Deirdre Barlow Deirdre Anne Barlow ( née Hunt , previously Langton and Rachid ) was a long - standing Coronation Street resident , formerly married to Ken Barlow . Deirdre grew up in Weatherfield , raised by her mother Blanche as Deirdre ' s dad Donald died in February 1963 when Deirdre was seven . She first arrived in Coronation Street in 1972 and got a job as secretary at the Builder ' s Yard , and a marriage to owner Ray Langton followed only weeks after Deirdre ' s fiancé Billy Walker broke off their engagement . The marriage ended in 1978 when Ray had an affair with Janice Stubbs , and Deirdre decided that the trust was gone from their relationship . Deirdre continued to raise their daughter Tracy by herself while Ray moved to Holland . In 1981 , Deirdre married Ken Barlow , who was sixteen years older than her but was committed to her and Tracy . Despite loving Ken , Deirdre was starved of affection and had an affair with Mike Baldwin . Mike wanted Deirdre to leave Ken but they worked through their problems and they came out of the ordeal stronger . The marriage ended seven years later when Ken had an affair with his secretary Wendy Crozier . Deirdre threw him out and filed for divorce . In the 1990s , Deirdre found happiness with Moroccan toyboy Samir Rachid and married him in 1994 but Samir was set upon a year later and died from his injuries . Bad luck continued to follow Deirdre ; in 1997 she became involved with con man Jon Lindsay , whose machinations landed her in Redford Prison on fraud charges . She was released several weeks later when Mary Docherty , another victim of Jon ' s , came forward . With Ken also reeling from a string of bad relationships , Ken and Deirdre reconciled and in 2005 they re - married . Their second marriage has not been without incident ; in 2007 Deirdre testified in court when Tracy murdered Charlie Stubbs , with Tracy confessing to Deirdre that she was actually guilty but expected Deirdre to defend her . Deirdre has worked at various places in Weatherfield including the Street Corner Shop and with the Council , although she was made redundant in 2009 . She now works as a receptionist at the Rosamund Street Medical Centre . A chain smoker for years , Deirdre has a gravelly , scratchy voice . She is also distinguishable by her glasses , particularly her very large older pairs . Deirdre went to stay with best friend Bev Unwin , as she decided to take a break from Weatherfield after the overbearing family drama became too much for her . She passed away on her 60th birthday on the 8th July 2015 . Biography . Early years . Deirdre Hunt grew up as the only child of corset - maker Blanche Hunt and bank manager Donald Hunt . Donald was run over when she was seven years old ; Deirdre witnessed the tragedy . Deirdre was first seen as a " dolly bird , " working as a secretary . In a number of early scenes Deirdre repeatedly mentioned a former boyfriend known as Seb H . She made a pass at Alan Howard . Soon Deirdre began dating Ray Langton and thanks to his wanting her around his job , working at the builders ' yard owned by him , Len Fairclough , and Jerry Booth . In spite of the superficial reasons for her hiring , Deirdre was an asset to the yard , keeping the business afloat with Jerry even when Len and Ray temporarily went elsewhere . Engagement to Billy Walker . Deirdre felt Ray was taking her for granted , and when Billy Walker returned to Weatherfield in 1974 , Deirdre accepted his offer of a date . Ray was distracted by other problems and Deirdre grew closer and closer to Billy . Billy ' s mother Annie Walker saw Deirdre as a harlot and was very upset over the relationship until she was impressed by Deirdre seeing off an aggressive suitor during a holiday to Spain . Billy and Deirdre got engaged after Deirdre assured Billy that she did not care that he had little money . However , as the May date approached , she began to have doubts . When asked , Billy admitted he also had doubts , and he ended the relationship , leaving Weatherfield . Deirdre responded by going out and being picked up by oil - rigger Maurice Gordon . They spent the night in his hotel room , and Blanche slapped her in the face , branding her a slut . A few weeks later , Maurice visited , wanting more time with her and not wanting to hear her say no . Ray Langton saw him off , leaving Deirdre back where she ' d started . Marriage to Ray Langton . Deirdre ' s relationship with Ray had ended badly , with Ray treating her so poorly at work that Blanche attacked him in the Rovers . Both were confused and reluctant about their lingering feelings for each other . Finally , they decided to take the chance and get married at the local register office . Ray and Deirdre were generally happy for several years , trading quips and bruising egos but loving each other . They moved into Blanche ' s home , with Ray splitting it into two flats , and Blanche eventually moving away . Their happiness was compounded when Deirdre , after a false alarm , fell pregnant . Tracy Lynette Langton was born in January 1977 . The first major trauma to hit their relationship occurred in late 1977 , when , on her way home from her keep - fit class , she was cornered in the viaduct by a rapist . She managed to break free , but was very traumatised . She would not let Ray go near her , and he told her she was shutting him out . Deirdre nearly jumped off a bridge , but when a passing driver asked for directions , she regained her senses and returned home to Ray . In 1978 , their marriage collapsed once and for all when Ray had an affair with cafe waitress Janice Stubbs . Deirdre was crushed and although she initially attempted to stay with Ray , and move to Holland with him for a fresh start , she changed her mind at the last minute . Ray left alone , with Deirdre now a single mother . Marriage to Ken Barlow . Deirdre struggled as a single mother , living with Emily Bishop . She nearly attempted suicide a second time when she believed Tracy , whom she ' d briefly left outside the Rovers doorstep , had been killed by a lorry crashing into the pub . Luckily , a friend had taken Tracy shortly before the accident . While Deirdre briefly dated Mike Baldwin and old flame Billy Walker , her eyes soon fell on safe , dependable Ken Barlow . In 1980 , Deirdre and Tracy moved into the flat above the Corner Shop , and Deirdre began work for Alf Roberts in the shop . In 1981 , Deirdre married Ken . The triangle . The relationship soon hit a series of snags . Ken was upset when Deirdre broke his confidence by reporting Betty Turpin ' s muggers to the police . Deirdre was upset when Ken told her he did not want to have any more children - - she felt she ' d been manipulated as he had not told her this before they got married . Deirdre began to find life with Ken suffocating and boring . After Ken refused to take her to her mother ' s country club for Christmas , Deirdre accepted a movie date with Mike Baldwin . By the end of the night he had kissed her , and they were soon lovers . Ken was busy with his new job as Deputy Director of Social Services , and Deirdre spent more and more time with Mike . She planned to leave Ken , but when he told her he ' d lost his job because he was too boring , she felt sorry for him and told him about her affair with Mike . He told her to leave , and the two erupted into an argument . Mike stopped by , but when Deirdre attempted to open the door , Ken grabbed her by the throat and slammed the door shut . Relations were tense , but Ken and Deirdre decided to save their marriage . Councillor Deirdre . Aside from Ken ' s brief kiss with secretary Sally Waterman , and some tension when Mike married Ken ' s daughter Susan Barlow , Ken and Deirdre generally had a few years without stress . That changed in 1987 when Ken planned to run as Labour against Alf for a Council seat . Alf said Ken was using his newspaper to promote his party ' s views , and Ken was forced to choose between his career and politics . He chose his career . Deirdre was furious . She quit her job at the corner shop and stood against Alf as an Independent candidate . Ken initially saw her only as a spoiler so Labour could win , but her campaign gained steam and she won by seven votes . Alf had a heart attack , causing Audrey Roberts to accuse Deirdre of attempted murder . Ken soon grew annoyed with the amount of time Deirdre spent with Council business , especially when she went to a conference in Bournemouth while Tracy was in hospital with appendicitis . He wrote a newspaper column criticising her for going on taxpayer money . One affair too many . In 1989 , Ken began an affair with his new secretary Wendy Crozier . Deirdre realised over Christmas what was going on . When Ken admitted to what he ' d done , Deirdre surprised him by saying she had no interest in fighting for their marriage . She threw him out of the house . Dave Barton . Deirdre kept No . 1 as she filed for divorce . While Ken tried to make a go of his relationship with Wendy , Deirdre met Dave Barton , an electrician who had saved Tracy when she accidentally started a kitchen fire while home alone . Dave offered to fit a new kitchen and fit in as Deirdre ' s boyfriend . The relationship ended when Deirdre became obsessed with Ken ' s interference in her life . In 1990 , Newton & Ridley offered Deirdre £25 , 000 for her house as they were interested in expanding the Rovers Return . Although Deirdre was reluctant when she heard that this included remodelling the Rovers into an American - style bar ( something which the entire street was against ) , she soon agreed when the brewery upped their offer by £5 , 000 . As a result all the neighbours turned against Deirdre , seeing her as selling out but as far as Deirdre was concerned she was investing in Tracy ' s future and was unapologetic . However , the remodelling didn ' t go through and Newton & Ridley pulled out of the sale leaving Deirdre very shame - faced around her neighbours for a while afterwards . Personal and political woes . Tracy , already upset about her parents ' breakup , began skipping school . Deirdre threatened to have the local arcades closed down , but was charmed by owner Phil Jennings , who promised to ban everyone under the age of 16 . Ken was angry when they became involved and told her that Phil had changed his last name and had once been in prison . Deirdre was impressed by Phil ' s attempt to start over , and became closer to him than ever . Her relationship with Ken hit an all - time low when he burst into her home to try to find Phil in her bed . She got an injunction against him . Deirdre soon regretted her relationship with Phil after his rough business dealings inadvertently led Alf Roberts to make another go at his old Council seat . Deirdre hoped for a clean campaign , but behind her back , Phil began smearing Alf ' s name , falsely claiming Alf was having an affair with a supporter named Vivian . Ken and Alf got in the papers brawling over a poster Ken had put in his window , and all the chaos helped cause Deirdre to lose her Council seat . Deirdre remained with Phil , trying to run his business , PJ Leisure . She soon learned he had little money , and he began starting card schools . He refused to pay his debts , and was beaten up for his troubles . Deirdre was shocked that not only was Phil fleeing the country , he was doing so with his wife - - Deirdre had unknowingly been only one of his mistresses all along . At a low , Deirdre returned to her old job at Alf ' s corner shop . Tracy ' s behaviour worsened when Maggie Redman spitefully told her that Deirdre and Mike had been lovers . Tracy called her mother a tart and began drinking as well as throwing herself at Deirdre ' s new boyfriend Doug Murray . Doug needed her to cash a cheque for two thousand pounds , but she would only agree if he took her out . Deirdre found out , made Tracy give the money back , and dumped Doug for causing her daughter to break the law . 1993 had been yet another bad year for Deirdre , and she left the Street in a hurry to attend to her mother Blanche , who had had a stroke . When Deirdre returned , she had plans to reunite with Ken , but was stunned to hear he was expecting a child with Denise Osbourne , which also caused further acting out from Tracy . With little keeping Deirdre in Weatherfield , she went to holiday in Morocco . Marriage to Samir Rachid . While in Morocco , Deirdre was charmed by a 21 - year old waiter she ' d met , Samir Rachid . She surprised her friends by borrowing money so Samir could visit her . He was so happy to be with her that he refused to return home . He got a job at a local restaurant and moved in with Deirdre ; when immigration saw their relationship as a scam , Deirdre proposed to him . Tracy and Ken were upset by their relationship , and when they married at the register office , Tracy fled fled from the wedding ceremony in tears . Immigration continued to doubt them , and so did most of Deirdre ' s friends . Samir felt more and more isolated and feared he would be deported to Morocco . Deirdre sold No . 1 to Mike and moved to Morocco with Samir . Tracy continued to spiral out of control while Deirdre was gone , climaxing in a drug overdose outside a nightclub . Deirdre and Samir rushed home , and learned Tracy had serious kidney damage and needed a transplant . Deirdre and Ken were not a match , but Samir was . Samir was nervous , but wanted to make Deirdre happy , so he agreed to the transplant . Unfortunately , on his way to the hospital he was brutally beaten by a gang of youths . By the time he was found , he was near death , and died soon after being rushed to the hospital . A devastated Deirdre agreed to let the transplant continue , but refused to see Tracy afterwards . She wished that Tracy had died instead of Samir . Tracy moved to Blackpool as Deirdre mourned her husband . Imprisonment : " Free The Weatherfield One " . Deirdre ' s relationship with Tracy remained strained , but she and Ken reunited to support Tracy ' s wedding to Robert Preston . When they had to find him after his stag do , old passions resurfaced and they fell into bed . Any further relationship was temporarily halted when Ken had to deal with custody of his son Daniel , and later extinguished on a more permanent basis when Deirdre caught Ken with Sue Jeffers , who had helped Ken save his teaching job . Deirdre told Ken she wanted nothing to do with him . Deirdre began a relationship with bogus ' airline pilot ' Jon Lindsay , who treated her to an extravagant lifestyle , but one which was funded by crime and deception . She remained oblivious to the truth about her boyfriend but she learned the hard way when she was falsely accused of fraud . Jon had implicated Deirdre in his numerous scams . He portrayed her as the brains behind the fraud but the reality was that she had known nothing about it . Deirdre was tried , convicted and sentenced to eighteen months in prison . When another of Lindsay ' s victims came forward , Deirdre was released and Jon was finally made to pay for his crimes . Reconciling with Ken Barlow . Deirdre ' s ordeal had caused her to become closer to Ken , and her mother Blanche , who moved in with Deirdre in 1999 , began matchmaking . The final push came when Ken and Deirdre worked to reconcile Tracy with her husband Robert . They realised how good they were together , and Deirdre and Blanche moved in with Ken . Their relationship still had tensions , as in 2000 , when Deirdre lost her job at Mike Baldwin ' s factory because he believed she was the source for Ken ' s negative articles on the factor ' s working conditions . Deirdre was soon vindicated , but she chose to remain at the corner shop , working for Dev Alahan . 2001 was a rocky year for the couple . Deirdre was upset with Ken ' s indulgence of his troubled son Peter , and a row between Ken and Peter led Deirdre to overhear that Ken ' s daughter Susan had not aborted Mike ' s child in 1988 , as everyone had assumed . Deirdre told Dev , who told Mike . In the December , Deirdre once again became dissatisfied with her life with Ken . After rowing with Ken and Peter , Deirdre slept with Dev . Afterwards , Dev rejected Deirdre and she subsequently kept her liaison a secret from Ken for over a year , until early 2003 , when Dev started dating her daughter Tracy . This prompted Deirdre to confess her fling to both Tracy and Ken , but Ken forgave her and the two subsequently lived happily together , dealing with the trials and tribulations of their children ' s turbulent love lives rather than their own . Eventually , Deirdre and Ken were engaged to be married again , and tied the knot in an episode on 8th April 2005 . Deirdre ' s ex - husband Ray Langton eventually returned to the Street in 2005 and announced that he was dying from cancer . He died at Deirdre and Ken ' s wedding reception held at the Rovers Return Inn . Mike ' s death . In spite of their occasional clashes , Mike Baldwin and Deirdre had remained close friends for over two decades after the end of their affair . Deirdre was upset when Mike developed Alzheimer ' s but was truly beside herself when she visited Mike and realised he no longer knew who she was . Mike died in Ken ' s arms on April 7 , 2006 . Deirdre was devastated and went into a deep mourning period , which annoyed Ken . Tracy ' s imprisonment . Deirdre had tried to support Tracy through Tracy ' s various schemes and lies , but in 2006 , she was very concerned when Tracy took up with Charlie Stubbs , who had psychologically broken her friend Bev Unwin ' s daughter Shelley . Tracy insisted she could tame Charlie , but problems hit early when Charlie told her that she would have to leave her daughter Amy behind if she wanted to move in with him . To make Charlie feel guilty , Tracy pretended to have an abortion , but this backfired when Deirdre learned of the abortion and was ashamed of herself as a mother for letting this happen to Tracy . Tracy told Deirdre the truth , and Charlie soon found out . Deirdre ' s need for honesty caused havoc again a few months later when Bev let slip to her that Shelley was pregnant with Charlie ' s baby . Deirdre felt she had no choice but to tell Tracy . All of this eventually led Tracy to her plan to make herself look like a battered woman and kill Charlie in self - defence . Deirdre and Ken all but bankrupted themselves for Tracy ' s legal fees , even mortgaging their home . Although Deirdre did her best to defend her daughter in court , she had been made aware of the truth about Charlie ' s death in an episode on 25th March 2007 , when Tracy explained that she had killed him in cold - blood . Consequently , she ended up having a panic attack in the witness box . Tracy blamed Deirdre for the collapse of her case . Tracy ' s fifteen year sentence devastated Deirdre and left her relationship with Ken on rocky grounds . Tracy asked her parents to fund her appeal , but both Deirdre and Ken were appalled that Tracy was more than willing to see them homeless in exchange for a chance to get out of prison and severed all contact with her . Denise returns . After weeks of turmoil at No . 1 Coronation Street , Ken offered Deirdre a shocking ultimatum . In the middle of a blazing row , he announced that if she left , he would be gone by the time she got back . True to his word , Ken Barlow left wife and began rebuilding a relationship with his son Daniel Osbourne , and the child ' s mother , Denise Osbourne . Deirdre , full of resentment , promised to confront Denise , and in an episode on 11th May 2007 matters came to a head . The pair rowed in front of an audience at the Rovers Return , an argument which resulted in Deirdre slapping her nemesis , who was then ushered out by Ken . Deirdre tried to mend her relationship with Ken and even apologised for her behaviour in the Rovers ' , but she failed to convince him to come back to her at that time . Since then Ken has since returned to No . 1 and reconciled with Deirdre . Class warfare and adultery . In 2008 , Ken , who had long ago put away his ambitions to be an author , felt like he had amounted to nothing , and he wrote a book about his life . Deirdre tried to support Ken ' s work , but she was disgusted when she read the pages , which amounted to a novel about a man who had wasted his life by marrying a woman far beneath him . Ken finally tried to soothe Deirdre by burning the book before it was ever published . Waters were temporarily calmed , with Deirdre spending much of her time caring for her mother Blanche and for Peter ' s young son Simon Barlow . However , Ken continued to find this life stifling , and in late 2008 , while walking Eccles , met a stage actress , Martha Fraser , who lived on a tugboat . Martha was everything Deirdre wasn ' t and Ken led her to believe he was widowed . They became very close , with Ken spending an increasing amount of time away from home . Deirdre believed Ken was only spending most of his time at the library . She was angry at Ken for not being enough help around the house , but she did not know the full extent of his neglect until after he had nearly left for good . He had written her a goodbye note , packed a bag , and planned to go away with Martha ( who now knew he was married ) , but changed his mind at the last minute . Peter insisted he tell Deirdre . Deirdre ' s response was that she never wanted the subject to be brought up again , but she was clearly angered by his betrayal , and took great pleasure in behaving in ways he saw as common , such as loudly singing along with pop songs on the radio or eating unhealthy food . In 2010 Deirdre received the sad news that her mother Blanche had died in her sleep while on holiday in Portugal . Later years . In late 2010 Deirdre had taken a job as receptionist at the Medical Centre , replacing Gail McIntyre who was recently fired for breaching patient confidentiality . In December she was delighted when Tracy was released early from prison as a forensics officer working on the murder of Charlie Stubbs was revealed to have faked their qualifications . Despite Tracy winding up the residents of the street upon her return , Deirdre had bit her tongue and stood by her . In late 2011 when Tracy lied about Becky McDonald ( Steve ' s ex - wife ) pushing her down the stairs and causing her miscarriage , Deirdre decided to keep Tracy ' s lies a secret when Tracy had threatened to kill herself . Deirdre asked Becky to leave Coronation Street , however Becky later revealed the truth with the help of her sister Kylie Platt on the day of Tracy ' s wedding to Steve , causing Steve to leave Tracy for her lies . After Ken had left for Canada to look after grandson Adam Barlow in July 2013 , Deirdre took a sort of role as head of the family in Ken ' s absence , and was a support to Peter when he had lost the bookies . She also took a dislike to Tracy ' s boyfriend Rob Donovan ( despite being fine with him before ) but later warmed to him when she realised that he had made Tracy happy and the pair got engaged in January 2014 . When Peter was arrested on suspicion of the murder of barmaid Tina McIntyre in July 2014 Deirdre had trouble telling Ken ( who was still residing in Canada at that point ) in fear of his reaction . When Ken had returned the following month , Deirdre told him the news which angered him , as he was deprived of the information his son was up for murder . However the couple had made up , and both went on a caravan holiday in Wales to sort their marriage . In October 2014 Deirdre had felt the stress of the situation with Peter ' s impending trial and during a family dinner had thrown the trifle across the room and broke down in tears . Feeling worried for her , Ken suggested Deirdre should take a break away from Weatherfield and assured her that he would be fine with Peter ' s trial . She had later left to visit her friend Bev Unwin . Deirdre didn ' t return for Tracy ' s ( failed ) wedding to Rob Donovan , or even after he was exposed as Tina ' s true killer . She later took an extended break with Bev when her brother had passed away . Ken went to visit Deirdre around the Christmas period . Death . Deirdre was due to return home in July 2015 and a party was laid on for her in the Rovers to celebrate both her homecoming and her 60th birthday , however Bev returned alone to break the sad news that Deirdre had passed away that morning while sitting on her patio in the sun , and that the cause was thought to be a brain aneurysm . Liz broke the news to the stunned regulars in the pub who were waiting to greet their friend . The aneurysm was subsequently confirmed as the cause of death , which was possibly down to her many years of chain - smoking . Ken also heard from Bev that Deirdre had been intending to return to him a few weeks earlier , but decided against it as she felt humiliated about Tracy ' s affair with Liz ' s boyfriend Tony Stewart . Deirdre ' s funeral was organised for the 13th July and many turned out to pay their respects , with Ken delivering the eulogy . Quotes . " I think it ' s about time somebody bought me another drink . " ( First line ) " Oh , Tracy ! " ( Quoted on several occasions ) " Ken . . . do something ! " ( Quoted on several occasions ) " Think of me as Switzerland in glasses . " ( to Carla Connor ) " Alright . I ' ll ring her . " ( Final line , to husband Ken )