Frederick "Freddie" Thomas Peacock (né Thomas Duncan Peacock) was the son of Ashley and Claire Peacock and legal brother of Joshua.
Freddie lived in Coronation Street with his parents and brother until he was four years old, when a recently widowed Claire ran off to France with her sons to escape the consequences of her assault on Tracy Barlow.
Biography
Mother Claire started suffering from postnatal depression soon after Freddie was born. She believed that Freddie wasn't her own. On one occasion, she pushed his pram into the path of an oncoming vehicle but luckily the driver stopped before hitting him. His mother was then sectioned and was soon well enough to come home and look after him again.
In October 2006, Claire announced that she would like to have his name changed from Thomas to Freddie, after his paternal grandfather (who had died only a week before), so Thomas's name was changed accordingly. In December he was christened Frederick Thomas, with Eileen Grimshaw as his godmother, and Roy Cropper as his godfather.
When Freddie went missing when he was taken by Claire's friend, Casey Carswell, who she met through the Weatherfield Women In Crisis hotline. Casey meant no harm, but was offended when Claire called the Police when she found Freddie missing.
In May 2007, after his father and stepbrother Joshua went out for a few days, Eileen put Freddie to bed and Claire herself went to bed shortly after. Not long after, she was woken by the smoke alarm, and to her shock found a fire had been started in Freddie's bedroom. Claire fell down the stairs, but was shortly after rescued by Jamie Baldwin and Kirk Sutherland. As news spread that Freddie had not been rescued from the fire, residents believed the worst. It wasn't until Ashley returned to Coronation Street and spoke to investigators, that they informed him that Freddie had not been in the house when the fire began. Freddie was found later in the day wrapped up in a local park. It was revealed that the fire was started deliberately by use of an accelerant which led to confusion for his parents.
In September the identity of Freddie's abductor was revealed, as she had been seen around Weatherfield. Casey abducted Freddie and took him to the balcony of her flat where she threatened to jump with him. Fortunately Casey did not jump and Freddie was unharmed. Casey was arrested on the spot. His parents briefly split but soon reconciled.
In December 2010, Ashley died when an explosion at The Joinery bar derailed a tram which crashed into the street. The accident led to the Peacocks' home burning down, and the McDonalds took Claire, Joshua and Freddie in at the Rovers. The following month, Claire was arrested for assaulting Tracy Barlow after she mocked Ashley. Upon realising that she faced a prison sentence, the street's residents helped Claire and the boys escape for a new life in France.
Background information
Freddie was played by twins Jack and Jake Rogers from July to October 2006, with a second set of twins, Dylan and Hayden Whitbread, also appearing in the role on some occasions during the same time period. The Whitbread twins continued to appear as the character full-time until September 2009. The following month, the role was taken over by Lewis and Niall Beresford who played the character up to his departure in January 2011.
The storyline involving Freddie being kidnapped by Casey Carswell was subject to late changes. Originally it was planned for Joshua to be missing for several months, however this was altered due to the real-life case of Madeleine McCann, a 4-year-old British girl who was abducted in Portugal. Instead, Freddie was found alive the next day, having been dumped in a park by Casey.
Despite appearing in the programme for over four years, Freddie was never given an onscreen credit.
Appendices
List of addresses
Address | Duration |
---|---|
4 Coronation Street | 23rd July 2006 to July 2008 |
13 Coronation Street | July 2008 to 14th January 2011 |
France | 14th January 2011 onwards |