Coronation Streets Johnny Briggs dies after long illness – The Times

Coronation Street star Johnny Briggs, famous for his role as ladies’ man Mike Baldwin, has died aged 85.

For 30 years from 1976 Briggs was inseparable from the character of Mike Baldwin in Coronation Street, a Cockney wide-boy with an eye for the ladies who moved from a market stall to running his own underwear factory. He was a ruthless employer but the scriptwriters were more interested in chronicling a private life chaotic even by soap opera standards.

In his time on the Street, Baldwin got through four wives and had, on one count, more than 20 lovers. In the process he had a long-standing feud with Ken Barlow (William Roache), triggered by his affair with Barlow’s wife, Deirdre (Anne Kirkbride), the Street’s biggest