Reaching out
eter Barlow’s return may have gone down like a bacon butty at a Jewish wedding, but that doesn’t stop him from sticking around and trying to make amends, especially with Ken. His dad’s in hospital following his stroke and is struggling to speak – although that may come as a blessing to those who’ve been bored to tears by him bleating on about books.
Peter’s homeless at the start of the week, thanks to Tracy, but that changes when Steve invites him to stay at the Rover’s.
His bed and board sorted, he pays Ken a visit, who finds comfort in his son being around. ‘Ken always sees the best in Peter – not that there’s much of that,’ says William Roache, who plays Ken.
Tracy is trickier to build bridges with. She blames her brother for Ken’s stroke, and says as much to
PKen’s glad to see Peter – but for how long? Simon. Peter tries to redeem himself by begging to help out, and follows Tracy’s orders that he phones round the family and breaks the news of Ken’s condition.
As Peter makes inroads, over at Weathy General meanwhile, Ken’s not faring so well. Being unable to communicate is tough, and when Peter and Simon row at his bedside in front of Audrey, he’s frustrated that he can’t intervene. His anger boils over when Simon insists they do a crossword, and Ken orders his grandson to leave.
To make matters worse, his doctor tells him he has aphasia, a brain condition which causes people to make mistakes with words – choosing the wrong one, putting them in the wrong order and so on. Peter’s there at the time and a devastated Ken sends him packing, adding that he doesn’t want any more visitors. Will he ever get back to his old self ?
Peter tries to build bridges with Ken
Wednesday – she’s been officially discharged from the clinic. It’s not the only thing that puts a smile on her face. She later asks Gary to meet her in the ginnel and, after apologising for all her mixed messages, proceeds to snog the face off him. Is this the start of something serious?