Dierdre Barlow, the bespectacled resident of No 1 Coronation Street, first appeared in the ITV soap on November 20, 1972, and was part of life on the Corrie cobbles for more than 40 years.
She was married to Ken, and had two children Tracy and Peter, and two grandchildren Simon and Amy, a relatively small family for soapland. But the story lines were anything but simple, with trysts and affairs both before and after she became the third Mrs Ken Barlow.
She might have often looked miserable on screen because of her storylines, but she had a happy-go-lucky streak when the cameras stopped rolling. We’ve delved into the archive to find great pictures from Anne Kirkbride’s time on the street.
In 1974, not long after joining, she’s just about visible in the back row, with those glasses
Coronation Street stars during a Christmas Party sequence at the Rovers Return, with actress Anne Kirkbride third from left on the back row (PA)
RIP Anne Kirkbride, @itvcorrie's Deirdre Barlow, who has sadly passed away. pic.twitter.com/y02DTHxlK0
— Stephanie Hirst (@hirstydose) January 19, 2015
In 1983, still looking fresh faced
Anne Kirkbride, in 1983, more than 10 years after joining (PA)
With the PYE Television Award in 1983
Anne Kirkbride with on-screen husband William Roache and on-screen lover Johnny Briggs (PA)
A permanent Weatherfield local, in 1992
Anne Kirkbride, Doris Speed and Bill Roache, with Ken Farrington and Alan Rothwell (Malcolm Croft/PA)
Meeting Michael Howard in that famous pinny in 2005
Home Secretary Michael Howard (second right) meeting Coronation Street actors Anne Kirkbride (second left) and William Roache (Martin Rickett/PA)
In 2009, embracing William Roache, her on-screen husband Ken Barlow
Anne hugging her on-screen husband Bill Roache (Dave Thompson/PA)
Greeting royalty in 2010
In 2010, of the Duchess of Cornwall meeting actors Beverley Callard (left), Anne Kirkbride (second right) and Ryan Thomas (Andrew Yates/PA)
