Guest Author - Pam Lawrence

As Tracy Barlow heads off to jail, her mum Deidre must be having a nasty sense of déjà vu. It's been nine years since 'sexy specs', as she used to be so fondly known by the British public, made the long walk down from the dock. Only difference is, Deidre was set up, where her daughter is guilty as sin.

Deidre Hunt/Langton/Barlow/Rachid/Barlow joined Corrie as a young 'dollybird' with a line as an extra way back in 1972. Her life on the street, as portrayed by the truthful and marvellous Anne Kirkbride, has been a series of back to back blistering drama- from her part in the most watched love triangle on telly, her fling and marriage to the tragic toyboy Samir, to her wrongful imprisonment in 1998.

The tangled mess that led to Deidre's dramatic downfall began in 1997. If you remember, our lass thought her luck had changed following Samir's death when she became manageress of Sunliners travel agency, and then met the suave Jon Lindsay.

Lindsay cut quite a dash in his pilot's outfit, and Deidre was absolutely smitten. Not long after, it was good old Ken who spied Lindsay working behind the counter in a tie shop. So much for the glamorous life. Although the former Mrs Barlow took some convincing, she eventually had to believe that Jon was nothing but a sham.

Well, of course, it should have ended there, but this is Coronation Street after all, and girls don't always make, let's say, the right choices. Deidre ends up actually moving in with the slimy git, to a posh house in Didsbury.

The plot darkens as Deidre finds out Lindsay is married with kids, tries to retrieve money she loaned him, and finds herself at the middle of a huge fraud case. The bottom line: Lindsay had actually stolen another guy's identity, credit, etc. and walks free as a mere 'accessory'. Poor old Deidre is sent down as 17.44 million viewers draw a collective gasp, and the campaign to free the Weatherfield One gathers steam.

Across the country, and even amid the hallowed column inches of the Times newspaper, the nation clamours for her freedom. Stickers are issued, T shirts made. The Daily Mail is alone in proclaiming the country has lost its collective mind in a frenzy of “mass madness”. Even the new Prime Minister, Tony Blair, obviously in an attempt to endear himself to a Corrie addicted nation, brings Home Secretary Jack Straw in on the act, and Deidre's plight gets a mention during question time in the Commons.

After only three weeks in the slammer, Deidre walks free, as another woman conned by the creepy 'pilot' comes forward, but it's pretty unlikely her demonic daughter Tracy will do the same. 'Tracy luv's' confirmed guilt is just the beginning of another hard road for the 'pillar of the Street' and the culmination of a dramatically murderous storyline which has included some unparalleled acting.