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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Niamh Spence

Coronation Street's Linda Baldwin star unrecognisable after quitting fame for good

Actress Jacqueline Chadwick played Linda Baldwin in Coronation Street over two decades ago, but now looks unrecognisable after turning her back on the acting world.

After playing the wife of scheming factory owner Mike Baldwin, Jacqueline quit the soap in 2001 after three years of being at the centre of a number of major storylines.

Actress Jacqueline initially swapped Weatherfield for the Dales as she joined rival soap Emmerdale where she played Tina Dingle for three years.

Yet after less than a decade in soapland it appears on-screen roles weren't the dream for Jacqueline who hasn't appeared on TV since.

Instead the star turned her hand to an acting school and penning her own crime thriller novel, and she looks a world away from her former on-screen characters.

Jacqueline played Linda Baldwin in Coronation Street from 1998 until 2001 (Granada Television)

Jacqueline now looks totally different with her hair short blonde bob, a big change from the brunette style viewers will have seen her with.

Her twitter profile shows her much changed since she used to act in soaps, and she smiles for the camera wearing a cream cardigan, glasses and pearl jewellery.

The exit from acting was initially prompted by the star becoming a mother in 1997 to daughter Alexandra. Fathered with UK gangster Christopher Stone, Jacqueline wanted to keep her daughter away from her father and was desperate to keep them separate.

She kept his name off the birth certificate at the time, explaining to pals: "Chris and I are finished. I know he’s Alexandra’s father but there’s no way he’ll be playing daddy."

Jacqueline played Linda in Corrie before moving to Emmerdale for three years (Granada Television)

Speaking about motherhood, she said: "I doted on her too much. There was nothing else in my life. I was so in love with her I didn't go out for a year. I didn't even go out for my birthday. I became a recluse and suddenly I didn't want to do anything but be with her. It was unhealthy for her and me.

She continued: "Before she was born I used to love having a drink and partying but I changed overnight. I would say, 'Oh no, the baby needs me'. It was stupid. The baby was sick of me by the time she was a year old. She didn't want to look at me.

"My mum would go, 'Will you leave that baby alone. All you do is kiss her'."

Since becoming a mother and leaving on-screen roles, Jacqueline didn't abandon acting altogether as she established a drama workshop in 2004, called The Jacqueline Chadwick Academy of Performing Arts.

The actress was a recognised face with her long dark hair, which she has changed in recent years (Granada Television)

Yet in 2016, she took a change in career path and turned her hand to writing as she penned her first crime novel. Releasing 'In The Still' in 2017, Jacqueline revealed writing had always been a big passion of hers.

She revealed: "When I started out in the soaps, celebrity didn’t exist and your private life was pretty much your own. That all changed in the Noughties when the phenomenon of stardom took off.

"After having my two children, I decided it was time to quit acting as I didn’t want them be forced into the limelight because of me. I wanted to concentrate on the things that really mattered – being a wife and mother.

"Turning to writing was a no-brainer. I’ve always, for as long as I can remember, squirrelled myself away writing between acting jobs and even during breaks between scenes."

In 2017, she released her first novel with crime thriller 'In The Still' (Sunday Mail)
Now based in British Columbia, Jacqueline has never returned to on-screen roles (twitter)

Whilst she is yet to release another novel or follow up to her first book, Jacqueline has suffered health setbacks in recent years including a herniated disc and sciatica.

In 2018, she revealed on Twitter she was suffering from the two painful conditions as she wrote: "Had to delay hair appointment by two weeks because I still can’t sit. I’m going to look like the archetypal hag by March 10th."

She added the hashtags #HerniatedDiscsSuck and #SciaticaKickedMyA**.

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