On Friday, doting dad Peter Barlow made the devastating discovery that baby daughter Susie wasn’t his. Peter thinks the little girl is his and partner Toyah’s baby, born to a surrogate. But actually their surrogate, Jackie, lost their baby. Susie is, in fact, the daughter of Eva Price and her ex-fiance Aidan Connor. She and Toyah cooked up the plan when Eva found out she was expecting, and Toyah was desperate for a baby.
Toyah guilty finally got too much, and she blurted out the truth, to which he was naturally horrified and ended their relationship.
Peter, who saw Susie as a second chance to be a good parent, is obviously devastated. But how will he react?
Here’s a look back at the life and times of Peter Barlow…
Beginnings
Peter is the son of Street legend Ken Barlow. He was born on-screen, along with his twin sister Susan, in April 1965. He’s been played by seven actors, including Linus Roache, who’s the real-life son of Ken’s alter-ego, Bill Roache.
Chris Gascoyne has played Peter since 2000. His first episode was in the live episode for Corrie’s 40th anniversary. He said it was a nerve-racking way to arrive on the show.
Since then Peter’s been in and out of Corrie. He most recently returned in October 2016.
Peter’s got up to all sorts in his time in Weatherfield. Here are some of his biggest storylines…
Peter Barlow – the bigamist!
Peter was in a relationship with Rovers landlady Shelley Unwin when he met florist Lucy Richards. They had a fling, and Lucy later discovered she was pregnant. And then things got really out of hand!
Peter carried on his relationship with Shelley, who was now his fiancee, and also got engaged to Lucy. And in 2002 he married them both. He tied the knot with Lucy first, then with Shelley.
When the women discovered his cheating, they took over his betting shop.
Lucy told him she’d emigrate to Australia with son Simon if he made a fuss, so Peter reluctantly agreed and moved back to Portsmouth.
Peter Barlow – the cheat!
Peter, who was a recovering alcoholic, returned to the Street to bring up little Simon when Lucy died of cancer. He got together with Leanne Battersby but fell off the wagon, and started drinking again. He got close to Carla Connor – who was also struggling to control her drinking. In December 2010, in the live episode to celebrate Corrie’s 50th anniversary, Peter was trapped in rubble after a gas explosion and a tram crash. He was rushed to hospital, and because it looked like he wouldn’t survive, he and Leanne tied the knot on his deathbed.
Peter pulled through, but it wasn’t long before he was up to his old tricks. He helped Carla after she was raped by Frank Foster and the pair began a relationship.
He and Leanne split – and he and Carla got engaged.
But obviously he was soon cheating again, this time with Tina McIntyre. They even got jiggy at his wedding to Carla – what a rat! The affair was exposed when Tina was brutally murdered and Peter suspected of killing her.
Prison
Peter was arrested, charged and found guilty of killing Tina and sent to prison – where he met up with Jim McDonald. Jim was part of a ring smuggling booze into prison and Peter got involved. He ended up drinking all of Jim’s stash of booze – and was rushed off to hospital, where it looked like he wasn’t going to survive – again!
On his deathbed for the second time, he told Carla he thought she killed Tina and he’d take her secret to the grave. Carla realised that meant Peter was innocent and as he recovered – again – she exposed her brother, Rob, as the real murderer. When Peter was released, he went back to Portsmouth.
Peter and Toyah’s baby Susie drama
Peter returned to the Street in a romance with his ex-sister-in-law, Toyah Battersby. She was desperate for a baby and Peter agreed to have a tot with a surrogate. And that’s where this latest drama began…
Who is Chris Gascoyne?
Chris, 55, is not a fan of the limelight and stays away from the celebrity lifestyle. He is married to fellow actor Caroline Harding, and the couple have a daughter.
Back in 2016, Chris said his favourite time on the show had been the alcoholism storyline.
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“I couldn’t wait to get the next script,” he said back then. “Peter desperately loved Leanne and wanted to be there for Simon – but he couldn’t stop drinking.
“Then he set the flat on fire, Carla came along and he couldn’t resist. It was all just really exciting seat-of-the-pants kind of stuff.”
We reckon this latest baby drama is going to be up there in terms of excitement too! What do you think? Let us know by commenting on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix!