Kate Ford is one of Coronation Street's most legendary figures.
The 46-year-old soap star has played Tracy Barlow on the Cobbles since 2002. Kate took over the role from Dawn Acton and quickly became one of Weatherfield's most notorious villains.
She caused havoc on the ITV show and was involved in high profile storylines with characters such as Roy Cropper and Charlie Stubbs. Tracy's character has mellowed over recent years as she has tried to be a supportive mum to Amy Barlow.
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Tracy become embroiled in Daisy Midgeley's wedding plans this week as the character, played by Charlotte Jordan, attempted to save her big day. Daisy reluctantly asked Tracy to be the florist in Friday's episode, which sparked her manipulative ways to come back to the fore as she agreed on the condition her and Amy can be bridesmaids.
However, Kate has previously told Mirror Online in 2015 how she doesn't consider her character to evil even though she often finds herself in unpleasant situations. She said: "I think she’s a sociopath really, she doesn’t have the empathy that most people have. But we do see the human side of her, I don’t think the character would have lasted so long if she was just a baddie. People wouldn’t believe her. She’s never boring, I’m really lucky."
Away from the screen, Kate's life is fortunately less tumultuous than her on-screen counterpart's. The soap star has previously revealed how she lives in South London with her son, Otis, who she shares with producer, Jon Connerty.
The two have since separated and Kate lives on a road next to some celebrity neighbours. She said in 2015: "Last year, I spent [Christmas] with Kate Thornton at her house and she made the most ridiculous amount of food I've ever seen in my life.
"We live on the same street in London and our boys are really good friends. We're so close, in and out of each other's houses all the time."
Kate shares insights from her life on Instagram and recently revealed she has welcomed a new addition to the family home. Kate shared a snap of her adorable pet cat alongside the caption: "Our new family member, we are in love ...#SirWalter."
However, Kate has also been open on the social media about some of her struggles as she revealed she suffers with endometriosis. She took to Instagram last year and said she was in pain while filming Corrie.
She said: "Filming #itvcorrie this was a few weeks ago at a time that I was struggling with my #endrometriosis.
"Luckily got lots of support x just sending a hug out to all those struggling with similar [heart emoji]."Kate has grade four endometriosis which is the severe stage of the condition, where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
In June 2020, during the first lockdown, Kate tweeted: "As someone with grade four endometriosis I realise how much I rely on my massage therapy to help with this. Due to Covid I’ve not been able to visit my therapist for three months. My body is sore I’ll never take this therapy for granted again xx"
Kate's first taste of the limelight surprisingly came in a Beatles video as she appeared in the release of Free As A Bird in December in 1995. The song was originally written and recorded in 1977 as a home demo by John Lennon.
Kate can be seen during a 1960s street scene, which was the start of an impressive career in TV. Kate is mainly known for her role as Tracy but she has also appeared in shows such as Blue Murder and Missing.
Kate has previously said how much she enjoys her role on Coronation Street and doesn't seem to have any intentions of quitting her role. She said: "It’s good for me to be at Corrie now, I have good work, and good scripts, and I don’t want to lose that. When you don’t have young children it’s easier to make braver choices, but I’m not saying this is an easy option, it’s hard work, and I really enjoy it.
"I’m not a particularly ambitious person. I’m not one of those people who thinks ‘by this time I want to have done this and that’, the idea of that freaks me right out. Life’s too complicated."
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