Mike Baldwin Michael Vernon " Mike " Baldwin was a London - born businessman who owned and managed the Baldwin ' s Casuals and Underworld factories in Coronation Street from 1976 to 2006 . Mike started his career as a market stall holder but within a few years was running his own factory . In 1976 , he opened denim - maker Baldwin ' s Casuals in Weatherfield and moved there , ending his relationship with his common - law wife Anne Woodley . As an employer , Mike was uncompromising , quick to threaten his machinists with the sack if they slacked and taking a dim view of workers getting above themselves . Away from the factory , Mike lived a bachelor ' s life , using his Cockney charm and bulging wallet to attract women , although most of them eventually saw through him . While he wanted a family , he found it difficult to make relationships last and didn ' t raise any of his three sons ; his eldest son Danny was a result of an affair between Mike and his brother Harry ' s wife Viv , and the secret of his parentage was kept until Harry ' s death in 2005 . Mark Redman , Mike ' s second son , was born in 1983 , after his mother Maggie had left Mike , and he didn ' t even know of his third son Adam Barlow ' s existence until 2001 as Adam ' s mother Susan left Mike in 1987 when he pushed her into getting pregnant even though she wanted a career . Two of Mike ' s lasting relationships were with Deirdre and Ken Barlow . In 1983 , Mike had an affair with Deirdre but it ended when Deirdre decided to stay with husband Ken rather than leave him for Mike . Mike continued to hold a torch for Deirdre but they never got together again , while the affair triggered a feud between Ken and Mike which lasted for many years . In 1989 , Mike sold Baldwin ' s Casuals and lost a fortune in a bad deal . The 1990s saw him rebuild his empire as he married Jackie Ingram , hoping to get his hands on her late husband ' s factory , but his heart lay with ex - partner Alma Sedgewick , who he pursued and later married after Jackie left him . His investments during the period included garage MVB Motors , flats in Crimea Street , and factory Kbec , before he returned to the rag trade with knicker factory Underworld in 1997 . Alma left Mike when he slept with Julia Stone but Mike found solace in the arms of Linda Sykes , one of his machinists , and in 2000 they got married , despite a considerable age difference . It wasn ' t until 2001 , a year after Mike had forgiven Linda for having an affair with his son Mark , that Mike realised Linda was only after his money and threw her out . The latter years of Mike ' s life saw him re - connected with his sons . In 2004 , he made Danny a partner in the business and later told Danny that he was his father . Mike died in 2006 after a short battle with Alzheimer ' s Disease . Biography . 1942 - 1976 : Early years . Making his first appearance in 1976 as a Cockney businessman with an eye for the ladies , Mike is well known for his string of ruined relationships . During his time on the show , Mike had 25 girlfriends and four wives . Mike ' s father was Frankie Baldwin , a former docker and cockney wideboy . 1976 - 1989 : Baldwin ' s Casuals and affairs . He impregnated florist Maggie Dunlop , but the relationship was not serious , and she left him when he refused to buy the florist ' s she worked in . She married Harry Redman shortly before the birth of her son Mark . The Redmans moved away and Mike didn ' t see his son again for many years afterwards . Mike went on to marry the much younger Susan Barlow ( Ken ' s daughter ) , upsetting Ken further . Their marriage seemed cosy , but he was intending for her to be a housewife , and she was a career woman . When she became pregnant , Susan disliked the life she saw ahead of her and she told Mike she had terminated her pregnancy before moving to Newcastle after just a year of marriage . 1989 - 1999 : Involvement with Alma . His on / off relationship with Alma Sedgewick looked over when he married wealthy widow Jackie Ingram instead , but the bride realised that Mike only wanted the money and factory that she had inherited from her late husband , Peter ( who ironically died of a heart attack while shouting at Mike ) , and their marriage lasted just a week , Jackie threatening Mike with a shotgun if he didn ' t get out of her sight . A couple of years later , after almost breaking up , Mike and true love Alma finally married . Mike ran his business , and Alma ran Jim ' s Cafe with Gail Platt ; their marriage hit rocky patches at times . As his business went through a rough patch in 1998 , Mike slept with Julia Stone , who turned out to be a former prostitute , and blackmailed him for large sums of cash . Long - suffering Alma finally found out the truth , and walked out on Mike ; upon divorcing him , Alma reverted to her maiden name of Halliwell . 1999 - 2006 : Fourth marriage , later years and Alzheimer ' s . Mike was soon wooing others , and settled with loud - mouthed machinist Linda Sykes , who was half his age . His son , Mark Redman , turned up in Weatherfield , and he took him on at the factory as manager . This proved wrong as , on his wedding night , Mike found out that Mark and Linda had been sharing a steamy affair . He forgave Linda , but told Mark to get out of his life . He duly left the area . Mike ' s fourth marriage didn ' t last long though , as cracks began to appear . Mike enraged a jealous Linda by choosing to spend some days with his ex - wife Alma , as she was dying . He was with her as she died from cervical cancer . At this point , he knew that it was a mistake marrying Linda and that he loved Alma all along , and it was too late . He called Linda a tart , and claimed that she had married him only for his money , ending their marriage . Linda then slept with Hanif Ruparell , Mike ' s new business associate in revenge . She also caused a stir at the wedding of Fred Elliott and her mother Eve , and the pressure built on Mike as Mark reappeared for the celebration . Mike was spotted fighting with Linda , who disappeared . Mike was arrested on suspicion of murder and gained a few stalkers in the Sykes ' clan . Linda was later found living in Ireland with a new man . In 2001 , Mike ' s first wife , Susan , returned to Weatherfield to build bridges with her estranged father , Ken . It was revealed that she had a son , Adam , by Mike . The truth was that she hadn ' t terminated her pregnancy as she said , but had made this up in order to escape Mike . As Mike began a fight to gain access to his son , Susan made efforts to escape him once more , but in her haste to leave , she crashed her car on the motorway and was killed . Adam survived the crash and this led to a custody battle between Mike and his nemesis Ken . Adam was awarded to Mike , although he was returned to Glasgow to attend Borthwick Hill boarding school . In 2004 , Mike was joined by his nephew Danny , and his wife , Frankie , and their children , Jamie and Warren . In October 2005 , the revelation came that Danny was actually Mike ' s son , a result of a fling between Mike and his sister - in - law , Viv . Quotes . " If I come back and find another card school , it ' s down the road for the lot o ' yer . " ( First line ) " Well it ' s a rough old pub and it needs a rough old bird to keep charge of it ! " ( about Bet Lynch and the Rovers ) " You ' re finished , Barlow ! Deirdre loves me . She ' s mine , I . . . " ( Final line , just before suffering a fatal heart attack )