Coronation Street viewers tonight were in for a shock as it was revealed fan-favourite character Ken Barlow (William Roache) was pushed down the stairs in an attempted murder, rather than falling due to suffering from another stroke as many of the Street’s residents initially thought.
William Roache as Ken Barlow in Coronation Street / Credit: ITV
But who tried to kill off one of the Street’s longest-serving characters and residents? Here we take a look at all of those in the frame…
Adam Barlow
Feeling pushed out by the family patriarch who Adam thinks cares more about his children than him, Adam and Ken have become completely estranged, with Ken burning Adam’s stash of cash. This has left Adam in danger because of drug dealer Ronan who has demanded the money back. Giving Adam a beating and leaving him in hospital, viewers thought Ken was turning over a new leaf in their relationship when he went to visit. Instead of being caring however, he told Adam it’d be better for everybody if he went back to live in Canada, and now as far as everybody else is concerned, that’s exactly where Adam has gone.
Daniel Osbourne
With an Oxford University offer on the table, but Sinead recently falling pregnant, Daniel has got a lot going through his mind. When Daniel finds out Sinead has had a miscarriage, his world is thrown into disarray, and when he then goes on to discover she actually had an abortion, a thick black cloud hangs over him. Trying to find peace in a book Ken gave him, the inscription inside one of them leaves him angrier than ever before. Leaving Sinead a phone message before he hads out, could Daniel have finally been tipped over the edge and given Ken a shove?
Pat Phelan
Recently accusing Phelan of doing a botched job on the Barlows kitchen, Ken is in the murderous builder’s bad books. Recently heard venting in the Rovers, he shocked both Todd and Billy with his personality switch. As it becomes clearer than ever to the residents of Coronation Street that Phelan cannot take criticism, could his previous crimes come to light? And could this be his latest?
Peter Barlow
Accusing Ken of wrecking his life and potentially going back to the bottle, Peter was close to tipping the scales back into his alcoholism, but smashed the bottle and left the flat before he was too tempted. Could Peter have attacked his father before packing his bags to leave Weatherfield again?
Tracy Barlow
Having previously killed her abusive boyfriend Charlie Stubbs, could Tracy have tried to kill her father? She’s got multiple motives, overhearing Ken ranting at Sinead about how his life was wasted with Deirdre and having an argument with Ken about how he puts his ‘real kids’ before Tracy and her daughter, Amy. Also finding his will at the Barlows, Tracy feels the world is against her; could she have been pushed to kill once more?
Sinead Tinker
Sinead and Daniel have had one of the rockiest relationships the Street has ever seen, and now amid a bombshell that saw Sinead get an abortion, could the young girl have been pushed to the end of her rope? Feeling the full force of Ken’s anger and being accused of being ‘nothing more than a factory girl’, she felt she had to go and have an abortion so that Daniel could go to Oxford. Now that her head is all over the place, Sinead could very likely be the one to have given Ken a shove.
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