Kate Ford

Kate Connerty (née Ford) (born 29 December 1977) is an English actress best known for playing the role of Tracy Barlow in the long-running ITV soap operaCoronation Street from 2002 to 2007. Kate returned to Coronation Street on Christmas Eve 2010.

Ford was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. She attended Queen Elizabeth School in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria and Blackpool and The Fylde College, Lancashire. She later trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art

In 2002, Connerty appeared in a spin-off episode of the popular BBC1 soap opera EastEnders which revolved around the characters of Ricky Butcher andBianca Jackson.

Connerty took on the role of Tracy Barlow in Coronation Street in 2002. She is the fourth actress to play the role of Tracy Barlow after Christabel Finch played her from her birth in 1977 to 1985, with Holly Chamarette taking over from 1985 to 1988 and Dawn Acton playing the role from 1988 to 1999. Connerty brought a darker side to the character in the programme, making her more "bitchy" than the simply misunderstood girl the other actresses portrayed.

In 2004 and 2005, Connerty was awarded a British Soap Award for "Best Bitch" for her work on Coronation Street and around the same time appeared in a high-profile poster campaign for PETA. In 2007, she was awarded two British Soap Awards, one for Best Actress and another for "Best Storyline", which was shared with Samia Smith and Bill Ward. Connerty left Coronation Street after her contract expired in April 2007.[1]  In June 2007, she filmed her first role after leaving Coronation Street, as Adele in Blue Murder, a detective drama.[2]

She married TV producer Jon Connerty on 13 October 2007.[3]  She gave birth to a son, Otis James Roger Connerty, in June 2008.[4]

Kate Connerty is a strong supporter and active campaigner of the Anti Fur Trade in China. She participates in the Peta' campaign "boycott all fur"[5]  She is also a supporter of the Green Party of England and Wales.

Kate and Jon now live in West Dulwich SE21, South London.It was announced in January 2010 that Ford would be returning to Coronation Street on a permanent basis in 2010.