Coronation Street legend Tracy Barlow could be quitting to cobbles to follow her heart to Spain but as Kate Ford could be on the move what happened to the actress, Dawn Acton, who played the character when she was a teenage

Coronation Street fans have been left reeling after fan favourite Tracy Barlow could be set to quit the cobbles – 47 years after the character was first introduced.

Tracy, played by Kate Ford, had been having a secret affair with Tommy Orpington, which left husband, Steven McDonald devastated when he found out. Recently, it’s been Tracy’s turn to be brokenhearted when she discovered that Tommy would be leaving Weatherfield to start his new job as a football coach in Spain.

Tracy could be leaving the cobbles to join her new squeeze in sunny Spain. In spoilers for next week, Steve reads the letter from Tommy inviting Tracy to move to Spain with him and hides it. Meanwhile, over lunch in the Bistro, Tracy admits to Amy that she misses having a man in her life.

Later, Steve returns home and is taken aback to find Tracy there and as he reaches into his pocket for Tommy’s letter, he stops in his tracks when Tracy announces she’d like them to get back together. Tracy assures Steve that Tommy was a stupid mistake and promises she’s back for good.

In the mood to celebrate, Steve heads out for a celebratory bottle of wine but upon revealing that he’s back with Tracy, Dev Alahan is left horrified and refuses to serve him. Instead, Steve suggests they go to the pub and as Tracy heads to the Rovers, he wastes no time in burning Tommy’s letter in a bid to save their marriage.

However, later in the week, it appears Tracy might learn of Tommy’s letter as spoilers reveal she heads home for the last of her things ahead of a move to Spain and admits to Ken, Amy and Daniel how much she’s going to miss them. Wanting to toast Tracy off in style, Ken suggests a farewell drink in the Rovers.

Kate is the second actress to play the iconic character and the first to walk in Tracy’s shoes was Dawn Acton, who originally joined Coronation Street aged 11 in 1988, taking up the role of the troubled teenager. Her storylines at the time focused on her relationship with her mother, Deirdre, played by Anne Kirkbride, with Tracy becoming resentful of her mother’s rocky marriage with her husband, Ken Barlow, in 1995.

Dawn ended up leaving the show in 1999. She auditioned for her old role when Tracy returned in 2003, with Kate Ford going on to secure the gig instead. Despite not returning to the cobbles, the former actress has fallen in love with her new career paths, going on to volunteer for the charity Beanstalk, which teaches children to read.

However, later in the week, it appears Tracy might learn of Tommy’s letter as spoilers reveal she heads home for the last of her things ahead of a move to Spain and admits to Ken, Amy and Daniel how much she’s going to miss them. Wanting to toast Tracy off in style, Ken suggests a farewell drink in the Rovers.

Kate is the second actress to play the iconic character and the first to walk in Tracy’s shoes was Dawn Acton, who originally joined Coronation Street aged 11 in 1988, taking up the role of the troubled teenager. Her storylines at the time focused on her relationship with her mother, Deirdre, played by Anne Kirkbride, with Tracy becoming resentful of her mother’s rocky marriage with her husband, Ken Barlow, in 1995.

Dawn ended up leaving the show in 1999. She auditioned for her old role when Tracy returned in 2003, with Kate Ford going on to secure the gig instead. Despite not returning to the cobbles, the former actress has fallen in love with her new career paths, going on to volunteer for the charity Beanstalk, which teaches children to read.

According to The Sun, in 2016, Dawn admitted her work is ‘rewarding’. She said: “Obviously I do miss working in Corrie but I do find the work I do now very rewarding. The fact is I believe everyone should have the chance to learn to read. I still do DJing but I like volunteering for Beanstalk as I supported children to read about things they were interested in and for them to be able to get enjoyment from it.

“When my son was young, and I wasn’t working as much through the day I had some time on my hands, and I love reading and it’s all about trying to help children understand that reading isn’t necessarily a chore. As for her music career, she told Christine Lampard on Lorraine in 2019: “Oh I love my music, I’ve been DJing for over 15 years now. I love my live gigs.”

But Dawn hasn’t forgotten her time on the soap, paying a heartfelt tribute to her on-screen mother, Anne Kirkbride, when she passed away in 2015. Dawn said: “She was always so great with kids and she just had a really funny sense of humour, we got on immediately and had lots of fun together. She did see me grow up and she was always really supportive.”