Mike Baldwin is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Johnny Briggs. He first appeared on 11 October 1976 and became one of the show's central characters until his final appearance on 7 April 2006.

Development Mike started his career as a market stall holder, later becoming a legitimate businessman, running his own factory and namesake denim-maker, Baldwin's Casuals, in Weatherfield. He moved there after ending his relationship with his wife Anne Woodley, establishing himself as the street's most uncompromising employer. Mike was quick to threaten his machinists with "the sack" if they were seen to be slacking or talking out of line.

Storylines

Since his first appearance, Mike had been involved in several of the show's high-profile storylines. This includes a love triangle, where Mike had an affair with local resident Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) despite being married to her husband Ken Barlow (William Roache). This led to a longstanding feud between Mike and Ken, with the rivalry between the two dominating storylines over the next two decades. The storyline continued into 1983 winning several ratings featured in UK newspapers. The episode where Deirdre ended her affair with Mike and reconciled with Ken was the show's highest-rated episode at the time. The news were so big that it ended up being announced on the scoreboard during a Manchester United vs Arsenal match at Old Trafford with the words "Ken and Deirdre reunited. Ken 1 – Mike 0", resulting in cheers from the spectators.

Relationship with Alma Baldwin Mike and Alma Baldwin's (Amanda Barrie) romance started in 1989; Mike proposed to Alma after her relationship with Ken failed. They wed on-screen in 1992, and the marriage lasted seven years. Several years later, Mike's marriage with Alma was tested when he contemplated going into business partnership with fellow entrepreneur Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) and was initially unaware that Alma had been smitten with Stephan. But then Stephan attempted to get one over Mike by seducing Alma, who responded by slapping Stephan and reconciling with Mike afterwards.

It was suggested in a 2006 ITV documentary that Mike, an antagonistic womanizing character, met his match in Alma. William Roache, who played Ken Barlow, stated that of all Mike's many women in the serial, he always felt that Alma was Mike's true love. Briggs has stated that he always enjoyed watching the scenes between Mike and Alma, because Alma knew how to handle Mike. Barrie's approach for creating chemistry between their characters was to treat Mike in the same way that she [Barrie] treated Briggs off-set, poking fun at him.

Rivalry with Ken Barlow Ken's feud with Mike—spanning over 20 years—began in 1983, when Ken (William Roache) discovered that his wife, Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride), was having an affair with Mike. Initially, Deirdre dated Mike, but then decided Ken suited her better for marriage. Ken and Deirdre soon married, but she turned to Mike when her marriage satisfaction with Ken began to deteriorate. After she had confessed everything to Ken about the affair, Mike turned up on the doorstep in the hope of taking her away; but in the end she decided to stay with Ken after choosing him over Mike. This event began the long-running feud between Mike and Ken, with the two men becoming sworn arch-enemies in the process.

Of the love triangle storyline, Briggs said, "the way it captured the nation was amazing. Everyone was talking about it and the pubs were empty. Men were shouting out: 'Go on Mike, give her one.' People were disappointed when she went back to Ken". Alt URL The storyline had significant cultural impact, with the press claiming that the country was divided between those who thought Deirdre should remain with Ken, and those who thought she should leave with Mike.Hobson 2008, p.46.

Scriptwriters capitalised on the rivalry between the characters when, in 1986, Mike married Ken's daughter Susan, despite Ken’s strong opposition. Numerous fights between Ken and Mike were featured, and Briggs has suggested that they became famous for their brawls. The first fight between the pair occurred in 1986, when Ken confronted Mike in his factory about Mike's maltreatment of his daughter. Of the confrontation, Briggs has said, "It was a classic – Baldwin getting it in his own territory, the factory. It took a lot to get Ken angry but after the way Mike had treated his daughter, he was furious. He marched into the office and let him have it. This was one of those rare times he caught Mike off-guard." Mike was shown to get revenge on Ken, though it took a further four years before he could do so on-screen.

In 1986, Mike began dating Ken's daughter, Susan Barlow (Wendy Jane Walker)—who was many years his junior—and soon proposed to her. She accepted despite family reservations; when Ken found out about his daughter's relationship with Mike, he confronted him at the factory and punched Mike after telling him "I've had enough of your poisoning in my family—more than enough!!". Ken was further upset to hear about Susan's prospects of marrying Mike, but he reluctantly accepted this after Susan confronted her father about her decision. Mike eventually married Susan in May 1986, but their marriage steadily failed a year later due to the pair having a dispute about their plans for the future. After discovering that Susan was pregnant, Mike wanted her to become a stay-at-home mother. But Susan decided to have an abortion, and moved to Newcastle after Mike broke up with her in response to this.

In a scene which aired in 1990, Mike punched Ken, knocking him over a table in the Rovers Return public house. Briggs has suggested that he and Roache became old hands at doing on-screen fistfights, and that both really enjoyed doing the stunts. According to Briggs, no choreographers were ever used. In 1998, one incident left Briggs with an injury after he fell backwards. Mike also meddled in Ken's subsequent relationships with the latter's old mistress Wendy Crozier (Roberta Kerr) and later with the former's old flame Maggie Redman (Jill Kerman) respectively.

In 1998, Mike clashed with Ken again over Deirdre when the pair learned that she was facing a prison sentence after being implicated by her ex-fiancé Jon Lindsay (Owen Aaronovitch) for his fraudulent activities. But the two rivals were forced to work together and they eventually managed to exonerate Deirdre by exposing Jon's past felony as a bigamist. Coincidentally, Mike's marriage with Alma was in trouble due to him spending less time with her throughout the Deirdre prison scandal. Mike assured Alma that he loved her, but then their marriage ended permanently when he cheated on Alma by having a short-lived fling with his employee Julia Stone when she blackmailed him for large sums of cash. When Alma discovered the betrayal, she confronted Mike and broke up with him; Alma later divorced Mike and thus reverted her identity back to her old maiden name of Halliwell.

Mike and Ken were forced to work together in 2000, when they were featured in a storyline dubbed the "Freshco siege". Ken and Mike were among several series regulars held up at gunpoint in the local supermarket, where Ken had been working as a trolley collector. The episode was broadcast after the 9 pm watershed due to its depiction of violence. Ken and Mike were bound together by armed robbers, which facilitated an end to their feud; Ken helped Mike to combat a panic attack. The pair resolved to put the past behind them; it was a temporary reprieve. Mike had unknowingly fathered a son, Adam (Iain De Caestecker), during his brief marriage to Ken's daughter Susan (Wendy Jane Walker); she kept the baby a secret from him. Mike discovered Adam's existence in 2001; Susan attempted to flee, but was killed in a car accident. Then followed a battle between Mike and Ken for custody of Adam, with Ken adamant that Mike should not look after his grandson. In the end, Mike was awarded custody, but he sent Adam back to his boarding school in Scotland; as his friends were there. However, both Ken and Mike made peace again after promising Alma that they would be nice to each other before she dies.

The result of Susan's departure and the break-up of her marriage with Mike escalated the animosity between him and Ken. This soon continued when Mike later found out Ken had cheated on Deirdre with his mistress Wendy Crozier (Roberta Kerr) and proceeded to taunt Ken about it. Eventually, after Deirdre discovered Ken's betrayal and ended their marriage in 1990, he faced many problems and went in The Rovers Return Inn public house to cope with his troubles. But then Mike taunted Ken in public and provoked him into a fight that ended with the latter's humiliation. Years later, Ken got his life back on track when he met Maggie and began dating her until he learned about her past with Mike. Eventually the couple broke up due to Ken's growing resentment towards Mike.

In her 2003 book, Hobson suggested that Ken "spent at least nineteen years unable to cope with the sense of rejection and betrayal" caused by Mike's and Deirdre's affair.Hobson 2003, p.129. It was suggested in an ITV documentary in 2006 that Ken and Mike's hatred was a clash of cultures: "Barlow the lefty do-gooder versus Baldwin, the cut-and-thrust money grabber." Briggs claimed that Ken was jealous of Mike because he was rich and successful, while Ken was not. Roache claimed that the reason Ken disliked Mike was because he was a self-centred and self-made individual.

Ultimately the rivalry came to an end on-screen in 2006, when Briggs quit the role of Mike. Mike was killed-off, dying of Alzheimer's disease; he died in Ken's arms. In the final scenes, a disoriented and dying Mike was found wandering the streets by Ken, and as Ken cradled Mike in his arms, the rivals talked about old times before Mike died, signifying the end of their 20-year feud.

To promote Mike's final scenes, Radio Times released a series of photographs with Ken and Mike re-enacting Arthur Devis's (1807) painting of the death of Horatio Nelson—Baldwin was shown surrounded by his nearest and dearest during his final moments, with Ken prominently positioned next to him, taking on the role of Captain Hardy, Nelson's trusted colleague to whom Nelson famously uttered "Kiss me" before he died. Producer Maire Tracey said, "The fact that Mike dies in Ken's arms says it all. For most of Mike's life, it was his battles with Ken that kept him going. Like two cowboys, they spent their lives sizing each other up. Behind the scenes, Bill Roache has even suggested to Johnny Briggs that they should make a version of Brokeback Mountain for the two elderly cowboys. Both Ken and Mike will miss the bust-ups." In October 2019, Adam discussed Mike's death with Ken and noted the irony of Mike dying in Ken's arms, given the fierce rivalry the two men shared over the preceding decades.

Don Brennan