Cosy crimes and gritty sagas by Corrie Blog editor Glenda, published by Headline. Click pic below!

Friday 23 October 2015

Peter Baldwin (Corrie's Derek Wilton) dies age 82

Peter Baldwin, who played Derek Wilton on Coronation Street, has passed away today.  He was 82 years old.

Peter joined Coronation Street as salesman Derek in 1976. Derek was the on / off partner and later husband of Mavis Wilton from 1988 until his death in 1997.

After his character on Coronation Street was killed off in 1997, actor Peter Baldwin opened a toy shop in Covent Garden, London.

In 2013 Peter gave a good interview to the Express about playing Derek on Corrie and his life after he left the show.  You can read it here.

Derek and Mavis will always be fondly remembered. One of their major storylines was the stolen garden gnome and of course there was Derek's friendship with Norris (who always called him Dirk and was once wed to Derek's ex-wife Angela too).

Derek was killed off in Corrie after the appointment of new producer Brian Park in 1997, who sanctioned the removal of five main characters, including Derek Wilton. “Derek was probably past his sell-by date,” recalls Park. I had to see the poor actor, Peter Baldwin, at 9am on the day I started and he thought I was seeing the cast in alphabetical order. But it wasn’t B for Baldwin. It was B for b*****ed.”

Download our free App | Follow on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog | Like on Facebook | Visit Corrie.net


Creative Commons Licence
All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

12 comments:

Tvor said...

Aw I"m sorry to hear that. Derek Wilton was not a character I liked, but he was played superbly by Peter Baldwin.

Llifon said...

RIP Peter Baldwin. Wonderful double act with Thelma Barlow.

Unknown said...

RIP Peter, he and Mavis worked.

Jo said...

My sympathies to the family and friends, may he rest in peace.

Catman said...

Watch some YouTube old episodes and appreciate his fine acting skills. Also, see Corrie that we fell in love with, and with one-tenth the cast of today. Stories we could relate to and care about the characters.

bbhilda said...

I am saddened by this news, I really did like Derek Wilton, and loved him with Mavis. I always enjoyed visiting Benjamin Pollock's in Covent Garden too, I hope it survives without him.

Rebecca said...

That's sad. I always liked Mavis and Derek. I always felt like he got a raw deal when he was let go.

Jonathan said...

Sad news

vintgal003 said...

Oh my....how very sad.....Derek & Mavis were one of my favourite couples in the day....

KAOS said...

Peter Baldwin's performance as Derek Wilton was an incredibly fine balancing act between comedy and drama. Derek was a character we loved and loathed, who was vain, deluded and very, very human. Together with Thelma Barlow, it was a brilliant masterclass in the double-act.

This article's author mentions producer Brian Park's decision to axe the character because he was "past his sell-by date". I doubt much of the audience knew what they had till it was gone. And I doubt anyone will remember as fondly what Park served up as much as Peter Baldwin's sublime performance.

Humpty Dumpty said...

Mavis and Derek were a great partnership. There were some stories, like the missing gnome, that went on for too long IMO but the acting overcame such minor flaws. I really miss the double acts that used to lift Corrie. I can only think of Tim and Sally as characters/actors who are just fantastic together whatever storyline they are in. Soap double acts rely on a certain amount of tedium which is why Steve and Lloyd in the taxi office worked so well. Steve and Michelle don't cut it. Give Liz a sparring partner behind the bar, male or female.

Anonymous said...

Didn't realise he was that age! RIP Peter.

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

You might also like...

Coronation Street Books for Fans

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!