An intelligent pupil, Ken attends grammar school after passing his eleven plus exam, and in 1957 wins a scholarship at the University of Manchester; he lives with his parents and brother David (Alan Rothwell) in Weatherfield while studying and gains a second class honours degree in History and English.

Ken is supported by Valerie's uncle Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth), with whom he shares a close relationship, but caring for the twins proves too difficult and they are sent to live with their grandparents in Glasgow.

Marital problems arise in 2006 when, following Mike's death from Alzheimer's disease, Ken grows jealous of Deirdre's consequent grief; he leaves home and tries to rebuild a relationship with his estranged son Daniel.

Ken doesn't know where his loyalties lie when Peter is found to be having an affair with Carla Connor (Alison King), and he is estranged from his son, Simon (Alex Bain).

Peter has been imprisoned for the murder of his secret lover Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) and Tracy is engaged to Carla's brother Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis).

[10] The series became a long-running soap opera, airing multiple times weekly, and Roache continued in the role, though gradually ceased to affect a Lancashire accent.

[22] Roache concurs that Ken obviously had higher aspirations than "being stuck in Coronation Street", but notes that "he was also portrayed as a nice young guy who was happy to help out if he could.

[25] A scathing article he wrote for a newspaper, in which he labelled his neighbours as "lazy-minded, politically ignorant, starved of a real culture and prejudiced against any advance in human insight and scientific progress", led to clashes with his father and a fistfight at the Rovers with Len Fairclough (Peter Adamson).

[27] Author Graeme Kay discussed Ken's evolution within the show: "He began as a bit of a prig, in the eyes of working-class father Frank, but matured into a sound family man, only to go astray.

[21] Chronicling the history of Coronation Street in 2007, Virgin Media stated, "Perhaps unfairly dubbed boring, Ken is ultimately an intelligent man, frustrated by the cards life has dealt him – although the hair, clothes and strong morals haven't helped.

[32] Roache feels that Ken's approach to romance early in his tenure belied his educated, intellectual affectations, and revealed him to be a typical "northern working-class man at heart."

He explained: "[Ken] was the sort who wanted to have a wife who would stay at home, look after the kids and make sure the house was run smoothly, while he went off to work to pursue a career.

Aware that the characters had become popular, executive producer H. V. Kershaw requested that Granada Television's evening duty officer be made available on the night of broadcast, in order to take viewers' congratulatory phone calls.

"[37] He felt that, given Ken's aspirations of upward social mobility and desire to leave Weatherfield, marriage conflicted with his characterisation, but realised it was necessary for the writers to anchor him in the area.

[40] Roache enjoyed the aftermath, as it added a new dimension to Ken, whereby "He was a married man with kids, and had all of those good intentions, but he was also liable to stray and clearly had trouble resisting the temptation of another woman.

[44] The following episode ended with Ken walking through the burned remains of their home, in a scene that Roache has deemed one of his "most enjoyable and satisfying moments in Coronation Street.

Ken's contempt for his wife, Deirdre, and her lover, Mike Baldwin, was at its most venomous, and I was given free reign [sic] to vent my spleen – so much so that even Anne Kirkbride didn't know how I was going to play the scene.

They had an on/off relationship and a wedding was planned in 1996; however, in a plot twist, it was revealed to Ken that Denise, unable to "hold her primitive lusts in check", was having an affair with her brother-in-law, Brian.

[77] After Susan, Ken's early love interests included Marian Lund (Patricia Heneghan), a librarian eleven years his senior; Yvonne Chappell (Alex Marshall), a hotel receptionist he met en route to first wife Valerie's funeral; Norma Ford (Diana Davies), an impressionable young shop-assistant;[78] Wendy Nightingale (Susan Tebbs), a married woman who moved in with Ken, making them Coronation Street's first unmarried cohabiting couple;[79] and Elaine.

Roache recalls that, "although their relationship could often be stormy, with Ken's views and attitude rubbing Frank up the wrong way on a number of issues, the fact was that they had been thrown together by her death and they had to get used to living with each other without the buffer that Ida had often provided.

[94] When Ken's affair with Martha was exposed, Blanche took her comments too far: she tormented Deirdre for staying with him, which resulted in her being thrown out of the Barlow household and forced to live with Peter.

"[104] It was suggested in an ITV documentary in 2006 that Ken and Mike's hatred was a clash of cultures: "Barlow the lefty do-gooder versus Baldwin, the cut-and-thrust money grabber.

[108] In her 2003 book, Hobson suggested that Ken "spent at least nineteen years unable to cope with the sense of rejection and betrayal" caused by Mike and Deirdre's affair.

[111] To promote Mike's final scenes, Radio Times released a series of photographs with Ken and Mike re-enacting Arthur Devis's (1807) painting of the death of Horatio Nelson—Baldwin was shown surrounded by his nearest and dearest during his final moments, with Ken prominently positioned next to him, taking on the role of Captain Hardy, Nelson's trusted colleague to whom Nelson famously uttered "Kiss me" before he died.

Brian Viner said, "It is easy enough to see, despite the extraordinary number of broken relationships and personal crises in his wake, why Ken tends not to make the pulse race when he opens his mouth.

"[130] In a Channel 4 televised poll that was broadcast in 2001, Ken Barlow was voted the third most-hated TV character of all time, coming behind Phil Mitchell from EastEnders and Mr Blobby.

Just like poor hangdog-faced Ken, brainy people in soapland (Dr Truman [from EastEnders], Roy Cropper, Todd Grimshaw [both from Coronation Street], Emmerdale's Ethan the curate) are always miserable and brooding, due to the terrible burden of their mighty intellect in the face of so many simpletons.

A spokesperson for the show defended the opinions expressed by Ken in the scripts, saying, "Coronation Street is a soap opera set in modern society and therefore represents views from all side of the religious spectrum".

[139] Gareth McLean of Radio Times was critical of the storyline: "When it comes to self-delusion, Ken takes the biscuit, claims the cake and wolfs down the éclair.

[141] Holy Soap suggested that Ken being labelled a gigolo in the local newspaper after his client, Babs, died halfway through eating her meal, was his most memorable moment.