Played by: Anne Reid
Appeared: 7 August 1961 - 27 January 1971
Hairdresser Valerie Tatlock first came to Coronation Street in
1961 to visit her Uncle Albert.
She caught young Ken Barlow's eye
and he pursued her for several months. Valerie was nervous about
Ken, she felt that Ken would not be happy with her because he
was university-educated and aspired to live above the working-class
values which Valerie was comfortable with. She felt for Ken when
his mother Ida was killed. When
Ken proposed to her, she balked because she was unsure of Ken's
motives and thought that he might be seeking a mother figure to
replace Ida. Ken persuaded her that this was not the case, and
they were married on 4 August 1962 at St. Mary's Parish Church.
Ken sold his motor scooter to raise funds, and the newlyweds moved
into No 9 Coronation Street when they returned from their honeymoon
in London.
The Barlows had the front room of No 9 converted to a hairdressing
salon and Valerie took in customers while Ken went out to teach.
She even took Dennis Tanner from
No 11 on as an apprentice. When she wasn't hairdressing, Valerie
was a devoted housewife. Ken, however, left more than a little
to be desired as a husband. He paid little attention to Valerie,
leaving her to run the house while he pondered more intellectual
issues and was always chasing other women.
In 1963, one of Ken's teaching friends, Dave
Robbins, moved into No 9 as a lodger. He was personable and
down-to-earth, and Valerie grew very attached to him. After a
short time, Dave moved into his own flat. In 1964, when one of
Dave's pupils was killed in a street accident, Valerie comforted
Dave while Ken took the opportunity to start a crusade for a crosswalk.
Valerie decided that she had married the wrong man, told Ken that
she was leaving him, and went to Dave's flat. Ken followed her
and Valerie asked Dave to see him off. Dave wasn't interested
enough in Valerie to fight Ken for her, and a depressed Valerie
returned to Ken.
In late 1964, Valerie became pregnant. In early 1965 she closed down the salon
in No 9, and on 15 April gave birth to twins: Susan Ida and Peter.
From then on her life was completely wrapped up in the twins. Ken generally
left all the work around the house and with the children to her while he sauntered
around living his intellectual lifestyle, which included a fling with reporter
Jackie Marsh. Ken nearly left Valerie for Jackie
until he realized what a good thing he had in a wife who was willing to assume
all the domestic responsibilities and wait on him hand and foot.
When Ken was arrested for taking part in an anti-Vietnam demonstration
and opted, on principle, to go to prison for a week rather than
pay a five-pound fine, Valerie was astonished. She pleaded with
Ken to put the family above his principles, and that she would
never be able to cope on her own with the twins for a week. Ken
wouldn't give in, however. He went to prison, and when he came
back, the subject was never talked about again.
In 1968 the raincoat factory and the Mission Hall on the opposite
side of Coronation Street were demolished. During the demolition,
Valerie realized that the twins had gone missing from the house
and, fearing the worst, ran into the street and stood in front
of the wrecking equipment, bringing everything to a screeching
halt. She went into the building and found Peter and Susan huddled
in a corner.
A Community Centre and a new block of maisonnettes went up where
the Mission and the factory had stood. Valerie saw the plans for
the new maisonettes and set her heart on moving into one. No 9
was almost seventy years old and lacked modern conveniences like
central heating. Ken protested; they owned their house outright
and Ken didn't want to sell up and move into rented accomodations.
For once, Valerie put her foot down. She told Ken that she knew
all about his affair with Jackie Marsh and that she would leave
him if he didn't relent. Ken gave in, and the Barlows sold No
9 to Len Fairclough for £1,000
to move across the street to one of the new maisonettes.
Shortly after moving into the maisonettes, an escaped convict
named Frank Riley broke into Ken
and Valerie's home while Ken was out and held Valerie hostage.
Valerie was desperate to keep Riley from finding out that the
twins were sleeping upstairs, and eventually managed to summon
help by tapping an SOS on the pipes, claiming that it was the
only way to get them to work. The neighbours heard the SOS and
called the police, who rescued Valerie. While Valerie was distraught,
Ken completely ignored her. He refused to believe that Riley hadn't
sexually assaulted Valerie and, rather than comfort his wife,
struggled with his conscience to determine what he would have
done if he had been there to protect his family.
In January 1971, Ken was offered a teaching post in Jamaica and
the Barlows prepared to emigrate. While Valerie was getting ready
for their going-away party in the Rovers, she plugged a hair dryer
into a faulty electrical outlet and electrocuted herself. As she
fell, she knocked an electric heater into a packing crate and
started a fire. By the time rescue came, it was too late for Valerie
Barlow.
References: Coronation Street: Around the Houses, by Daran
Little, Boxtree, London, 1997
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