| Leanne Battersby | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Jane Danson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1997–2000, 2004–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 4223 4 July 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Brian Park (1997) Tony Wood (2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | Coronation Street: Text Santa Special (2015) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Leanne Battersby (also Tilsley and Barlow) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Jane Danson. It was announced in February 1997 that a "family from hell" would be introduced to Coronation Street. This included Les (Bruce Jones) and Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle), Les' daughter Leanne and Janice's daughter Toyah (Georgia Taylor). Leanne made her first appearance on 4 July 1997. Danson left the series on 23 August 2000 and returned on 7 June 2004. Danson later took maternity leave in 2006 and returned in early 2007. Danson took another maternity break in 2009 and returned in the same year. On 27 September 2017, Danson took an extended break from the show and returned three months later on 15 December 2017.
Leanne's storylines include numerous affairs, prostitution, drug abuse, insurance fraud, discovering her biological mother was Stella Price (Michelle Collins), a miscarriage, an abortion and a custody battle for Peter Barlow's (Chris Gascoyne) son, Simon (Alex Bain). Leanne has had numerous relationships within the show. She married Nick Tilsley (Adam Rickitt/Ben Price) in 1998, but they temporally divorced for a while. She married Peter Barlow in the show's live 50th anniversary episode, but divorced him in 2012 in reaction to his affair with Carla Connor (Alison King) being exposed. After a volatile reconciliation, she and Nick married for the second time in January 2013, but they divorced the following year. After a one-night stand, Leanne becomes pregnant with Steve McDonald's (Simon Gregson) baby and gives birth to a son, Oliver Battersby, who dies in 2020 from mitochondrial disease. Leanne reunites with Nick again in 2016 and 2018.