Simon Barlow Simon John Barlow ( né Richards ) is the son of Peter and Lucy Barlow . After living in Australia for the first few years of his life , he returned to Weatherfield with his father following his mother ' s death from cancer . Biography . 2003 : Birth . Simon was conceived as a result of an affair between Lucy Richards and Peter Barlow . Peter was engaged to Shelley Unwin but secretly married Lucy shortly before Simon ' s birth , claiming to have broken up with Shelley . Lucy discovered that not only had Peter lied , he had also entered into a bigamous marriage with Shelley . After the conflicts with Peter , Lucy decided to move to Australia with Simon , while Peter moved to Portsmouth , believing he would never see Simon again . At an unknown point , Lucy and Simon returned to the United Kingdom , though Peter was not informed . 2008 : Return to Weatherfield . In October 2008 , Lucy died of breast cancer . Shortly before her death , she told Peter she wanted him to take Simon . Peter returned to Weatherfield , bringing Simon with him . Simon and his father moved in with Ken and Deirdre Barlow , and while Peter was originally reluctant to raise his son , he changed his mind when he found that Lucy had left him everything in her will on the proviso that he raised Simon . Peter then purchased the local bookmaker ' s shop , and moved into the upstairs flat at 9a Rosamund Street - with Simon . Upon starting Bessie Street School on 1st December 2008 , Simon befriended fellow Street infant , Joshua Peacock . On 19th December 2008 , he was upset when Peter arrived at his Nativity play heavily drunk . He stayed with his grandparents for the night saying , " I don ' t like it when Daddy shouts " . At Christmas time , Peter was allowed to have Simon back at their home when Peter insisted that he should stop drinking alcohol for Simon ' s sake . In early 2009 , Peter drunkenly set fire to his flat trapping him and Simon inside before being rescued by Luke Strong and Tony Gordon . Peter started a relationship with Leanne Battersby shortly after his return to Weatherfield who Simon saw as a mother figure . Although she moved to Leeds after Peter cheated on her , she eventually returned and resumed her relationship with Peter in September 2009 , much to Simon ' s delight On 6th December 2010 , Simon was trapped in 13 Coronation Street after a fire , which was an after - effect of a tram crashing off the viaduct and into the Corner Shop . Simon was playing hide and seek when this happened . He was hiding in a closet and was rescued by Jason Grimshaw . Peter and Leanne married shortly after this incident . Peter and Leanne ' s marriage broke down in early 2012 and their feuding had an effect on Simon , causing him to drink a bottle of wine and land himself in hospital . Peter let Simon move in with Leanne and her new boyfriend ( and later husband ) Nick Tilsley , at 8 Victoria Court , as it was clear he preferred it there . However , when Leanne and Nick ' s marriage also broke down , Leanne and half - sister Eva Price reached a tenancy agreement with Dev Alahan and now rent 18a Victoria Street ( the flat above Prima Doner ) . In November 2013 , Simon found himself bullied by Grace Piper and Faye Windass . After being paid by Tracy Barlow to walk Eccles and look after Simon and Amy Barlow , the pair caused chaos at No . 1 upon their return , going through Tracy ' s clothes and smashing a vase . A frightened Amy ran upstairs but Grace pinned Simon down and with the help of Faye , they forced him into one of Amy ' s dresses and covered his face in make - up . Not being humiliated enough , the pair videoed the incident . Simon managed to escape and fled to Nick ' s Bistro for Leanne ' s help . The video eventually got around Weatherfield High , and made its way to Bessie Street School as some pupils acquired it from older relations at the school . In September 2014 , Simon started at Weatherfield High . He was distraught when his father was found guilty of murdering Tina McIntyre and requested that he wanted his name changed back to Richards . However Peter was eventually cleared when Rob Donovan was revealed as the real culprit . Simon felt guilty for believing his father was a killer and was even upset when Peter took the decision to leave Weatherfield for Portsmouth once more . Simon had a heart - to - heart with his father , and even stepmother Carla promised that she would run him down to Portsmouth to see Peter any time . 2015 : Violent streak . Simon was living with Leanne and her boyfriend Kal Nazir , when Kal died in a fire during June 2015 . Shortly after these events , Simon began to show anger problems . This escalated into violence and rebellion , when he threw a remote control at Leanne and became drunk with his friends in the bistro . Any attempt Leanne made to discipline him would result in an aggressive response , leading to an incident where Simon cut his arm and Leanne being hospitalised after she was thrown against a table . Leanne kept quiet about Simon ' s aggression and temporarily sent him to stay with his dad . Eventually , she began to open up to friends , and when Simon hit cousin Amy during an argument , Leanne admitted to Ken what had been going on . Simon was sent to counselling . In February 2016 , Simon broke another boy ' s leg in a football match . Leanne decided she had no choice but to report his abuse to the police out of fear of what he could do next . Simon refused to speak to her , as it later transpired that the boy ' s injury was an accident . Soon afterwards , they made up . Quotes . " Tired " ( First line ) " Don ' t worry , this happens every year . " ( to Max Turner when his mother , Kylie Platt drunkenly arrives for the school ' s nativity play )