Ashley Peacock Ashley Sibelius Peacock was the son of Fred Elliott and Kathleen Gutteridge , although he was raised by Sam and Beryl Peacock . Ashley married Maxine Peacock in 1999 and became a widower when Maxine was murdered by Richard Hillman . In April 2002 , Maxine gave birth to Joshua , who Ashley believed was his child . Tests later revealed that Joshua was the biological son of Maxine ' s one - night stand Matt Ramsden . Ashley continued to regard Joshua as his own son and he was listed as the father on Joshua ' s birth certificate . He went on to marry Joshua ' s nanny Claire Casey in 2004 . Claire gave birth to Freddie in 2006 . Ashely died in December 2010 during a tram crash , helping his friends Nick Tilsley and Peter Barlow escape , with the viaduct collapsing and crushing him to death . Biography . Ashley Peacock was the biological son of Fred Elliott , and shared a similar accent to him . However for most of Ashley ' s life he believed Fred was his uncle , having been raised by Fred ' s sister Beryl Peacock and her husband Sam . Ashley began working for Fred at his butchers shop and moved in with Don Brennan at 5 Coronation Street . Ashley was one of the few friends that Don had left , although Don eventually betrayed Ashley by attempting to frame him for the arson of Mike Baldwin ' s factory that Don himself had committed . Mike and Fred teamed up to prove Ashley ' s innocence and Ashley was eventually cleared . In 1997 , Ashley began a relationship with Maxine Heavey , although shortly after moving in together Ashley agreed to take in homeless teenager Zoe Tattersall . Ashley soon developed feelings for Zoe and broke up with Maxine to be with her . Ashley helped Zoe regain custody of her infant daughter Shannon . Shannon later developed meningitis and died , which adversely affected Ashley and Zoe ' s relationship . Some months later Zoe ran off with a cult . In 1999 , Ashley was shocked to learn that Fred had a son . After confronting Fred , Ashley was stunned to learn that he was in fact that son . Ashley eventually accepted Fred as a father and the two forged a much closer bond . Supporting Ashley through his turmoil was his ex - girlfriend Maxine and they were soon married . Maxine was murdered by Richard Hillman in January 2003 , and it took him a long time to get over the tragedy . Ashley realised that he would need help looking after his young son Joshua , and decided to hire a nanny . Claire Casey was the chosen candidate , and the two fell in love . They were married on Christmas Day in 2004 . On their first anniversary , Claire announced to Ashley that she was pregnant . Their son Freddie was born on 17th July 2006 . Fred challenged a rival butcher , Eddie Maddocks , to a boxing match , which was between Ashley and the butcher ' s son Marvin , who happened to be the local champion . On the day of the fight , Fred dropped a mass on Ashley ' s foot , mildly injuring him . Ashley carried on with the fight , but during the match other fights started between the spectators , resulting in a riot . A bemused Ashley and Marvin agreed on a tie . Fred went to see Audrey Roberts a few minutes before he was supposed to marry Bev Unwin and died at Audrey ' s house . Although Ashley swore that Fred and Audrey weren ' t having an affair other residents of the Street didn ' t believe him , so he had to cope with the loss of his father and people tarnishing his memory . Ashley blamed Audrey for Fred ' s death because she told him that she loved him the week before he was due to marry Bev . Ashley also had to deal with the effects of the post - natal depression which affected Claire after the birth of their son Freddie . In May 2007 , Claire was alone with Freddie in the house when she woke to the sound of a fire alarm and fire spreading through the house . Claire was rescued by Jamie Baldwin and Kirk Sutherland but they could not get back in for Freddie . The baby was found half a mile away in a local park the next day . A fire investigation showed that an accelerant had been used to start the fire , leading the police to believe that it had been started deliberately . Claire started to suspect former friend Casey Carswell despite Ashley ' s doubts . A short time later , Ashley kissed Casey and they both agreed to forget about the situation . Casey didn ' t intend to forget about it and she and Ashley had sex in the conservatory . They were nearly caught by Claire who returned from her trauma support group . Casey manipulated a guillable Ashley into sleeping with her . Ashley then decided that he was to be with Claire , and told Casey that their relationship was over . Casey was adamant that Ashley still loved her , so she kept pestering him . This caused Claire to get suspicious , as Casey had previously lived at the Peacocks ' while she was away , and asked Ashley if he had slept with Casey . He denied it . As Casey was obsessed with Ashley , she did anything to get his attention , including taking Freddie from Kirk while the baby was in his care . She took Freddie to her flat and locked him out on the balcony until Ashley turned up . When Ashley arrived , he was horrified to see photos of him on all of Casey ' s walls . He tried to reason with her to get Freddie back . When Claire and Audrey showed up , Casey shouted at Ashley to get rid of her but Claire barged in while Ashley told Audrey to phone the police . After talking to Casey about hers and Ashley ' s affair , Claire managed to get Freddie back safely . Casey confessed to starting the fire at the Peacocks ' house . After Ashley ' s affair with Casey was revealed , Claire told Ashley their marriage was over . He left the Peacock home and ended up on Kevin Webster ' s sofa . He saw Josh and Freddie regularly , but the tension between Claire and Ashley remained . Claire was struggling looking after Josh and Freddie while continuing to work but didn ' t forgive Ashley as he hurt her too much . Ashley stayed with Audrey Roberts , along with David Platt and Bill Webster , as he thought he had overstayed his welcome at the Websters . He and Claire got back together after Claire ' s experience at a singles night where she kissed Kevin . After the death of Fred in 2006 , Ashley took over the butchers . On 10 November 2008 , Ashley employed Graeme Proctor at " Elliot & Sons " following the teenager ' s release from the Young Offenders Institution and they went on to become friends . During 2008 , Claire was shocked to discover that she and Ashley were struggling financially . Ashley confessed to using their savings to keep his butchers shop going until times improved . Claire was discussing options with Sally Webster when Sally mentioned that her daughters were getting too old to share a room . Joshua and Freddie were young enough for that not to be a problem so Claire and Sally decided to swap houses . Kevin and Ashley both reluctantly agreed . In 2010 , Claire wanted to make a new start in France , despite Ashley ' s objections . He pretended to have a heart attack to make her change her mind , and when Claire discovered his deceit she decided to move there with the boys , leaving Ashley in Weatherfield . Jack Duckworth implored the two to reconcile shortly before his death in November , and at his funeral they agreed to give life in France together a chance . On 6th December 2010 , Ashley attended Peter Barlow ' s stag night at The Joinery bar in the viaduct at the end of Coronation Street . As he said his goodbyes a massive gas explosion ripped the bar apart and caused a tram overhead to derail and crash into the Street . Ashley and Nick Tilsley were trapped with a gravely injured Peter . Despite his own serious injuries becoming more apparent , Ashley helped Nick get Peter to safety as the building crumbled . He left a voicemail for Claire telling her that he loved her and the boys . When Nick turned back to get him out , Ashley told him to leave and save himself , realising how unstable the wreckage was . Before Nick could make a decision , the viaduct collapsed on top of Ashley , killing him instantly . Quotes . “ It ’ s in the fridge . Hey , I thought you said she was a vegetarian ? ” ( First line to Fred Elliott about a departing customer ) " You greedy prick . " ( To Fred Elliot during the Freshco Siege ) " Just go " ( Last words before death ) " I really miss you Claire , same to you kids ( coughs ) I love you " ( Final line heard in the programme , played as a voicemail recording after the character ' s death )