Sarah Louise Barlow (nee Tilsley, previously Grimshaw and Platt) is the daughter of Brian Tilsley and Gail Platt and the sister of Nick Tilsley and David Platt and mother of Bethany Platt. She is played by Tina O'Brien.
Biography[]
1987–2007[]
Sarah in February 1988 on the first birthday.
Sarah was born on the 2nd February 1987 to Brian and Gail Tilsley. Her father Brian was murdered two years later, although Sarah was too young to properly remember him. When Gail began dating Martin Platt Sarah looked up to him as a father. She later gained a half-brother David after Gail fell pregnant to Martin in 1990.
In 1999 she slept with Neil Fearns, a boy at her school. When Sarah began gaining weight Gail took her to the doctor, and the pair were horrified to discover that she was pregnant at 13! The Fearns family were not involved due to Gail's wishes and Sarah gave birth to a baby girl named Bethany in June 2000, with her family being the providers.
Sarah along with her family were kidnapped by her psychotic stepfather Richard Hillman who drove them all into the canal. But thankfully they survived, whilst Richard perished after drowning to death. Later in the year Sarah learned that Neil had died in an accident and took Bethany to the funeral, where she met Neil's mother Brenda Fearns. Brenda began visiting Bethany but the death of Neil took a toll on her sanity and she threatened to jump off the church roof with Bethany claiming they will reunite with Neil in Heaven. Emily Bishop talked Brenda out of the suicide bid and Sarah reunited with her daughter, whilst Brenda was taken away in an ambulance.
Sarah dated Todd Grimshaw and became pregnant to his child. But she discovered that Todd was gay after he attempted to kiss her brother Nick. She then broke off with Todd, which caused a feud between Gail and Todd's mother Eileen. Sarah went into labour early and her son Billy passed away shortly after birth. During the funeral Todd wasn't invited, although he secretly visited Billy's grave after the other mourners left. Sarah got revenge on Todd by sleeping with his brother Jason Grimshaw. Todd later left the street to practice law in London.
Sarah dated Jason but they broke up after he escaped out of the bathroom window on their wedding day. They later reconciled and got engaged again, with the intent to marry in 2007. But her demonic brother David wanted to ruin Sarah's life and postponed the wedding as he caused Jason to fall from scaffolding and injure himself. David also caused Bethany to take ecstasy as he stashed them in her doll when looking after it for his mate Darryl Morton. Bethany survived the incident but David was banished from the household, as Gail had enough of defending him.
On Sarah's wedding day she discovered a voicemail left by David claiming he was going to commit suicide. Sarah promptly deleted the message, believing that David was bluffing to ruin the day. During her wedding David drove his car into the same canal Richard tried to finish the family off in years prior, and disappeared. Police searched the canal but couldn't uncover a body, only the car. David later turned up at the household in the evening soaking wet and shaken, and the family forgave David after his "suicide attempt". But Sarah saw through the act and knew David had done it just to ruin her day, which he partially succeeded. Sarah went on her honeymoon with Jason, refusing to show sympathy to David's plight.
In December 2007 her uncle Stephen Reid visited. Sarah was appalled when Stephen offered David an opportunity to work at his business in Milan, feeling it was unfair after all he had done. Sarah managed to get her hands on drugs and planted them in the salon, which made it look like David was the culprit. It worked as the family believed David was up to his own tricks and Stephen refused to give him the job. Sarah was offered the position and she looked forward to a new life in Milan with Jason and Bethany. But when waiting at the airport Jason discovered that Sarah planted the drugs. Although Sarah tried to convince Jason that it was the right thing to do after all David had done, he refused to go with her. Sarah and Bethany then boarded their flight alone and for their new life away from Weatherfield.
Between 2007 and 2015[]
Gail and Audrey would frequently visit Sarah and Bethany in Milan, with known trips occurring in 2008 and 2009. Jason hoped to reunite with Sarah in 2008, but this didn't happen, and the pair ended up divorcing in 2010.
2015–[]
In March 2015 a fourteen-year old Bethany returned to Weatherfield alone, having grown bored of her life in Milan. Sarah followed her in another flight and made an unexpected arrival at No.8, where she ordered Bethany to come back. Bethany refused, so Sarah decided to stick around and moved back into the house - which was now owned by her brother David. Sarah grew attracted to David's rival Callum Logan, whose son Max Turner was being looked after by David. Due to her attraction to Callum and spending time with him she neglected her work for Stephen, which resulted in Sarah being fired when she forgot to send an important document to Stephen. Due to losing her job Sarah remained in Weatherfield.
Behind the Scenes[]
- Tina O'Brien was sixteen years old when she took over the part as 12 year old Sarah Louise Platt in 1999. Despite the age gap, O'Brien was a rare instance when she actually looked the age of the character she was playing. Having an older actress allowed the producers to carry out mature storylines for a teenage Sarah, such as her finding out she was pregnant at the age of 13 in 2000. Sarah would be involved in high profile storylines such as being groomed online, ending up in a car accident, kidnapped by her killer stepfather Richard Hillman, and losing her child after giving birth.
- O'Brien quit the role of Sarah in 2007 after eight years in order to try out other things. Sarah departed the show in December 2007 along with her sister Bethany, although made two voice appearances the following month after her exit. Sarah would frequently be mentioned in the following years, with Gail and Audrey mainly going to visit her.
- O'Brien returned to the show in 2015 after eight years.
Appendices[]
List of addresses[]
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Employment history[]
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Memorable Information[]
Appearances: 2 Feb 1987–30 Dec 2007, 4–5 Jan 2008 (voice), 30 Mar 2015–present
Parents: Gail Rodwell (mother), Brian Tilsley (biological father; deceased), Martin Platt (adoptive father)
Siblings: Nick Tilsley, David Platt
Children: Bethany Platt (2000), Billy Platt (2004; deceased), Harry Platt (2016)
Spouse(s): Jason Grimshaw (2007–2010), Adam Barlow (2020–)