Steven Arnold played Ashley between 1995 and 2010.

By Stefania Sarrubba

Published: Tuesday, 31 January 2023 at 12:00 am

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Played by Steven Arnold, Ashley Peacock was a fixed presence on Coronation Street ever since the mid-1990s.

Before his last appearance in December 2010, the character was involved in a double paternity storyline, both as a son looking for his biological parents and as a father.

But who was Ashley Peacock and what happened to him? Read on for the low-down on the beloved Corrie character.

Who is Ashley Peacock?

Introduced in February 1995, Ashley grew up believing his biological parents were Sam and Beryl Peacock (Anny Tobin), a childless couple who had raised him since he was very young.

For most of his life, the character was also unaware that his ‘uncle’ Fred Elliott (John Savident) was actually his biological father. The two maintained a good relationship, with Fred always looking out for Ashley and employing him at his butcher shop.

In 1997, Ashley began a relationship with Maxine Heavey (Tracy Shaw). However, the two broke up after he developed feelings for Zoe Tattersall (Joanne Froggatt), a homeless teenager Maxine had taken in.

Ashley and Zoe embarked on a short-lived romance, with him helping her regain custody of her daughter Shannon. The child’s death, due to meningitis, cast a shadow over their relationship and Zoe ran off with a religious cult shortly afterwards.

1999 was a pretty eventful year for Ashley. He discovered the truth about Fred being his biological father, and the two men forged a closer bond once Ashley moved past the initial disbelief. This revelation led him to know more about his mother, Kathleen Gutteridge (Elizabeth Rider), and how she had rejected him when he was a baby.

That same year, the butcher reconciled with Maxine and the two got married.

What happened to Ashley Peacock?

Ashley and Maxine struggled to conceive, with him undergoing fertility treatment.

On the night of his surgery, a drunken Maxine slept with local GP Matt Ramsden (Stephen Beckett). She discovered she was pregnant shortly afterwards, casting doubts on the baby’s parentage.

When Ashley found out about Maxine’s affair, the shock induced her labour and she was rushed to the hospital where baby Joshua was born prematurely. After debating whether to take a DNA test, Ashley realised Maxine was genuinely sorry for having slept with Matt and decided not to take the test, raising Joshua as his own.

Their domestic bliss was tragically interrupted when Maxine was murdered by Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) in 2003, leaving a grief-stricken Ashley raising Joshua alone.

But grief doesn’t last very long in soapland and Ashley hired Claire Casey (Julia Haworth) as a nanny the following year, falling in love with her. The couple tied the knot on Christmas Day in 2004 and welcomed a baby, Freddie, in 2006.

That same year, Ashley’s father Fred had a stroke and died, leaving the butcher shop to his son.

Ashley and Claire managed to keep afloat despite some financial difficulties. After deciding to move to France for a fresh start in 2010, Ashley was killed in a tram crash, ultimately being crushed when The Joinery roof collapsed on him.