For over 20 years, Chris Gascoyne has been delighting soap fans as Peter Barlow in Coronation Street, with the character at the heart of several hard hitting storylines ranging from battling alcohol addiction through to a gritty prison stint.

But as Chris prepares to wave goodbye to Weatherfield in the coming days, more and more of his fans have been keen to learn more about his life away from the cobbles, with his love of tattoos being a frequent topic of curiosity.

Throughout his time on Corrie, Chris’ impressive inkings have been seen on numerous occasions in the course of his scenes, with the majority of his tattoos focused on his chest and arms.

Initially many viewers had presumed they were simply added for the character, but this theory was later debunked by the star when he admitted that all of the tattoos we see on Peter Barlow are actually his own – however they did mostly date back to his youth.

Interestingly, having a selection of vivid tattoos already ended up being remarkably on brand for Chris’ alter ego Peter, as his backstory involved him serving time in the navy, where inkings are increasingly common.

Among the most notable tattoos inked onto the star, are a green dragon which sits on his shoulder and symbolises wisdom, freedom and strength, while a vivid pin-up style woman takes up residence on the back of his opposite bicep.

In addition, Chris also has another woman tattooed on his chest, over his heart , while a black panther can also be seen on his left arm.

It was this tattoo in particular that Chris has spoken about in the past, as he previously revealed it had actually been the result of an error.

Chris told Manchester Gossip that the tattooist had made a mistake while spelling out his name after he had requested a panther alongside his name.

“The first tattoo I had was a panther’s head with my name written under it. The tattooist said ‘Oops, sorry mate I’ve [bleep].’ He had written ‘CHIS’ instead of ‘CHRIS’!"

Chris then continued: “He squeezed an ‘R’ in which looked rubbish so I had another black panther on top of it to cover it up. I don’t regret them, I don’t really think about them anymore.”

Often regarded as a popular and traditional design in the tattoo industry, black panthers are thought to represent power, guardianship, freedom and courage.

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