- For Mike Baldwin's father see Frankie Baldwin (Sam Kydd).
Glamorous Francesca "Frankie" Baldwin met her husband Danny when she worked as a babysitter for his son Jamie. Even though he was still with wife Carol, Frankie "couldn't resist" sleeping with Danny, who she had fallen in love with. They had a son, Warren, and she also became close to stepson Jamie when she married Danny. He cheated on her numerous times, but she continued to forgive him until he cheated on her with Jamie's girlfriend Leanne Battersby.
Character's background
Upon arriving in Weatherfield, Frankie appeared stuck-up and prissy, eager for Danny to sell the house they shared in Essex so they could move into somewhere more suitable. Frankie exploded when she discovered Danny had slept with Sunita Parekh, and declared war on her. This perhaps is what drew her to Sunita's nemesis Maya Sharma. However, after learning of Maya's true nature, she apologised to Sunita and forgave her.
After a while, Frankie began to settle into the Street - especially after striking up a bond with Vera Duckworth. When Vera was ill, Frankie took care of her by doing her chores for her, filling in her job for her and advised her husband Jack to be more sensitive and attentive to Vera's needs. This led to Frankie securing a permanent position at Roy's Rolls, where she worked with Leanne.
Frankie saw Leanne as being beneath Jamie, and became suspicious of her cheating on him. Frankie discovered Leanne's affair with her husband Danny when Leanne lost her phone. The pair had arranged to meet at a hotel in Manchester but Leanne cancelled at the last minute. Annoyed, Danny rang her phone and spoke of all the things he wanted to do to Leanne - unaware that Frankie was on the other end of the line. Frankie threw Danny out and from then on she lived with Jamie, and his biological mother Carol, but after Carol accused Frankie and Jamie of sleeping with each other, Frankie kicked Carol out, and Carol returned to her home in Birmingham.
Danny, regretting losing her and scared at the thought of spending the rest of his life with Leanne, begged Frankie to take him back. Frankie remained strong and moved boyfriend Nathan Cooper into No.7 just days before the divorce went ahead. She celebrated her divorce by jetting off alone for a holiday in her newly acquired villa in Spain.
In October 2006, Frankie's former stepson Jamie declared his love for her at Fred Elliott's funeral and they kissed but the revelation shocked her and drove her back into the arms of ex-husband Danny. However she couldn't resist Jamie's advances and they embarked on a relationship, much to the disgust of the other residents of the Street. The news also led to Danny's disappearance.
Frankie and Jamie decided to head to Spain to start afresh, but at the last minute on New Year's Eve, Frankie got cold feet. She ended it with a devastated Jamie, and left to stay with a friend in Essex. As she departed in a taxi, Jamie was consoled by friend Sean Tully. However the misery wasn't over - at midnight Jamie received a call from father, Danny, telling him that he had sold Mike's flat and he was "sorry" to hear about his break up with Frankie.
In October 2009, Roy and Hayley Cropper were invited to Romania to attend Frankie's wedding to footballer Dean Fraser, however due to an electrical storm their plane was late arriving and therefore missed the ceremony. The Croppers house-sat for a week while the newly-weds went on their honeymoon.
Background information
- Frankie Baldwin appears briefly during a flashback in the direct-to-DVD spin-off Coronation Street: Romanian Holiday, however she is not played by Debra Stephenson.
Quotes
"Now that's what I call a welcome. Not your usual class of gaff Danny... nice wine though!" (First line)
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"Like you said Jamie, I'm not your mum, so I can." (Final line)