Phil was a solicitor who represented Mike Baldwin in January 2006, the pair being long-acquainted through Weatherfield Golf Club. Mike was suffering from early stages of Alzheimer's disease when Mike's son Danny and his girlfriend Leanne Battersby took advantage of his illness and persuaded Mike to change his will - thus leaving all assets to Danny.
In March, Mike and Danny again attended Phil's office whereby papers had been drawn up for Danny to be awarded power of attorney over Mike's affairs. Following Mike's death in April, the Baldwins and Barlows gathered nervously in the office as Phil read out Mike's will: £5,000 each to grandchildren Jamie and Warren Baldwin; £10,000 to son Adam Barlow and everything else - Mike's 51% share of Underworld, his flat, his villa in Spain and all other investments to Danny. Inevitably, Adam was upset that Mike had been manipulated and tried desperately to get Danny to give him a fair share of the factory.
With tension at an all-time high amongst the Baldwins, Danny once again sought advice from Phil to sort out divorce proceedings as estranged wife Frankie had requested half of his assets after his considerable financial gain but Danny, determined that he would not be undermined by her, falsely informed Phil that Frankie had started cohabiting with her boyfriend Nathan Cooper at 7 Coronation Street - their marital home.
By the end of July, Danny had finally realised that it was Frankie he truly loved and wanted to win back her affections. He promptly dumped Leanne and offered her £5,000 to get out of his life. With two different copies of Mike's last will as ammunition, Leanne extorted more money out of Danny and handed the copy of the genuine final will to the Barlows. After this new information had come to light, Phil told Danny that he was on shaky ground and advised him to try and settle the matter out of court.
- The character was credited as "Mike's Solicitor" on his first and third appearance, "Solicitor" on his second and fourth, and "Danny's Solicitor" on his final appearance. The character's first name "Phil" was given in dialogue in Episode 6209 (18th January 2006).
List of appearances[]
2006