Frank Barlow (Coronation Street)

Frank Barlow
Coronation Street character
Portrayed by	Frank Pemberton
Duration	1960–1964, 1967, 1971
First appearance	Episode 1 9 December 1960
Last appearance	Episode 1049 3 February 1971
Classification	Former; regular
Created by	Tony Warren
Introduced by	Stuart Latham (1960) H.V. Kershaw (1967) Leslie Duxbury (1971)
Book appearances	Coronation Street: The Complete Saga Coronation Street: The War Years
In-universe information Father Sidney Barlow Mother Edna Barlow Sisters Marjorie Barlow Wife Ida Leathers (until 1961) Sons Ken Barlow David Barlow Grandsons Lawrence Cunningham Peter Barlow Darren Barlow Daniel Osbourne Granddaughters Susan Barlow Tracy Barlow (adoptive) Other relatives James Cunningham Chloe Cunningham Adam Barlow Simon Barlow Bertie Osbourne Amy Barlow (adoptive)

Frank Barlow is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Frank Pemberton. As the head of the show's core Barlow family, Frank was one of the original twenty-one characters at the show's inception in 1960, along with wife Ida (Noel Dyson) and sons Ken (William Roache) and David (Alan Rothwell).^[1]

In his time on Coronation Street, Frank survived the death of Ida in 1961 and entered into a controversial relationship with younger woman Christine Appleby (Christine Hargreaves). He remained in a prominent role until May 1964, when the character was written out by series producer Tim Aspinall. Pemberton later reprised the role for two further episodes, in 1967 and 1971. Frank last appeared at the funeral of daughter-in-law Valerie Barlow (Anne Reid). Frank's son Ken later tells his son Peter (then played by Roache's own son Linus Roache) of his death in April 1975.

Pemberton never recovered from being made to leave a role he adored, and suffered a stroke in 1965. He found work increasingly hard to come by in the following years and suffered a fatal stroke in 1971, just a few weeks after his final appearance on the show.