitted by Uncle Albert Tatlock, and while Ken was in the Rovers waiting for Valerie, she was electrocuted and killed in a fire.

Moving to Glasgow and Joining the Navy

Ken couldn't cope with the twins without Valerie, and later in the year, Valerie's mother Edith Tatlock decided to was best if the twins come up to Glasgow to stay with her and Valerie's father, Alfred Tatlock. Ken accepted as he thought it would be best. Peter and Susan spent their childhood years being raised by their grandparents and Ken came up to visit them time to time, or they would go down to visit them.

Peter visited in 1975 as he missed Ken and wanted to stay with him. Ken learned that Peter had been skipping school.

In 1977, Peter returned again to Coronation Street, persumably this time to stay with Ken. Ken later learnt that Peter had failed his exams and decided that Peter should resit them again, this time in Weatherfield. Peter wanted to return to Glasgow, and phoned Edith to come and pick him up, although Ken didn't want to have any of it. Peter later signed up to join the Navy, and later left.

He returned on leave for his sister Susan's wedding to Mike Baldwin in 1986, and wasn't happy when his father Ken refused to go, as he hated Baldwin. After some home truths towards his father, Ken decided to go, for Susan's sake. Peter left with his girlfriend Jessica Midgeley, who both later got married in 1990.

Return to Coronation Street

After serving 20 years in the Navy, Peter returned to Coronation Street in December 2000, during the time when his father Ken was protesting with the rest of the street to save the Cobbles, as the Council wanted to tarmac it. Peter revealed to his family that he and Jessica had split up, as she had an affair while he was away. In 2001, Peter was the suspect of the rape of Toyah Battersby, but later managed to help catch the guy who had done it, Phil Simmonds.

Peter accidently let it slip to father Ken that Susan had a teenage son Adam, from Mike Baldwin, but she had claimed that she had an abortion. Mike later found out through Dev Alahan, who was told by Deirdre, who was told by Ken. Susan was visiting Ken at the time, but tried to flee Weatherfield, but died in a car crash. Adam however survived, but Peter and Ken felt guilty, and blamed themselves.

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