Kate’s earliest work is in the music video for The Beatles song Free as a Bird in 1995. Some years later in 2002, she appeared in a spin-off episode of the popular BBC1 soap opera EastEnders which revolved around the characters of Ricky Butcher and Bianca Jackson. Ford took on the role of Tracy Barlow in Coronation Street in the autumn of 2002. She is the fourth actress to play the role of Tracy Barlow after Christabel Finch played her from her birth in 1977 to 1985, Holly Chamarette taking over from 1985 to 1988 and Dawn Acton playing the role from 1988 to 1999. Ford brought a darker side to the character in the programme, making her more "bitchy" than the simply misunderstood girl the other actresses portrayed. In 2004 and 2005, Ford was awarded a British Soap Award for "Best Bitch" for her work on Coronation Street and around the same time appeared in a high-profile poster campaign for PETA. In 2007, she was awarded two British Soap Awards, one for Best Actress and another for "Best Storyline", which was shared with Samia Smith and Bill Ward. Ford left Coronation Street after her contract expired in April 2007. In June 2007, she filmed her first role after leaving Coronation Street, as Adele in Blue Murder, a detective drama. She was chosen to advertise the Autumn 2007 Ortak Jewellery range. Ford later returned to Coronation Street for a guest stint in early 2010 before appearing full-time from Christmas, the same year. She is a strong supporter and active campaigner of the Anti Fur Trade in China. She participates in the PETA campaign "boycott all fur" She is also a supporter of the Green Party of England and Wales.
Personal life
Ford married TV producer Jon Connerty on 13 October 2007. She gave birth to a son, Otis James Roger Connerty, in June 2008. Ford and Connerty separated in September 2013. She said the separation was "incredibly painful" and, after seven years of marriage, will be divorcing. She said, "When Jon and I first parted it was quite hard to put my personal life aside," Ford explained. "But then it became therapeutic to concentrate on my job. People call it 'Doctor Theatre'—when you're acting, you can't worry about things."
