Pete Barton

Peter 'Pete' Barton is the son of James and Emma Barton and the brother of Ross and Finn Barton, the half-brother of Adam Barton and the former husband of Debbie Dingle. He is currently dating Rhona Goskirk

Pete arrived in the village with his father, James, and younger brother, Finn, after his father lost their own farm in December 2013.

2013-
Pete and his brother Ross find themselves battling for the affections of Debbie Dingle. Debbie and Pete sleep together after they fix Debbie's Land Rover together when it breaks down. Pete tries to be friendly with Debbie's daughter Sarah, who takes a shine to him. She draws a picture of him, which Debbie sees on the fridge where he lives. Debbie tells him she wants to sleep with him, but he declines, shocked, saying she scarcely pays him attention. Pete and Debbie later get back together, but the pair argue when Pete takes Sarah out on her bike, and Debbie tells him that if Sarah falls and cuts herself, she could die after her. Pete shouts at Debbie, saying she should have told him, before storming off. Pete and Debbie however make up and get engaged.

When Charity Dingle, Debbie's mother, gives birth while in prison and the baby, Moses stays with them, days before Debbie and Pete's wedding, the paternity is confirmed as Ross and everybody takes a hatred to him for not saying anything. Pete un-invites Ross to the wedding. On their wedding day, Pete finds out that Debbie has been cheating on him with Ross, before he can say anything however, a helicopter crashes into the venue. Debbie is seriously injured and while at the hospital, Pete and Ross fight, resulting in Pete thinking that he has killed Ross, he puts him into the boot of his car and takes him too the woods where he leaves his body and then goes to Debbie who is now conscious, forgives her and tells her never to mention Ross again, as he would have probably moved away anyway, which Debbie believes has happened.

After the police found a body that they thought was Ross's, Pete confessed everything to Debbie as he was certain that he would be caught as the killer. After confessing, Debbie was left in shock and later told Pete that when James and Emma went to identify the body, it was not Ross's. Debbie storms out, shocked by the news that her husband has just delivered. Pete's father, James, goes into Debbie's house and finds Pete broken down on the floor. Pete then confesses the truth to his dad, and James demands that Pete show him where he hid Ross's body. However, when they drive into the woods and locate the place, Ross is nowhere to be seen. The cliffhanger at the end of the same episode shows Ross in a hospital bed, recovering from the injuries that he suffered during his altercation with Pete.

Ross discharges himself from the hospital later that week and returns to the village and makes his way to Butler's Farm. When Pete returns to the farm, Ross greets him with the line "Hello bruv, bet you weren't expecting to see me again..." Within minutes of his return, Ross and Pete find themselves arguing again, and Ross throws a punch. However, when he extends his arm, he falls to the floor unconscious. Moira walks in and immediately presumes that Pete has attempted to kill his brother once again, as do the rest of his family, until Ross regains consciousness in hospital and tells his loved ones that Pete was not to blame. Soon after Pete's confession he and Debbie separate due to his actions reminding her of ex-fiancé Cameron Murray and the fact she still loves Ross. The marriage is later annulled.

After growing closer to Moira, who was married to his uncle John Barton and had a son with his father James, Pete made a rejected pass at her. Feeling ashamed, Pete deliberately assaulted Ross to get arrested. As he was on licence, he was sentenced to prison, which he intended as a way of paying for his behaviour towards Ross and Moira.

Pete returned to the village in early May 2016 when he was released from prison. He gave Robert Sugden a letter for Aaron Livesy which was from Aaron's dad, Gordon. When Finn has reunited with his family, Finn was excited to tell him all about his new business that he would like both of his brothers be a part of. Pete declined his offer indicating that he would never work with Ross and that he has already got a new job as a barman in Aberdeen.

Quotes
"Two minutes you said, but I can't do everything! Who are you?" (first line)