11. Mike
Baldwin 1976-2006 (115 votes)
Narrowly
missing being in the top 10, Michael Vernon Baldwin was introduced as the owner
of the newly opened denim factory in 1976. Filled with Cockney charm, Mike had
eighteen girlfriends and four wives. Fond of whiskey, he fathered three sons:
Danny, Mark and Adam. His affair with bored housewife Deirdre Barlow made
headlines and began his long feud with her hubby Ken. Mike and Ken had always
clashed because Mike believed in capitalism to Ken’s socialism. In 1986, the Baldwin/Barlow
feud erupted once again when Mike met and married Ken’s daughter Susan. The
marriage ended in 1988. Mike then married wealthy widow Jackie Ingram in 1991
in a bid to get his hand on her money. But a week later, Jackie found about
Mike’s intentions and kicked him out and threatened him with a sawn off
shotgun. They divorced and Mike later married café owner Alma Sedgewick in 1992
who was his true love. The marriage lasted nine years and ended when Alma found
out about Mike’s affair with con woman Julia Stone. Mike and Alma’s marriage
was also plagued with Mike’s on-going rivalry with Don Brennan whose life Mike
ruined. Don sought revenge on Baldwin: he set Mike’s factory on fire; he
kidnapped Alma and drove her into the canal but both survived; and then tried
to kill Mike by driving at him on the street but crashed into the viaduct and
died. Mike then married machinist Linda Sykes in 2000 but that ended soon
enough due to Linda’s affair with Mike’s son Mark and the fact that Mike had
grown close to Alma again when she was diagnosed with cancer. In 2006, Mike
began to behave strangely and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
While walking confused in his pyjamas on Coronation Street, he was found by old
rival Ken and suffered a heart attack and died in Ken’s arms.
Should
tycoon Mike be at 11? Should he be in the top 10? Were you a fan? Leave a
comment!
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3 comments:
Wow, surprised he ended up so high. I was never a fan of Mike's, he was atrocious to Hayley.
I always liked Mike and thought he was a great counterpoint to the rest of the cast. There was still a lot of North/South divide in the country when he joined and residents were riled by both his ruthlessness and his Cockney arrogance. Mike fulfilled one of the archetype roles in a soap - the wide boy - which was deftly handed on to Danny Baldwin (and I hope he's near the top). At the moment, Terry is a modern version and that's why he's so popular. Nigel Pivaro has pitched it just right and fans are enjoying the return of a traditional role.
I liked Mike Baldwin, he was always fun to watch, what was he going to get up to next? And it was great because he didn't always come out on top either.
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