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.”
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12 comments:
Aw I"m sorry to hear that. Derek Wilton was not a character I liked, but he was played superbly by Peter Baldwin.
RIP Peter Baldwin. Wonderful double act with Thelma Barlow.
RIP Peter, he and Mavis worked.
My sympathies to the family and friends, may he rest in peace.
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.
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.
That's sad. I always liked Mavis and Derek. I always felt like he got a raw deal when he was let go.
Sad news
Oh my....how very sad.....Derek & Mavis were one of my favourite couples in the day....
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.
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.
Didn't realise he was that age! RIP Peter.
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