martha and ken bond quickly over their shared love for literature. she tells him she has been living on a boat for seven years, ever since she split from her philandering husband. ken confides in her about his troubled son, peter barlow (chris gascoyne). when martha asks about valerie barlow (anne reid), peter's mother, ken tells her she is dead. martha assumes that ken is a widower, and ken keeps quiet about his marriage to deirdre (anne kirkbride). ken visits her again several days later, and learns that she is now starring in a local production of "a streetcar named desire".