Sad farewell for Mike Baldwin

Millions of Coronation Street fans will watch Mike Baldwin die in the arms of his long-time rival Ken Barlow tonight

Over the past few months, viewers have witnessed the factory boss's sad decline after being struck down with Alzheimer's disease.

Mike, played by veteran star Johnny Briggs, 70, has been in the soap for nearly 30 years.

The Street favourite first appeared on the programme in 1976 as a boyfriend of then Rovers barmaid Bet Lynch.

But after a rocky relationship he fell in love with single mum Deirdre Barlow. They dated for two years, but when they split she married Ken.

Mike and Deidre rekindled their romance two years later, but their passionate affair was discovered by Ken and the two men came to blows, marking the start of their bitter rivalry.

But in his final episode tonight, Mike is set to die in the arms of his old rival after suffering a heart attack.

Mike's departure from Weatherfield has been marked by the Radio Times with a cover shot which mirrors a famous painting of the Lord Nelson by Arthur William Davis.

Following his soap character's storyline, actor Briggs is backing a fund-raising appeal with the Alzheimer's Society to help those affected by the disease.