Peter Baldwin (actor)

Peter Baldwin (born 29 July 1933) is a British actor best known for his role of Derek Wilton in the UK soap opera Coronation Street.^[1][2]

Career

After training to be an actor, Baldwin joined the West of England Theatre Company, where he worked with future-partner on Coronation Street Thelma Barlow.^[2] He later toured with the Old Vic and joined the Bristol Old Vic.^[2] Baldwin made several appearances in films (in bit parts and extras) until he landed a main role in the television comedy Girls About Town which ran from 1969 to 1971. He also made guest appearances on other television series such as Menace, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, and Spy Trap, and had several roles in West End Theatre.

In 1976 he joined the cast of Coronation Street, playing the character of Derek Wilton on and off, eventually returning as a regular character in 1988.^[2] Derek wooed but let down Mavis Riley for many years but eventually the two got married. It was reported that Derek Wilton was one of the favourite characters among a certain segment of viewers of the show, but in 1997 the character was killed off.^[3]

For the year after this, Baldwin made many appearances on talk shows and quiz shows in the UK such as GMTV, This Morning and Crosswits and also returned to the stage for the first time in a decade in A Month of Sundays, as well as touring in the musical Summer Holiday. He then joined the cast of the TV show Out Of Sight as 'Uncle Gus' until 1999.

Since then he has continued to appear on TV series including The Court Room and Doctors. In 2005 he was a panelist for the Channel 4 quiz show Countdown.

He was married to the former Play School presenter and actress Sarah Long until her death in 1987.^[2]

In 2008 Baldwin took over the ownership of Pollock's toy shop in London's Covent Garden, where he had previously worked between acting jobs.^[1]

References