User:Raintheone/Sandbox 2

Janet
Ken later begins a marries Janet, however their relationship was short lived. There was no build up to their marriage, rather Ken returned from Scotland and introduced Janet as his wife. The storyline's fast pace angered Roache; he once stressed: "I was very cross about the whole thing. There was no wedding, she just arrived, no build-up to it. It was just like an idea that was shoved in. I wasn't happy." The storyline was also unpopular with viewers who did not approve of them. Janet was already an unpopular character by then, because of her previous affairs with two other Coronation Street males. Barker said Janet was often perceived as treating Ken unfairly a nd she openly showed her dislike for his children and sent them to boarding school. The situation saw Ken realise he was in a "loveless marriage" - whilst feeling lonley and presuming she was his last chance of happiness. The breakdown of their marriage was accomnied by what one time script writer Daran Little called "a series of spectacular rows" seeing Ken become violent towards Janet.(DARAN LITTLE PAGE 116)

Janet and Ken split in 1974 and Barker filmed on and off for a few years as Janet would return to be with Ken. In late 1976 Barker was asked to reprise the role for a final time. On-screen in 1977 Janet returned and asked Ken for another chance, claiming she had changed. Upon rejection she commits suicide by taking an overdose. Barker recalled the "exhausting" scenes she and Roach filmed and said there was substantial "dramatic tracking" scenes as Ken discovered her dead in bed. Ken was described as "shattered" and "remoseful" by the death of Janet and felt guilty over the fact he did not try to help her more. To worsen his situation he was initially suspected of murdering her.(DARRAN LITTLE PAGE 137 & 138)