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Frank Barlow was introduced as the pipe-smoking head of the Barlow family in the very first episode of the Street in 1960. Frank resented the way his son Ken thought himself superior to them, and there was friction between the pair when Ken returned home from university. However, all their problems were put aside by the end of 1961 when they found themselves living alone. David had left the Street in the Summer to begin a new football career, and in September the Street was met with the news that Ida had perished under the wheels of a bus.
Ida's untimely death was a shock for Frank, who took out his frustrations on Ken and told him he was nothing but a disappointment when he learned that Ken was out of work. Of course they patched their differences soon enough like always and learned to cope together rather than on their own.
In early 1963, Frank found love once again when his friendship with widow Christine Appleby became something more. Their short-lived affair slipped into an engagement and shocked the neighbours, especially as Christine went to school with Frank's eldest son Ken. Eventually the romance ended when the age difference became too much and Christine realised her feelings for him were not as strong as his.
Frank recovered from his disastrous relationship with Christine by starting a fresh and quitting his job at the Post Office to open a DIY shop on Victoria Street. The new venture was a complete success but had to close due to fire damage later in the year. In 1964, Frank won £500 on the premium bonds and chose to leave the Street for a new life in Wilmslow. He sold the shop and celebrated his farewell in the Rovers, the night Martha Longhurst died. He had left the street two weeks later without saying goodbye to Ken.
He made two visits to the street, once in 1967 when Ken refused to pay a fine and instead to go to prison, and then in 1971 when he arrived for his daughter-in-Law, Valerie's funeral.
Frank died sometime before April 1975 from natural causes.
Read more about this topic: Frank Barlow (Coronation Street)