Mr Phelps was the court welfare officer at the hearing to allow Ken Barlow access to his son Daniel Osbourne. He had previously had custody of his son when his mother, Denise, had abandoned him when she went off with her brother-in-law, Brian Dunkley, with whom she had been having a clandestine affair for several years. Having returned to Weatherfield, she took her son back and her relationship with Ken became acrimonious. The hearing at which Mr Phelps adjudicated was an attempt to find a solution without a full court hearing but it descended into a bitter row when Denise claimed that she and Ken had an understanding that she could get Daniel back from him once she'd sorted her life out. Mr Phelps had no option but to pass the case onto the court but in the meantime Ken and Denise managed to reach an out-of-court settlement.