Ken Barlow (Coronation Street)
| Ken Barlow | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | William Roache | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1960– | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 9 December 1960 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Tony Warren | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Stuart Latham (1960) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances |
Coronation Street: The Complete Saga Coronation Street: The War Years |
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| Spin-off appearances |
Ken and Deirdre's Bedtime Stories (2011) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Teacher Warehouse Executive Taxi driver Community Development Officer Newspaper Editor Shop Assistant |
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| Home | 1, Coronation Street | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Father | Frank Barlow |
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| Mother | Ida Barlow |
| Brothers | David Barlow |
| Wife |
Valerie Tatlock (1962–1971) Janet Reid (1973–1977) Deirdre Langton (1981–1992, 2005–2015) |
| Sons |
Lawrence Cunningham Peter Barlow Daniel Osbourne |
| Daughters | Susan Barlow |
| Adoptive daughters | Tracy Barlow |
| Grandsons |
James Cunningham Adam Barlow Simon Barlow |
| Granddaughters | Amy Barlow (adoptive) |
| Grandmothers | Nancy Leathers |
Kenneth "Ken" Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, played by William Roache. Ken was created by Tony Warren as one of Coronation Street's original characters. He debuted in the soap's first episode on 9 December 1960. Having appeared continuously since the programme's inception, December 2010 marked Ken's 50th anniversary on-screen. At this time, Roache officially became the longest-serving actor in a televised soap opera. Roache was honoured at the 2010 Guinness World Records ceremony for the achievement, when he surpassed actor Don Hastings from the American soap opera As the World Turns, who previously held this title. Roache stated in 2010 that he has no plans to leave the role and will remain in Coronation Street for as long as they will have him.
Ken was introduced as the educated son of a working-class family. Portrayed as moralistic and a political activist, Ken differed from the other, predominantly working-class characters in the soap opera. The character developed a reputation as a ladies' man; plots saw Ken dating numerous women, marrying four times to three women (Valerie Tatlock in 1962, Janet Reid in 1972 and Deirdre Hunt in 1981 and again in 2005), fathering four children (Lawrence Cunningham, Susan Barlow, Peter Barlow and Daniel Osbourne), and adopting his stepdaughter (Tracy Barlow). Of the many women Ken has been paired with, his relationship with Deirdre has been the most enduring. Ken and Deirdre's fictional relationship made newspaper headlines in Britain in 1983 due to Deirdre's adultery with Mike Baldwin. The storyline captured both media and viewer interest. 20 million people tuned in to watch Ken's discovery of the affair. The storyline lead to a feud between Ken and Mike, prominent in both characters' narratives until Mike's screen death in 2006. In 2017, Coronation Street centred a "whodunit" storyline around the character, where Ken is pushed down the stairs by an unknown assailant, with the storyline being dubbed, "Who Attacked Ken?".
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