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Villain Overview
Synopsis

Look I'm sorry with all the melodrama coming out like that, but you can't imagine how difficult this is for me. Mike Baldwin isn't just "somebody I don't like!" About ten years ago he tried to take Deirdre away from me, then six years ago he married my daughter Susan and I never believed for one moment he did that because he loved her... he did it bec-...... I HATE HIM!! I've wanted to kill him!
~ Ken Barlow expressing his hatred for his sworn archenemy Mike Baldwin after discovering the latter's past with the former's girlfriend Maggie Redman.

Ken Barlow is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the long-running British Soap Opera Coronation Street.

Debuting in the show's very first episode in December 1960 and remaining on the programme since then, Ken has been at times often depicted in a shady light and also briefly taken on the role as the anti-villain during the show's history. He is the patriarch of the Barlow Family who is also the husband of his late spouses Valerie Barlow, Janet Barlow and Deirdre Barlow; the father of Peter Barlow and Tracy Barlow along with Daniel Osbourne and Susan Barlow as well; and the grandfather Amy Barlow and Simon Barlow along with Adam Barlow altogether. He has also had many love interests in the six decades of his history.

The character is portrayed by William Roache since his first appearance in the show's very first ever episode from 9th December 1960 onwards.

Biography[]

Ken Barlow appeared in the very first episode in December 1960, as the son of working class parents Ida and Frank Barlow; he also had a younger brother David Barlow at the time. Ken attended university, which made him become snobbish about his working class life and looking down on his family and neighbours - which put him into conflict with his father. After graduating university, he began working as a teacher at the local primary school.

In 1962, Ken got into a conflict with neighbour Len Fairclough after writing an article criticizing the working class and referring to them as lazy. Soon they confronted each other in The Rovers Return Inn public house; when Ken insulted Len over his behaviour, they had a brawl that ended with Ken being knocked out in front of the pub.

Years later, Ken got acquainted with family friend Albert Tatlock and ended up meeting her niece Valerie Tatlock at the time. Soon Ken had a relationship with Valerie and they eventually got married. During the marriage, Ken's shadier and darker personality crept to the surface, in which he would cheat behind Valerie's back. On another occasion, he assaulted her by grabbing and throwing her onto the bed, which was due to Ken not getting a promotion at work. Valerie considered leaving Ken, but later returned to him to work on the marriage. Things began to work out better for the pair, and they had twin children together named Peter and Susan, but happiness came to an end for the couple when Valerie died in 1971 after being electrocuted - leaving Ken devastated by his terrible loss.

The follow-up of Valerie's death saw Ken sending his children to live with her parents in Glasgow, thus he had little to do with their upbringing. After numerous relationships, he settled with a woman named Janet and they quickly married, but when she wasn't interested in being a mother to his kids he promptly split from her. When Janet wanted his help in 1977 after suffering psychological problems, Ken refused and she committed suicide.

A recurring part of Ken's character is his attempt to leave his working class roots and do better, but never being able to leave the street. Despite this, he would still look down on people due to his education, which would create problems with some of his neighbours, especially as Ken wasn't perfect in personality and behaviour.

By the 1980s, Ken became acquainted with divorcee Deirdre Langton. The two soon had a relationship and they eventually got married in 1981. He became a father figure to her daughter Tracy, and would later adopt her years down the line. By this point Ken's children were older, and moved on with their lives.

In 1983, Ken was initially unaware that Deirdre had been engaging in a passionate love affair with local businessman Mike Baldwin. It wasn't until February 1983 when Deirdre finally told Ken the truth about her affair, which left Ken feeling betrayed by his beloved wife. Not long afterwards, Mike came at the door; that was when Ken's violent side surfaced and he briefly strangled Deirdre to stop her from leaving with Mike, causing her to flee in terror to the kitchen and cry. Ken quickly came to his senses, but he initially believed that the marriage was over and told Deirdre to leave. At first Deirdre walked out on her husband, but in the end she chose Ken over Mike by returning to her marriage. The couple reconciled and later informed Mike about this before Ken told him to stay away. While Ken's marriage to Deirdre was saved, this consequently triggered Ken's long-running feud with Mike as the two ended up becoming sworn archenemies to each other.

In 1986, Ken found out his now 21 year old daughter Susan was in a relationship with Mike. Thereafter he went to Mike's workplace the factory and assaulted him by knocking Mike to the ground. When Ken discovered Susan intended to marry Mike, he refused to walk her down the aisle - though Ken was later talked round by Peter, who pointed out Ken wasn't there for them growing up. Ken then gave his daughter away to Mike, albeit very reluctantly. Ken continued to resent Mike after the latter's relationship with Susan collapsed. During this time, Ken turned down a business proposition from fellow entrepreneur Alan Bradley.

In 1990, Ken cheated on Deirdre by having an affair with Wendy Crozier - which resulted in the end of his marriage with Deirdre after she discovers his adultery. Ken soon found himself an unpopular guy on the street, and at one point he and Mike got into another fight; Mike won when he thumped Ken shortly before the brawl was broken up by local hardman Jim McDonald. Over the years he began to rebuild up his reputation, and moved back when things cooled down. At one point, he even rushed to Mike's aid after the latter was nearly killed by fellow nemesis Don Brennan in a car accident; Don had been killed in the inferno instead. However, Ken also slept with a woman named Denise Osbourne and she later got pregnant with his baby; the newborn was eventually conceived as a son named Daniel, who would grow up in his mother's care when she and the child leave the street against Ken's expectations.

In 1998, Ken and Mike were forced to team up when Deirdre is wrongfully imprisoned for fraud - when in reality her former new fiancé, Jon Lindsay, was responsible for the crime and ended up setting up Deirdre to take the blame for his illicit activities. Ken and Mike argued over their respective choices on how to help exonerate Deirdre, but ultimately they were successful after Jon's bigamy crime was exposed; Deirdre was released and Jon was jailed.

Later on, Ken and Deirdre rekindled their relationship and Ken later stood up to Mike for confronting him over her choice. As such Ken also lectured Mike for two-timing on his wife Alma after an incident with Mike saw him being blackmailed by his former employee Greg Kelly. Soon enough, the rivalry appeared to have slowed down after Ken and Mike were held hostage in a robbery perpetuated by gunman Dean Sykes and his accomplice Lenny Larkin; the pair had an unlikely team-up again in order to overcome the robbery.

In 2001, however, the feud resurfaced when Mike learned that Susan had been parenting their son Adam without his knowledge and began hassling her for custody. It was then Susan died in an attempt for her and Adam to escape from Mike, after which Ken blamed Mike for Susan's death and the pair engaged in a custody battle that ended with Adam convincing them to put their differences aside for his sake. From then onwards, Ken and Mike started to get along with each other - with Ken even comforting Mike after the latter's marriage with Dean's sister Linda had collapsed. Mike also comforted Ken on the anniversary of Susan's death, and in return Ken arranged a surprise birthday party for Mike.

In 2002, Ken was being tormented by his school pupil Aidan Critchley for months. Eventually Ken lost it with Aidan and hit him in a fit of rage after Aidan had gloated over the fact that he got away with a crime - he hijacked Ken's car with his girlfriend Sarah Platt and crashed the vehicle before leaving Sarah to die in an accident; Sarah survived but was traumatized by the ordeal. Ken resigned as the schoolteacher and was later arrested for assaulting Aidan, but was released on bail and the charges against him were dismissed.

In 2003, Ken learns that Aidan has been arrested for the murder of local hairdresser Maxime Peacock and is requested to visit him in prison. When he does, Ken believes that Aidan is innocent and ends up getting ostracized by this as everyone believed that Aidan is the killer; in truth, though, Maxine's killer was actually Sarah's villainous stepfather Richard Hillman. In the end, Ken is apologized by everyone when Aidan's innocence is proven after Richard's crimes were exposed; Ken later parted ways with Aidan in good terms on the day after Richard died trying to drown Sarah's family to no avail.

As the years went on, Ken's relationship with Deirdre nearly collapses when she has a fling with shopkeeper Dev Allen. But in the end Ken and Deirdre not only reconcile, but they end up getting married again in 2005. A year later one day, Ken sees Mike on the street with pyjamas and goes to comfort him - as Mike is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease at that stag. Ken attempts to help Mike get inside, but is forced to call an ambulance when Mike collapses on the ground in pain; the two rivals then talk about their past before Mike suffers a heart attack, and Ken watches on in shock as Mike succumbs to his condition and dies in front of his archenemy. Ken helps Deirdre mourn Mike at his funeral despite their differences.

By then, Ken and Deirdre found themselves dealing with Tracy's wayward antics over the years. He nevertheless comforted Tracy after her estranged biological father Ray Langton abruptly dies of a heart attack in the pub. However, trouble resurfaces in 2007 when Tracy murders her boyfriend Charlie Stubbs in revenge for his cheating ways. Ken is horrified when Deirdre learns about this and informs him about it, especially when Tracy attempts get her parents to make a fake testimony about it; unfortunately, this fails and Tracy is jailed with a life prison sentence. In 2008, Ken attempts to comfort Sarah's brother David Platt when the latter causes destruction on the street; David responds by attacking Ken with a pole shortly before getting arrested.

In 2009, Ken supports his son Peter over his alcoholism and the latter's relationship troubles with both his estranged wife Leanne Battersby and their son Simon. In May that year, he joined Deirdre and her mother Blanche Hunt in attending Peter's AA meeting; the event culminated disastrously, however, after Ken and Deirdre get into an argument over their recent family problems whilst Blanche insulted Peter's fellow attendees over their failures. One such matter involved the discovery of Ken's dalliance with boat owner Martha Fraser. It was by then that Ken and Blanche have reached a truce despite their conflict, and Ken even comforts Deirdre after Blanche passes away in 2010.

During the early 2010s, Ken helps with family problems; such as having his marriage with Deirdre tested again by con-artist Lewis Butler, coping with Peter's transgression of cheating on his wife Carla Connor by sleeping with Simon's nanny Tina McIntyre and later being wrongfully imprisoned for her murder caused by Tracy's former fiancé Rob Donovan. In 2015, Ken is heartbroken when Deirdre passes away following a trip away. He initially blames Tracy for this because Deirdre has spent part of her last moments feeling guilty for Tracy's love triangle with Deirdre's best friend Liz McDonald and her boyfriend Tony Stewart, but they later reconcile despite Ken having to cope with Tracy's other transgressions - such as causing the deaths of Leanne's new fiancé Kal Nazir and fellow resident Maddie Heath in a fire that she started. Plus Ken gets reacquainted with Tracy's ex-lover Robert Preston at the time.

In late 2016, Ken began to alienate himself from his family when he talked Daniel's girlfriend Sinead into aborting their child - feeling she wasn't right for Daniel and that things wouldn't work. She carried out the deed, which caused an angry Daniel to push Ken down the stairs and almost kill him. Other people were suspected such as Peter, Tracy, and Adam - since they had problems with Ken due to the way he treated them. The family initially believed that local villain Pat Phelan was the the assailant due to him and Ken falling out with each other, but Phelan was later proved innocent when the police informed Ken that they have evidence that implicates one of his relatives. When it turned out Daniel was the culprit, Ken decided not to inform the police.

After Peter was responsible for causing local vicar Billy Mayhew to fall from a cliff and almost die, Ken visited Billy in hospital and threatened him to not go to the police - as Ken knew that Billy was indirectly involved in Susan's death in a car accident back in 2001. This threat meant Peter got off the hook for the abduction and near manslaughter of Billy in the process. In 2020, Ken joined the neighbourhood in trying to stop business tycoon Ray Crosby from demolishing the street on the same night that Kal's mother Yasmeen Nazir is released from prison after a monthly ordeal of her marriage with her abusive husband Geoff Metcalfe - the latter of whom is later killed that night upon falling off the roof of Yasmeen's residence.

Family[]

  • Peter Barlow - Son
  • Daniel Osbourne - Son
  • Tracy Barlow - Adoptive daughter
  • Adam Barlow - Grandson
  • Simon Barlow - Grandson
  • Leanne Battersby - Former daughter-in-law
  • Carla Connor - Current daughter-in-law
  • Frank Barlow - Father (deceased)
  • Ida Barlow - Mother (deceased)
  • David Barlow - Brother (deceased)
  • Valerie Barlow - First wife (deceased)
  • Janet Barlow - Second wife (deceased)
  • Deirdre Barlow - Third wife (deceased)
  • Susan Barlow - Daughter (deceased)

Villainous deeds[]

  • Abandoning his family.
  • Getting arrested for a protest in the 1960s, resulting in a prison sentence.
  • Leaving his infant children home alone which nearly resulted in them dying in a near fire.
  • Selling a car to Curly Watts without telling him it needed repairs.
  • Hitting his student Aidan Critchley, breaking his nose. To be fair, he was heavily provoked and genuinely remorseful about what he'd done.
  • Pressuring Sinead Tinker to have an abortion behind his son Daniel's back. Led to Daniel pushing Ken down a flight of stairs.
  • Threatening Billy to keep quiet about his near death experience at the hands of Peter Barlow.

Quotes[]

IF YOU GO NOW I WON'T BE HERE WHEN YOU GET BACK!!
~ Ken Barlow giving his beloved wife Deirdre an ultimatum, threatening to end their marriage if she chooses to walk out on him.
If anybody asks, you fell, understand? You shan't say anything to anyone, because if you do, believe me, what you did to Susan will come out, I'll make sure of it! You killed one of my children! And if you cause Peter to suffer, I'll make you suffer, and that's a promise!
~ Ken Barlow confronting Billy Mayhew over the death of the former's daughter Susan and threatening the latter into keeping quiet about Peter's involvement in his injuries.

Trivia[]

  • Ken is currently the only member of the original cast from 1960 to still be in the show.
  • Ken was absent from the show from April 2013 to August 2014 due to William Roache being accused of sex offenses dating back to the 1960s. Following his trial and not being found guilty, he returned full-time again.
  • Ken was almost axed from the show in 1964; during which a majority of characters were written out such as his father Frank Barlow, and infamous popular character Martha Longhurst who was killed off. Ken was saved from the axe, allowing him to become the longest-serving character for years to come.

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