Mike Baldwin

Do-gooder
Full Name	Michael Vernon Baldwin
Alias(es)	Mike Baldwin "Bas-ard" "Idiot" Mike "Pig" "Scumbag" Mr. Baldwin "Conman" "Swindler" "Filth"
Origin	Coronation Street
Occupation	Factory Owner
Powers / Skills	High intelligence Manipulation Vast resources Extreme wealth
Hobby	Running his business empire Antagonizing Ken Barlow
Goals	Depending on his own story (ongoing)
Family	Depending on his story
Friends / Allies	Fred Elliot Dev Alahan Bet Lynch Deidre Barlow Ken Barlow (sometimes) Hilda Ogden Duggie Ferguson Audrey Roberts Emily Bishop Rita Fairclough
Enemies	Ken Barlow (archenemy and love rival) Don Brennan (second arch-nemesis) Peter Ingram Jim McDonald Kevin Webster Phil Jennings Joe Carter Greg Kelly Les Battersby Jon Lindsay Peter Barlow Lillian Spencer Billy Walker Stephen Reid Ivy Brennan Roy Cropper Hayley Cropper Charlie Stubbs Maggie Redman Susan Barlow Ed Jackson Vera Duckworth
Type of Hero	Opportunistic Businessman

“	"I am a very fair man"	„
	~ Mike Baldwin telling everyone in the factory that he is a good person despite not being that on most occasions.

Mike Baldwin is a fictional character and anti-hero of the British soap opera Coronation Street.

He was a self-made businessman and factory boss who owned several businesses in Coronation Street and is known for his womanizing ways along with many high-profile storylines, most notably in his long-running feud arc with his archenemy Ken Barlow after having an affair with the latter's beloved wife Deirdre Barlow in the early 1980s. Despite exhibiting a callous and manipulative streak for most of his time on the show, Mike was far from evil and he soon mellowed to a reluctant hero in the later years before he ultimately died in the arms of Ken after suffering from Alzheimer's Disease in his exit plotline.

The character was portrayed by the late Johnny Briggs.

Biography

Mike Baldwin arrived in the street in 1976 to open a new factory there. He got into an affair with Bet Lynch and threw her out of their house when Mike's girlfriend came down from London. He later felt guilty and arranged for Bet's rent to be subsidized.

Later he financially supported Emily Bishop when he felt guilty about his role in her husband Ernie's death after he startled a robber. In 1983, Mike had an affair with Deirdre Barlow while she was still married to her husband Ken Barlow. Soon the deceit was discovered and Deirdre chose Ken over Mike in the end, which subsequently triggered a long-running feud between the two men over the next two decades.

In 1986, Mike married Ken's daughter Susan. But a few years later he threw her out after she confessed to an abortion which further escalated the animosity between him and Ken as the latter who felt Susan was treated awfully by Mike.

By 1990, Mike had fallen in love with cafe owner Alma Sedgewick but was unhappy to see her dating Ken. He eventually wooed Alma into a relationship after manipulatively splitting her and Ken up on New Year's Eve 1991 and soon married her several months later in mid-1992 itself. Their marriage blossomed despite an initial threat regarding Mike's acquaintanceship with Ken's new girlfriend Maggie Redman, but that didn't last long and the marriage continued to last for many years.

In 1997, Mike found himself targeted by taxi driver Don Brennan in the latter's hate campaign against him. Mike had made an enemy of Don since he bankrupted him in a poker game before later conning the latter into buying a garage that is worth more than it's original value, thereby causing Don to lose everything around him. In turn, Don blamed Mike for his losses and conducted a dangerous vendetta against him. Don's quest for revenge led to him setting fire to Mike's factory and later kidnapping Alma before trying to kill her by driving his taxi in the canal. Alma survived and Mike comforted her whilst Don was held in police custody awaiting trial for his actions, but he escaped and ambushed Mike at his new factory in an attempt to kill him. That failed and Don ultimately tried to kill Mike one last time by running him over, but Mike survived and Don was killed in the end.

In 1998, when Deirdre was falsely imprisoned, Mike put aside his differences with Ken and tried to clear her name. Alma was jealous of all the effort he went through such as paying Deirdre's legal bills and letting her stay in their house.

In 1999, Alma and Mike separated due to infidelity on his part and he married his younger employee Linda Sikes who betrayed him by having an affair with his son Mark Redman. Mike later discovered he fathered a child called Adam with Susan and rowed with Ken over custody after Susan's death. They ultimately agreed to put aside their differences for the boy's sake.

In 2001, when Alma got cancer with only weeks to live, Mike spent a lot of time taking care of her and was distraught by her death. Linda was resentful of all the attention Mike gave Alma and he dumped her after realising she was only after his money.

By 2006, his final year on the show, Mike had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease in the midst of battling with dementia. This ultimately ended with Mike collapsing in the arms of Ken, where the two rivals recounted on their history before Mike suffered a heart attack and died in Ken's arms. His funeral took place just weeks later.

External Links

• Mike Baldwin on the Villains Wiki
• Mike Baldwin on the Coronation Street Wiki
• Mike Baldwin on the Heroic Benchmark Wiki
• Mike Baldwin on the Villainous Benchmark Wiki

Trivia

• Johnny Briggs reprised the role of Mike Baldwin for a Text Santa sketch in December 2012 in which he appeared as a ghost to Norris Cole.
• The character made a total of 2348 appearances throughout his time on the show.