Wild Child
Coronation Street’s original Tracy Barlow actress Dawn Acton unrecognisable 24 years after soap exit
ORIGINAL Tracy Barlow actress Dawn Acton looks unrecognisable 24 years later and reveals DJ fame since she left the soap.
Coronation Street fans have grown with Tracy from a baby in arms to the scheming murderous grown-up she is now - but she hasn’t always looked the same.
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In fact, Deirdre’s wayward daughter has been played by no less than FOUR different actresses since 1977 but the most memorable - before the current actress Kate Ford took over - was Dawn Acton.
The child actress, from Ashton-Under-Lyne, joined the soap in 1988 when she was just 11 years old.
She saw Tracy through her troubled teen years – and they were pretty turbulent – before leaving the soap in 1999.
Her near-fatal ecstasy overdose led to Deirdre’s toyboy hubby Samir donating a – how you say? – kidney.
But after meeting Robert Preston, Tracy wed and left Weatherfield for London and Dawn was never seen again.
So what happened to the Coronation Street star after she left?
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In fact, when Tracy returned to the cobbles in 2003, Dawn auditioned for her old role – but lost out to Kate Ford.
Instead, Dawn found solace in music and became a DJ, becoming quite famous in Corrie’s hometown of Manchester.
Speaking in 2016, she revealed she lives in the city and she volunteers for the charity Beanstalk, which teaches children to read.
The mum of one said: “Obviously I do miss working in Corrie but I do find the work I do now very rewarding. The fact is I believe everyone should have the chance to learn to read.
“I still do DJ-ing but I like volunteering for Beanstalk as I supported children to read about things they were interested in and for them to be able to get enjoyment from it.”
In 2013, Dawn shaved her head for charity in 2013, in memory of her late mother Jean and said she had followed her mum into the charity.
She added: “When my son was young and I wasn't working as much through the day I had some time on my hands and I love reading and it's all about trying to help children understand that reading isn't necessarily a chore.'
During Dawn's time in the show viewers were gripped in 1995 by Tracy's resentment of her mother Deirdre during her stormy marriage with husband Ken.
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When actress Anne Kirkbride died in 2015, Dawn paid tribute to her screen mum.
She said: “She was always so great with kids and she just had a really funny sense of humour, we got on immediately and had lots of fun together.
“She did see me grow up and she was always really supportive.”
Before Dawn came along, Tracy was played by baby Christabel Finch and then tot Holly Chamarette.
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