Mike Baldwin-Alzheimers ?

[Deborah]

I received this email this morning-so thought I would post it here.


This just came in on the Press Association wire:
Johnny Briggs to leave the Street?
Coronation Street's Mike Baldwin is to be struck down by Alzheimer's disease in a dramatic TV storyline.

Millions of Street fans will see the bubbly factory boss in a gradual decline from the devastating condition as his forgetfulness gets worse.

Mike, played by veteran Street star, Johnny Briggs, 69, has been with the show for nearly 30 years.



It will be good for Johnny Briggs to end his career with a good storyline.

[Nick]

I read this in todays papers Deborah..apparantley he shows the first signs this summer,when he gets forgetful

[Wendy]

It sounds like a very plausible storyline and one that will probably be handled in a very excellent manner.

[Nick]

I just hope they don't rush it,like they did with the Alma's cancer storyline

[Dammit]

That's a good storylinem to go out with with a bang. I imagine it will be very sad though- poor Mike!!

[pearly queen]

Who's going to look after Mike in his hour of need? He hasn't exactly accumulated a lot of friends down the years has he? The glamourous Chingford branch of the Baldwin tribe are unlikely to care much about him either.

[sallywebster]

pearly said:

Who's going to look after Mike in his hour of need? He hasn't exactly accumulated a lot of friends down the years has he? The glamourous Chingford branch of the Baldwin tribe are unlikely to care much about him either.

Reet and Audrey are good friends of his, or perhaps Linda will come back?

[RitaLittlewood]

Reading that article, there's certain things that just don't add up in it. Why would ex-lovers come into it? They're exactly what it says - ex. 2 wives are dead. Jackie Ingram could be too for all we know since she was barking. And what nephews? There's only Danny, with Jamie and Warren being second generation and Danny won't let them be part of the business. Also his parentage still hasn't been explained with Mike being an only child and that hacks me off. Alzheimers is a very slow, degenerative disease and once someone has it completely, they could still go on years. The most famous suffered being Rita Hayworth. Wasn't it said the only way he'd sign a contract was if Mike dies in 2006? I wouldn't be surprised if this is another paper lie.

Patsy

[Deborah]

If this is true-I think Rita and Audrey will be there for him. I think even Ken might put differences aside and be there as well. It will make it sadder that none of his family actually cares.

If this isn't true-I hope Mike does get a decent storyline to finish his career with.

It is even strange to think about Coronation Street without Mike Baldwin.

[sallywebster]

Deborah said:

If this is true-I think Rita and Audrey will be there for him. I think even Ken might put differences aside and be there as well. It will make it sadder that none of his family actually cares.

If this isn't true-I hope Mike does get a decent storyline to finish his career with.

It is even strange to think about Coronation Street without Mike Baldwin.

Yes I think Reet and Audrey will be there for him too.

Lets hope they do this storyline properly.

[RitaLittlewood]

I'm really suspcious about this. Tony Wood said there's been no decision about how he goes in an interview last week, or whether he'll die or not. The Mirror is probably guessing.

Patsy

[sallywebster]

Yes probabaly better to wait for an official announcement.

[Wendy]

Ideally, I would like to see Mike retire to Spain or something like that so that he could come back if just for a visit to the Street.

[sallywebster]

Wendy said:

Ideally, I would like to see Mike retire to Spain or something like that so that he could come back if just for a visit to the Street.

Yes that would be good. Although they dont often bring past characters back, Ray being the exception of course.

[pearly queen]

Young Adam Barlow/Baldwin was wanting to leave boarding school in Scotland not long ago. He must be in line for a good inheritance, so maybe they'll get him back; that would really put Danny's nose out of joint!

[sallywebster]

pearly said:

Young Adam Barlow/Baldwin was wanting to leave boarding school in Scotland not long ago. He must be in line for a good inheritance, so maybe they'll get him back; that would really put Danny's nose out of joint!

I think Adam comes back for Ken and Deirdre's wedding. Wonder if he is back long term seen as another actor is now playing him.

[RitaLittlewood]

Bet being a huge mistake. It's worked better with Ray than it did with Bet, even those manky Blackpool eps where Cecil Newton was never that friendly with her.

Patsy

[stix]

I will post my feelings about it all as I did on another site
Lets hope they do a better job than with that Anthonys wife that was
so unrealistic and wrongly acted
Alzheimers does not kill the alzheimers victim they waste away from
being a healthy individual who just forgets things to being a wasted
body ( like in the concentration camps) with no recognition of
anyone or anything they need feeding and help sitting up and nappies
and lose their dignity and their spirit and their personality as
well as the most precious thing that someone has --their memories
until they die of pneumonia or a heart attack or a stroke etc
I think that they will try to rush it with Mike most sufferers take
around 7 to 10 years
I don't think Coro would commit to that more like a year
I am an expert on alzheimers as I spent 15 years of my life involved
with alzheimers victims Drs and specialists etc
15yrs is a s long as My Mum had alzheimers before she died at aged
76 of pneumonia
generally the younger you are ( like Mike who is 69 but not 89)the longer you live
I suspect we will see the world record in Alzheimers decline (less than a year)
I bet he won't be a dribbing wasted body in nappies being fed and cleaned
so NO they will not do it realistically IMO
stix

[RitaLittlewood]

You can bet all the money in the world he won't be dribbling and in nappies, Stix. He'd probably get a new variation created just for Corrie that lasts a couple of months. After all, when they have someone die of cancer, they're hardly skin and bone. As much as I love Tenko (1980s BBC series about women POWs in the Far East for anyone that's never heard of it), one thing that REALLY bugs me is how plump some of the actresses are. I wouldn't expect them to be anorexic for the parts but there were only a few that actually looked like they'd been starving. The film Paradise Road is worse with a very corpulent Elizabeth Spriggs staying exactly the same throughout her internment. If programmes are going to do these real things they should be accurate. I remember Amanda Barrie complaining about Alma's cancer being speeded up for ratings. As we know from so many mistakes, accuracy isn't high on Corrie's list.

Patsy

[stix]

so true Patsy
I like your change it to a brain tumour half way through idea
I know that I will find it very upsetting as I still loved my Mum even though she didn't know me and our roles were reversed (I fed her etc)I was not cold and callous like anthony ( in Coro) and many of the relatives are not either
I mean who knows what people
understand even if they don't show that they do
we still talk to babies
I know my Mums alzheimers gave my children a very caring outlook on people and they are always kind to others no matter what they look like etc
No matter what I know that for the first time in many years i may have to fast forward through some parts of Coro ( and watch the tapes instead)

[RitaLittlewood]

If anyone's confused, I said a brain tumour and they think it's Alzheimers on another site and by the time it's diagnosed it's too late. Also they should marry him off to Reet because she does brain tumours successfully.

Anthony Stephens was a selfish git. You're right about a lot of people not being like that. My maternal grandmother had multiple sclerosis and my grandfather turned down promotion because it would have meant him being away from home weekdays. He had her and my mother to look after. Yet my mum for some reason will not see what he did for them both and calls him all the names under the sun (probably because he wouldn't let her have her own way). It was very difficult for him but he did it with some help from his mother-in-law and nurses. And he hated putting her into hospital so he could take my mum away for a break. My dad visitied my gran when my parents were engaged every day so she wouldn't feel abandoned. He took care of them for over 25 years and less than 2 years after my grandmother died, he did himself of bowel cancer. They were both 50, which is a rare age to die from those illnesses. Here's an obscure claim to fame. My grandad was the superior of former Prime Minister James Callaghan (who died on Saturday) at the tax office in Kent they worked at. But you hear so many sad tales of parents being abandoned by their kids when they get ill. There was one last year of a poor elderly man brought back from Spain where he lived and dumped in a hospital. It took days before they discovered who he was and it turned out even his current wife didn't want the responsibility. It just breaks your heart really. I've accepted my lot in life. I know when my dad's gone I have to look after my mum because she can't manage on her own with her sight and epilepsy and now she's having trouble with her legs. And when my dad gets really bad with his emphysema, she'll be no help so it'll be all down to me, so I'm making the most of the freedom while I can. I can't understand why people just don't want to know and become so selfish. Although me and my mum have never really got on, I'd never put her in a home unless there was no viable alternative. Too many people today are just selfish. They have plenty of money and a big house and don't care. Society is a very sad place these days.

Patsy

[sallywebster]

Yes I forgot about Anthony Stevens. Glad Reet give him his marching orders. ;D

[RitaLittlewood]

Yes. But I didn't like that actor in Upstairs Downstairs. Seemed to me he plays everything the same. I mean, you can talk posh but still act differently.

Patsy

[Nick]

When my mum died,5 years ago,she didn't have Altzheimers..but the last couple of months she lost grip of where she was..who her family was etc...that was heartbreaking enough..but to see a person you love slowly go downhill for 16 years must have been terrible....My heart goes out to you Stix

[stix]

Thanks Nick
Hey Jez and Patsy don't forget she dumped him ( Anthony)and he went to New Zealand
I still duck round street corners LOl
stix