Deirdre Barlow
| Deirdre Barlow | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Anne Kirkbride | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1972–2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 1236 20 November 1972 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 8486 8 October 2014 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Eric Prytherch | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances |
Weatherfield Life Coronation Street: The Complete Saga Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances |
Ken and Deirdre's Bedtime Stories (2011) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Deirdre Hunt Deirdre Langton Deirdre Rachid |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Receptionist Local Government Official |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | 1 Coronation Street (1981–1994, 1999–2014) Peak District (2014–2015) 7 Coronation Street (1994–1999) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | Donald Hunt |
|---|---|
| Mother | Blanche Hunt |
| Husband | Ray Langton (1975–78) Ken Barlow (1981–92, 2005–15) Samir Rachid (1994–95) |
| Daughters | Tracy Barlow |
| Stepsons |
Peter Barlow Daniel Osbourne Lawrence Cunningham |
| Stepdaughters | Susan Barlow (deceased) |
| Granddaughters | Amy Barlow |
| Grandmothers | Iris Linfield |
| Aunts | Beryl Linfield Jessie |
| First cousins | Bradley Linfield |
| Other relatives | Ian Linfield |
Deirdre Anne Barlow (née Hunt, previously Langton and Rachid) is a long-standing fictional character from the British television soap opera, Coronation Street, played by Anne Kirkbride. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 November 1972, her final appearance was on 8 October 2014.
Kirkbride decided to take an extended break from the soap in autumn 2014 and was last seen on screen on 8 October 2014. There was some discrepancy as to when she would be returning to the series, with several media outlets even suggesting that Kirkbride had quit Coronation Street after becoming "drained" by her new storylines, with no mention of the breast cancer that took the actress' life a few months later. Kirkbride died in January 2015 before she could return to work. Deirdre was killed off and given a farewell storyline, with her funeral taking place on 13 July 2015. An official book focusing on the character's history was released in October 2015.
Aged eighteen, Deirdre goes on a date with Jimmy Frazer (John Barrie), but when she is introduced to his business partner Alan Howard (Alan Browning), she quickly loses interest and flirts with Alan instead. Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix) finds them in the pub where they are drinking, and announces herself as Alan's wife. Deirdre then sets her sights on Billy Walker (Ken Farrington), and despite the fact that he is nearly twenty years older than her, they become engaged in 1974, to the horror of Billy's domineering mother Annie Walker (Doris Speed), who disapproves of Deirdre and sees her as a harlot. The wedding is meant to be a low-key affair paid for by Billy and scheduled for May the following year, but weeks away from the wedding, Deirdre begins to have doubts, wondering whether she is prepared to be tied down to Billy. She asks Billy for more time and he agrees, but a little while later he calls the engagement off and leaves to run a wine bar in Jersey.
...
Wikipedia