He was one of Corrie’s most beloved charmers, but off-screen, Johnny Briggs lost everything in a £1million divorce that left him broke and ashamed.
Johnny Briggs, best known as Coronation Street’s notorious womaniser Mike Baldwin, led a real life just as turbulent as the soap that made him famous. Before passing away at 85, Briggs revealed he was nearly penniless, having lost much of his wealth in a bitter £1million divorce battle with his second wife, Christine.
The actor – infamous for claiming to have slept with over 1,000 women – often found his personal life making headlines, with tabloid stories ranging from sex scandals to explosive family disputes.
Briggs portrayed the slick, cigar-smoking factory boss Mike Baldwin for more than three decades, becoming one of the most iconic TV villains in British soap history. His on-screen love triangle with Ken and Deirdre Barlow captivated viewers – but his off-screen affairs were arguably even more chaotic.
Married and divorced twice, Briggs never shied away from discussing his colourful love life. In a 2012 interview, he candidly admitted: “I was quite the ladies’ man. I’m not sure I should say how many women I’ve been with, but it’s probably more than [Ken actor William Roache].”
“I had the chance, I took it – but I’ll tell you this: it wasn’t worth it. There are all kinds of risks,” Johnny Briggs once admitted, reflecting on the price of his romantic escapades.
His first marriage to Caroline Hover came to an end in 1975 after she uncovered a love note from another woman hidden inside a pendant.
His daughter Karen recalled: “My brother Mark and I had climbed into bed with Mum and Dad, and I noticed he had a new pendant. I flipped it over and read aloud, ‘To Johnny, all my love, Christine.’ That was the end of Mum and Dad’s marriage.”
Briggs later wed Christine Allsop in 1977, but their fiery relationship was filled with ups and downs. Christine filed for divorce in 2006 after learning he had cheated on her with a 29-year-old makeup artist.
Her response was both public and cutting. She slipped a divorce notice into his fan mail and told the press: “He’s so tight with money, I had to buy my clothes from catalogues.”
The divorce reportedly cost Briggs £1million – a financial hit from which he never fully recovered.
Although he once quipped, “Money is everything – and happiness can’t buy it,” those close to Johnny Briggs said his divorce left him both emotionally shattered and financially drained.
Briggs also had a strained relationship with his daughter Karen, who spoke openly about feeling neglected and barely seeing her father. While they occasionally reconnected, years of unresolved tension remained between them.
By 2007, following the dramatic exit of his Coronation Street character – who died in the arms of long-time rival Ken Barlow – Briggs was alone once again and back in the tabloid spotlight.
This time, headlines exploded after a visit to a sex resort in Pattaya, Thailand, where a prostitute alleged he paid only €17 and left no tip. Briggs expressed regret over the incident, admitting: “This is going to look bad. It’s really embarrassing. There’s no fool like an old fool.”
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