Fans of Coronation Street were surprised last month when Tracy McDonald - nee Barlow - appeared surprisingly level-headed when her daughter Amy told her she had been raped by her friend Aaron Sandford. However, true to form and never one to shy away from drama, she caused a ruckus earlier this week.
The ITV soap character, played by Kate Ford, plastered posters across the street as she demanded action after feeling Amy's report wasn't taken seriously by police. Tracy then headed to the police station where she started her own protest, gluing her hand to the reception desk after DS Swain tried to get her to leave. When the officer warned her that she’ll end up in a cell if her behaviour continued, she asserted that she'd be staying put and pulled out the bottle of superglue.
Over the years viewers have seen the force of nature that is Tracy in all sorts of storylines. It wasn't until 2002 that the current actress Kate picked up the role of the divisive character. The 46-year-old, from Salford, has been in the role ever since and in those 20 years has seen Tracy kill her ex Charlie Stubbs in cold blood and drug Roy Cropper before faking they had slept together, later finding out she was pregnant after her one-night-stand with Steve McDonald.
Kate told Mirror Online in 2015 how she doesn't consider her character to be 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."
Of course Kate wasn't the first person to play Tracy. The daughter of Deirdre and Ray Langton, and the adoptive daughter of Ken Barlow, was born on-screen in an episode in January 1977. The character was portrayed by Christabel Finch until late 1983, before Holly Chamarette took on the character from mid-1985 to 1988, with Dawn Acton following in the 90s.
Kate actually had a taste of the spotlight at the age of 19 when she starred in the music video for The Beatles' song Free as a Bird in 1995, where she can be seen during a 1960s street scene. She then picked up small parts in shows including one-episode stints on EastEnders and Doctors, before becoming the fourth actress to play Tracy.
Away from the ITV soap, Kate has had to endure her own trials and tribulations, including when her marriage to TV producer Jon Connerty broke down. The couple, who share one son together, Otis, married in 2007 before divorcing in 2015.
In an interview with The Sun, the mum-of-one said that the separation was "incredibly painful", but acting helped her to move on. "When Jon and I first parted it was quite hard to put my personal life aside," she explained.
"We really tried hard to make it work. But it came to the point when we knew we had to get a divorce. Things had changed and it wasn't what it was. But it was incredibly painful. For a while after we split, I found it hard to get out of bed.
"I wasn't at work at the time, and I'd drop Otis off at school and go back to bed until I picked him up. But then it became therapeutic to concentrate on my job. People call it 'Doctor Theatre' - when you're acting, you can't worry about things."
The actress had previously dated BAFTA-nominated actor Bart Ruspoli, who had a brief stint on EastEnders, for a short while in 2000. And the pair are still friends as last year, Bart's now-wife Vanessa Ruspoli shared the snap of the former couple, taken when they were in a relationship, before the soap star decided to repost it on her own page.
She wrote: "I love this!! When your ex’s wife posts a celebratory photo of you and her husband (I love them both) from 1997 you realise how life can (sometimes) come full circle in gorgeous ways you at one point, couldn’t imagine xx."
Despite working on Corrie in Salford, the soap star has previously revealed how she lives in South London. Kate has shared with her followers that she has an "obsession with orange decor" with elements of the bright colour spotted in her living room. Kate also often shares selfies from her impeccably tidy white bedroom.
She also has a celebrity neighbour. She's revealed how she lives close to presenter Kate Thornton and the pair are regularly seen in snaps together on nights out. She said in 2015: "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."
Meanwhile, the soap star also battles an illness behind the scenes. Kate suffers from endometriosis - an often painful disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus grows outside the uterus.
She opened up to her Instagram followers last year, sharing a selfie in her ITV filming jacket. Writing to her thousands of followers, Kate said: "Filming #itvcorrie this was a few weeks ago at a time that I was struggling with my #endrometriosis.
She added: "Luckily got lots of support x just sending a hug out to all those struggling with similar," followed by a red love heart. Kate had previously mentioned her endometriosis during the first coronavirus lockdown in 2020, when she 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 shares other 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."
READ NEXT:
- Ant McPartlin scolds Alison Hammond 'you're talking nonsense' as she makes remark about him and Dec on ITV This Morning
- ITV Emmerdale's Nicky star Lewis Cope's life - family of 14, dancing career and link to David Beckham
- Myleene Klass sparks concern from fans before being asked 'how' as she recreates iconic I'm A Celebrity look in tiny bikini on birthday
- Paddy McGuinness swears in meltdown after hitting back at 'unsupportive' Coleen Nolan on Celebrity Bake Off
- Carol Vorderman channels the Easter Bunny in tight leather display after teasing 'brutal' I'm A Celebrity stint
