Tracy Barlow

Tracy Barlow (born Tracy Lynette Langton 24 January, 1977) is a fictional character on the soap opera Coronation Street.

She is currently portrayed by Kate Ford - the latest in a series of actresses who have played Tracy at various ages. Christabel Finch played her from birth in 1977 to 1983, with Holly Chamarette taking over from 1985 to 1988. Dawn Acton then played her regularly her from 1988-1996, and then for brief reappearances in 1997 and 1999.

Information

Tracy is the daughter of Ray and Deirdre Langton. Ray left the family when Tracy was young, and she was raised by her mother and stepfather, Ken Barlow, whose surname she later took on.

Tracy is known primarily as a "soap bitch", for which she has been nominated in the soap awards, but this represents a complete character change. As a teenager, she hung out with Steve McDonald and his brother Andy, and was something of a tomboy and rebel.

Her first major storyline came in 1995, when at the age of 18 she collapsed in a nightclub after taking ecstasy. She was diagnosed with permanent kidney damage and was told by doctors that she would need dialysis three times a week for the rest of her life. Ken and Dierdre both volunteered to donate a kidney for a transplant, but could not do so because their kidney tissue types were not a match for Tracy's. Her step-father Samir Rachid then underwent a test and was surprisingly a perfect match. On the way to the hospital, Samir was attacked by a gang of youths in the street and was later found unconscious on a canal towpath. He had a fractured skull and later died in hospital, but his kidney was still in a good condition and Deirdre gave the go-ahead for the organ to be donated to Tracy. The transplant was a success.

She married Robert Preston and moved to London with him, but returned several years later, in 2002 as played by Kate Ford. She announced that Robert had been cheating on her, but it was only when he turned up that it was revealed that she had been having an affair with his best friend.

She started a relationship with her mum's ex-lover, Dev Alahan. When she overheard him saying that she wasn't 'marriage material', and that he was only in it for fun and nothing serious, she dumped him and cut up his best suits. She also had a short-lived relationship with Rovers' barman Ciaran McCarthy, and they tried unsuccessfully to run a restaurant together.

At her stepbrother, Peter's, bigamous wedding to Shelley Unwin, Tracy and a few other women agreed that boring geek Roy Cropper would be the only man who'd never cheat on his wife, Hayley. An eager Tracy placed a bet that she could bed him. Everybody was stunned when he got drunk (probably the first time he'd done so) and slept with Tracy. Poor Roy was racked with guilt, and his wife, Hayley, found out when she came home after nursing her sick aunt. Tracy then revealed her pregnancy, and told the Croppers (who couldn't have children since Hayley is a transsexual woman), whose marriage had almost been torn apart by the fling, that the only way she wouldn't abort the child is if they payed her £15,000 to buy the baby. They agreed, and Tracy's family were disgusted. The Croppers grew fearful that Tracy would flee with their cash, so he told Tracy that she'd have to marry him (to secure the relationship, because she wouldn't be able to leave the country with the baby without her husband's permission). The pair wed while Tracy was pregnant. Her baby daughter (who Roy and Hayley named Patience Cropper) was born, and Tracy has duly handed her cash. Tracy then confided in Peter that Roy wasn't actually the biological father -- in fact, she hadn't even had sex with him! She drugged Roy, and placed him in her bed, where he went straight to sleep, and made it look like they had slept together. The real father was Steve McDonald, who Tracy'd always fancied, with whom she'd had a one-night stand a couple of weeks before the 'Roy incident'.

The truth came out as Steve prepared to re-marry Karen, and Tracy blurted out everything. After Karen tried to attack her, the pair still married, and Tracy demanded that the Croppers hand over the baby. They did so, and Tracy re-named the child Amy Barlow. With the encouragement of her family, Tracy made the Croppers godparents to Amy.

For most of 2004 Tracy was feuding with the McDonalds, especially Karen. Steve secretly started meeting his daughter and Karen went over the edge. The marriage soon started to disintegrate, and after Karen miscarried the couple's baby, she had a breakdown and kidnapped Amy in Tracy's car. She burned the car, allowing Steve and Tracy to believe that Amy was inside. She had pushed Steve too far, and after Tracy fought with her on a rooftop, Steve kicked Karen out on Boxing Day much to Tracy's joy and she left Weatherfield.

Steve and Tracy since tried to make a go of their relationship, but Steve didn't truly love Tracy, and only wanted Amy, and when this became known, Tracy made it look like Steve had tried to abduct Amy and take her abroad, but the law fell on Steve's side and Tracy now has to let him have access. Despite Tracy's protestations that she loves her daughter, she is always ready to leave her with various family members at the drop of a hat to go shopping or to the pub. In the absence of any available baby sitters, she once left Amy at home completely unattended while she went out for New Year's Eve.

Tracy had an on-off relationship with Mechanic Nathan Harding for most of 2005, but he eventually dumped her after she made some insensitive comments about Ashley Peacock, Nathan's friend who he had accidentally hospitalized during a heated boxing session at the Gym.

Tracy found herself a new boyfriend in December 2005 in the shape of Charlie Stubbs. After a very short relationship, she moved into his flat, but Charlie was unimpressed with the fact that Tracy had brought Amy along. After initially throwing them out, he informed Tracy that she could move back in on the condition that she did not bring her daughter with her. Tracy agreed with this and, to the disgust of her parents, moved back in, leaving Amy to live at her grandparents' house.

This routine did not last very long as a few weeks later Tracy tricked Charlie into thinking he got her pregnant whilst they were on holiday. Charlie forced her to have an abortion and even provided the money to do so. Tracy, not pregnant took the money and spent it on a new pair of shoes and told Charlie she had had the abortion. This ploy convinced Charlie that Tracy needed to be with her daughter more than ever so he allowed Amy to live with them again. However, as news of Tracy's 'abortion' spread thanks to Jason Grimshaw accidentally telling his girlfriend Sarah Platt, Tracy's mother Deirdre found out and felt she had failed Tracy as a mother by not being there for her, which forced Tracy to tell the truth about it. Deidre was infuriated by this and actually felt sorry for Charlie, whom she loathes. Tracy was then forced to tell Charlie the truth and he forgave her, but also got his revenge by hiding one of her fancy new shoes.

After a very public spat with Keith Appleyard Charlie took revenge by sneekily buying Keith's home from under his nose. Although Charlie only bought it to get one over on Keith, and also to re-sell it in order to make a profit, Tracy managed to convince him not to and that they along with Amy should live there. Charlie reluctantly agreed and they moved into the house on a trial basis, which Charlie completely refurbished. To this day they still live in the house and it seems Charlie has grown accustomed to living there as he has no immediate plans to sell the house.

Other incidents were the return of her father, Ray Langton, with whom she built a relationship before his death to cancer. She also tried to rip off Penny King with the help of her Irish boyfriend, Ciaran McCarthy, but when he backed down, she dumped him.

She has so far received no less than 16 awards for her on-screen performances.