CORRIE - Key Persons
Enter Peter Barlow. He and little son Simon both adored Leanne but she was doubtful due to his drinking problem. He struggled to stay sober and bought the bookies which she helped run. He even went away to rehab but when he returned, she discovered that he'd cheated on her. She left town for Leeds and Peter tried to struggling on without her. He came looking for her a few months later, newly sober again and talked her into returning to him and Simon. He even offered to open a bar with her in a space under the viaduct at the end of the street. Simon's maternal grandfather invested though Ken Barlow was very skeptical, feeling that putting Peter in a bar with booze was too much temptation. He was right. Just before the bar opened, Peter got drunk again and Leanne refused to proceed with the business, realizing it wouldn't work out. Simon's grandfather, George, tried to get custody of Simon but Peter managed to finally get sober again and with Leanne's help, they kept Simon away from George. They soon got engaged. The wedding would be at Christmas.
Enter Nick Tilsley. Nick returned to Weatherfield at Christmas 2009 and returned again in early 2010 to help when Gail was accused of killing her new husband, Joe (who tried to fake his death but died accidentally). Once Gail was cleared, he decided to open his own bar under the viaduct and persuaded Leanne to help him. Peter gave his ok but Nick was hoping he could get Leanne back, she was the love of his life he said. The closer to the wedding she got, the more she got cold feet and she and Nick started an affair. In the beginning of December, Leanne decided she really wanted Peter but Nick wasn't going to let her go that easily. He was determined to tell Peter after Carla, who knew about the affair and wanted Peter for herself gave him encouragement. On Peter's stag night at the Bistro, Nick got Peter into the office and was about to tell him the truth. Ashley came in to say good bye, planning to leave when there was an explosion in the kitchen and it caused a tram to come off the top of the viaduct. Nick was barely injured but Peter was severely hurt as was Ashley who managed to keep the roof from collapsing so Nick could pull Peter out. Ashley died when the roof collapsed and Peter was taken to hospital.
Leanne thought Peter was going to die and married him on what all thought was his deathbed. She told Nick the accident made her realize that Peter was the one she truly wanted but he couldn't accept it. Peter survived but was unable to walk at first. While he began his recovery, Nick tried to sabotage him by luring him back to the bottle again. He did drink several times but was able to sort himself out. They had planned to renew their vows on Valentine's day but just before that, Tracy overheard Carla and Leanne arguing in the ladies' loos and discovered Leanne had the affair. She told Peter who confronted Leanne at the altar on their wedding day and handed her divorce papers. Leanne nearly left town and Ken persuaded Peter to try to stop her, knowing he really did love her. They reconciled and stayed together.
Some months later, Leanne got pregnant but had a miscarraige. Peter was as devastated as she was especially when she discovered she might not be able to carry a child to term. He sought solace in the arms of Carla Connor who had loved him for months. They kissed but did not start an affair right away. Meanwhile, Leanne had discovered that the new manager of the Rovers, Stella Price, was the biological mother that had abandoned her as a baby. She also had a new found half sister, Eva who resented Leanne and her mother for the secret. Leanne was not inclined to accept Stella in any shape or form but after a drunk Carla knocked Stella over, Leanne realized that she did want her mother in her life after all. Carla had taken up with Frank Foster who took the blame for the accident causing Carla more pressure. She leaned on Peter to help her with her own drinking but since she couldn't have Peter, she agreed to marry Frank who was a control freak. The night before their wedding, Carla told Frank she wouldn't marry him after all and he raped her. Peter was one of the people she leaned on to get over the rape and even Leanne was sympathetic but as Peter and Carla got closer, a full on affair started. By the time Frank's rape trial began in early 2012, Peter was making plans to leave Leanne after the trial but Frank was suspicious and had them followed by a private investigator. Frank's mother Anne handed Leanne incriminating photos at the trial. Leanne was devastated. The affair came out in court and helped to exonerate a guilty Frank. Leanne left Peter who moved in with Carla.
Leanne was heartbroken and left town. But Simon hated Carla who really wasn't too keen on any children. Leanne returned to get some of her things and when she saw how miserable Simon was, decided to fight Peter for custody even though she isn't Simon's biological mother. When Simon found a bottle of wine that Carla had bought and drank it, Peter realized his son was in danger of going down the same road he struggled on and let Simon live with Leanne. Peter and Carla made plans to travel to L.A. across the ocean on a boat and while they were gone, Peter initiated divorce. Nick was still in the background and Leanne leaned on him first as a friend. She eventually decided she wanted to be with Nick after all his persuasion and they moved in together along with Simon.
Nick was pushed to propose to Leanne by a scheming Kylie who thought it would send Leanne far away but she ended up accepting his proposal after she found out that Peter didn't think he'd come back at Christmas. He did, though, and when he decided he was not going to move to L.A. after all, Carla left him and he immediately started to try to lure Leanne back. But Carla did return to him. On their wedding day, Leanne tried a last minute appeal to Peter, not knowing Carla was back. He dropped Leanne quickly and cooly so she went ahead with the Christmas Day wedding to Nick but Eva told the whole congregation that Leanne had taken a little stop en route to the church. Nick was crushed and jilted her. She thought she'd lost him for good. Nick had a drunken one night stand that night with David's wife, Kylie who was struggling with David who had been treating her badly as well.
That was best left forgotten. Kylie and David made up and within a week or two, Leanne and Nick made up as well after she'd decided to leave Weatherfield for good (again). He stopped her and they got married at the registry office in January, 2013. Things are not going to go well, however. Leanne was the last to find out about the fling with Kylie who found herself pregnant and didn't know who the father was. She gave birth in August. David had found out a few months before and started a campaign of vengeance against Nick, trying to ruin him. David played a number of tricks such as watering down the booze at the Bistro and calling Standards on him and sending Leanne an anonymous note implying Nick had been unfaithful on what would have been their wedding night. Leanne confronted Nick who lied to her face that he never had sex with anyone even though she insisted if he had a one night stand she could understand after what she'd done to him and could forgive him. He continued to state he was blameless. A month or so later, he realized David was behind all the tricks and he took David out for a drive and confronted him. David tried to pull the car off the road to stop Nick telling everything but a lorry came through an intersection, crashing into them and seriously injuring Nick.
Ken Barlow is the only surviving member of the characters that appeared in the very first episode of the Street. Slightly improbably, Ken has become the Street's lothario - racking up a total of 21 screen lovers; and more improbably he still lives on the street where he was born, having lived in a total of 8 different addresses in that one street.
Leanne, Danny's fiancee and Jamie's former fiancee, found a newer will in Mike's things that gave everything to Adam and held that over Danny's head as blackmail, holding out for 100,000 pounds. She left town when he chucked her out. Danny continued to try to get back with Frankie and nearly managed it but was shocked and appalled when he discovered that his son and Frankie were having an affair. Danny went off the rails, sold his share of the factory to Paul O'Connor who had already bought Adam's share, and left town. We last saw him with a lovely woman on his arm, ringing Jamie to wish him Happy New Year.
Mark Redman re-entered Mike's life also, in November 1999, and was delighted to make Mark a partner in the business, along with Linda, but Mark and Linda started an on/off secret affair at the Millennium, which caused both parties great heartache. Mark eventually had to leave, leaving Mike baffled as to why. Mike proposed to Linda and asked Mark to be best man.
Natalie started to get her life back together (knowing that she was pregnant by Vinny), but she faced another blow when she discovered that Vinny was having an affair with her sister, Debs who had just recently moved to Weatherfield after working on cruise ships for many years as a
Natalie began to look forward to a bleak future with a baby, she did want the baby but decided that she didn't want to bring her child up in a pub and in Weatherfield. She decided to sell the Rovers for a new life with her cousin Helen in the cotswolds, but their was some protesting from the