Shelley Unwin (also Barlow) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Sally Lindsay.
Shelley's storylines included a bigamous marriage to Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) and an abusive and controlling relationship with Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward), who later left her pregnant.
After Fred Elliott (John Savident) buys the pub, Shelley and colleague Geena Gregory (Jennifer James) compete for the position of bar manager.
They have a rough patch and break up for a while after Peter's friend, Ciaran McCarthy (Keith Duffy), visits and makes a pass at Shelley.
By the end of the summer, though, Shelley learns that Peter is married to Lucy and they have a baby boy, Simon (Alex Bain).
Shelley also throws Peter out and nurses a broken heart while trying to run the pub with her mother, Bev (Susie Blake).
Eric tries his best to woo Shelley and takes her out for an expensive meal but when they go back to his house for a drink, she is put off by his mother, Dolly.
Devastated that her daughter could believe Charlie over her, Bev leaves Weatherfield but on her return, Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard) is offered a job and a room at The Rovers by Fred.
He also persuades Shelley to insist that Liz is sacked, so she leaves Weatherfield briefly to visit Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) in Brighton.
He confronts Shelley who is evasive initially but when Charlie accuses her of seeing another man, she admits that she visited Bev and intends to meet her again.
Shelley is upset and tells him to get the dress changed but Charlie gives it to Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas), who gives it to his girlfriend, Violet Wilson (Jenny Platt).
Shelley is humiliated when Violet comes to work, wearing the dress and makes a scene in front of a pub full of regulars.
Charlie slowly isolates Shelley until she ends up hiding in her bedroom for several months and pushes away all her friends, including Ciaran, who leaves Weatherfield.
She then suggests they get married and Charlie agrees, but wanting her to feel confident enough to walk down the aisle, he gets her a counsellor called Zack (Ralph Ineson) because she is also retreating from him.
Bev, needing to talk to someone, tells Deirdre who is horrified because Charlie is now dating her daughter, Tracy (Kate Ford).
In January 2001 it was announced that a new barmaid and friend of Duggie Ferguson (John Bowe) was to join and that she would be played by actress Sally Lindsay.
During Shelley's six years on the show she was friends with Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati) and was involved in high-profile storylines such as discovering her ex-husband Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) is a bigamist and later being beaten up by her then boyfriend Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward).
Producer Tony Wood praised her as a "talented actress" and paid tribute to her portrayal of Shelley's mental abuse at the hands of Charlie, played by Bill Ward.
"[3] In January 2025, Lindsay ruled out reprising the role, she said "It has been many years now and I've got my own show and I produce as well, so it's probably not for me, But I absolutely think it's the best thing ever for people to go back, because it's like another world.