Brookside is a defunct British
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
set in
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England. The series began on the launch night of
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003. Originally intended to be called
Meadowcroft, the series was produced by
Mersey TelevisionLime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s....
and it was conceived by
Phil RedmondPhil Redmond CBE is an English television producer and screenwriter.He is well-known for creating several popular television series such as Grange Hill , Brookside and Hollyoaks...
who also devised
Grange HillGrange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
(1978–2008) and
HollyoaksHollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
(1995–present) the latter of which has taken
Brooksides place as Channel 4's programme in the "Top 4" British soaps, alongside EastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
(1985–), Coronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
(1960–), and EmmerdaleEmmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
(1972–).
Brookside became very successful for a number of years and is notable for its tackling of realistic and socially challenging storylines. It was at its most popular in the 1980s and the early 1990s. From the mid-1990s it began raising more controversial subjects under the guidance of new producers such as
Mal YoungMal Young is a British television producer and executive producer.-Background:His initial career was in the Graphic Design industry, and it was not until the age of 27 that he began working in television, on the acclaimed Channel 4 soap opera Brookside.Working on the show for nearly a decade, he...
and
Paul MarquessPaul Marquess is a Northern Irish-born British television producer.-Television career:His credits include Brookside, The Bill and Family Affairs. He also originated the idea for the series Footballers' Wives...
. It is especially well-known for broadcasting the first pre-
watershedIn television, the term watershed denotes the time period in a television schedule during which programs with adult content can air....
lesbian kiss on British televisionThe "lesbian kiss episode" is a sub-genre of the U.S. television media created in the 1990s. Beginning in 1991 with a kiss on L.A. Law episode "He's a Crowd" between C.J...
, as well as a powerful domestic abuse storyline resulting in murder. The series caused an uproar when it featured a storyline featuring a consensual incestuous sexual relationship between two
siblingSiblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
characters during 1996. Brookside was also the first British soap to feature an openly gay character when
Gordon CollinsGordon Collins is a character in Channel 4 soap-opera Brookside, he appeared in it from the first episode in 1982 until 1990. He was portrayed by Nigel Cowley in earlier episodes and later on by Mark Burgess...
came out in 1985, and it was also the first to depict serious drug addiction with a number of different characters. Although the series had a long and successful run, by 2000 its viewing figures were in terminal decline and low ratings eventually led to its cancellation in July 2003. The final episode was broadcast on 4 November 2003 and was watched by around 2 million viewers.
The first episode of Brookside
was repeated as part of Channel 4 at 25
on 1 October 2007. The episode aired on More4More4 is a digital television channel, run by British broadcaster Channel 4, that launched on 10 October 2005. It is carried on Freeview, on satellite broadcasters Freesat and Sky, UK IPTV broadcaster TalkTalk TV and on UK cable network Virgin Media and in the Republic of Ireland cable networks...
in a season of celebratory Channel 4 programmes to mark the channel's first quarter century. Several classic episodes have also been available to view on Channel4OD, an online service, since 2009.
Development
Brookside differed from other serials because it was filmed in real, brand-new houses, in a real
cul-de-sacA cul-de-sac is a word of French origin referring to a dead end, close, no through road or court meaning dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet...
, situated off Deysbrook Lane in the
North WestNorth West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
city of
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Built by
Broseley HomesBroseley Estates Limited, also referred to as Broseley Homes, was formed by Danny Horrocks after an amalgamation of developers and was owned for most of its history by the insurance company Royal Exchange...
, the houses were custom built in an attempt by the producers to add to the show's realism. In early 1982,
Mersey TelevisionLime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s....
, with Phil Redmond at the helm, bought 13 houses altogether, 6 of which would be seen on-screen as sets. The remaining 7 properties housed administration, post production and canteen facilities for the cast and crew. Phil Redmond was particularly enthusiastic about purchasing an entire 'close' of houses, partly as a means of achieving the desired realism of Brookside
, but also in order to maintain total control of his creation.
Beginning
Brookside had a smaller ensemble cast than other soaps, focusing on six households. The early cast featured just 16 characters and it would be a full 12 months before the focal six houses in Brookside Close became fully occupied. The introductory episodes concentrated on the development of the anchor Grant family, with
SheilaSheila Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Sue Johnston. Sheila appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the characters departure in 1990.-Character:...
(
Sue JohnstonSusan "Sue" Johnston, OBE is a BAFTA nominated English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , Grace Foley in Waking the Dead from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009,...
) and
BobbyBobby Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Ricky Tomlinson. Bobby appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the character's departure in 1988...
(
Ricky TomlinsonEric Tomlinson , known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and James "Jim" Royle in The Royle Family....
) who had moved up the social ladder to a big, four-bedroomed house on the 'middle-class' Brookside Close from a run-down council estate. The Grants were the first family to have moved onto the Close and they lived at Number 5 and were the focus of earliest advertising campaigns promoting the programme. Initially, only three of the six new-builds were occupied by characters and Episode 1 saw the arrival of the Collins family. In contrast to the Grants, these were on their way down the social ladder, downsizing from their lavish home on the upmarket
WirralThe Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 311,200, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington, Heswall, Hoylake and West Kirby. The city of...
, to the smaller Number 8, Brookside Close. The contrast between the families was heavily featured, particularly Bobbie's left wing and Paul's right wing views. Other characters included
HeatherHeather Black was a regular character in UK Channel 4 soap opera, Brookside, played by Amanda Burton from 1982 until 1986.-Character:...
(
Amanda BurtonAmanda Burton is an award-winning actress from Northern Ireland. Burton is best known for her high-profile television roles as Karen Fisher in Waterloo Road , Sam Ryan in the BBC crime drama series Silent Witness, Clare Blake in The Commander, Beth Glover in Peak Practice, and Heather Black in the...
in her TV debut) and Roger Huntington (
Rob SpendloveRob Spendlove is a British actor best known for his roles on UK Television.He studied drama at Middlesex Polytechnic, worked as a teacher and toured schools with a fringe theatre company....
), two
young professionalsYuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
residing at semi-detached Number 9 who took an instant dislike to the Grants. Low class newly-weds Gavin (
Daniel WebbDanny Webb is a British television and film actor. He may be best known for his role as the prisoner Morse in Alien 3. He has appeared in many famous British television programmes including The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Emmerdale Farm, Our Friends in the North, A Touch of Frost, Agatha...
) and
Petra TaylorPetra Taylor is a fictional character portrayed by Alexandra Pigg in the soap Brookside from 1982 until 1983.-Background:...
(
Alexandra PiggAlexandra Pigg is a British actress who first came to prominence as Petra Taylor in the TV soap opera Brookside. Her best known film appearances are as Elaine in Letter to Brezhnev , for which she was nominated for a BAFTA award, and as Bridget Baines in A Chorus of Disapproval...
) moved into Number 10 during very early episodes, memorably selling stolen cookers from the front lawn, infuriating their new neighbours.
The first episode was watched by 4.2 million viewers but the initial reaction to the serial was far from positive. Critics were quick to point out various technical problems as well as the
profanityProfanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
now being screened before the
watershedIn television, the term watershed denotes the time period in a television schedule during which programs with adult content can air....
. As viewing figures plumetted, stabilising at around 1 million, the production team and writers started to iron out Brooksides teething troubles. Soundproof panels were placed on the ceilings of the houses to contain sound and eliminate echoing, and the scriptwriters toned down the language and removed a couple of poor performing supporting actors. The show's atmosphere changed with the arrival of new characters such as
Alan PartridgeAlan Partridge was an early character in Channel 4 soap Brookside. He was portrayed by Dicken Ashworth from 1983 until 1984. He was the first resident to live at No. 6 .-Background:...
(a character played by
Dicken AshworthDicken Ashworth is an English actor who has made several appearances in film and television.His film credits include: Force 10 from Navarone, Tess, Krull, and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.On television, can be a regular cast member in several soap operas - playing Alan Partridge...
and unrelated to the later comedy character of the same name) who moved into the bungalow (Number 6) in April 1983, while pensioners Harry (
Bill DeanBill Dean was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool. He was born Patrick Connolly but took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean.- Biography :...
) and Edna (
Betty AlbergeBetty Alberge was an English actress best known for her soap opera roles as cornershop owner Florrie Lindley in Coronation Street and as Edna Cross in Brookside...
) Cross, who bought Number 7, arrived in November. Their opening storyline involved the mysterious movement of their garden gnomes. These new characters expanded the cast whilst helping to bring humour and balance to the existing cast during 1983.
Further cast changes during 1983 saw the arrival of the Jackson family. Both Gavin and Petra Taylor departed
Brookside very early in the year. Gavin was the first casualty of the soap, dying from an unexpected brain haemorrhage in February, and Petra committed suicide a few months later, having disappeared from the Close in mysterious circumstances. Petra's sister, Marie Jackson (
Anna KeaveneyAnna Keaveney was an English actress best known for her role as Marie Jackson in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside....
), her husband
GeorgeGeorge Edward Jackson is a fictional character in the British soap opera, Brookside, played by Cliff Howells.-Introduction:George first appeared on Brookside Close in Episode 28, the same episode in which resident Gavin Taylor died. Later when Gavin's wife Petra died the Jackson family moved into No...
(Cliff Howells) and their twin boys Gary and 'little' George, (Alan and Steven Patterson) moved into Number 10. They became central to one of
Brookside's first high profile storylines, when George was wrongly convicted of a warehouse robbery. In a bold move, the plotline was leaked to the tabloid press, and as Marie Jackson began the
Free George Jackson campaign on-screen, the press followed, creating huge levels of media hype similar to those seen when US soap
Dallas featured the '
Who shot J.R.?Who shot J. R.? is an advertising catchphrase that American network CBS created in 1980 to promote the television series Dallas.In the final scene of the 1979–1980 season, the character J. R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman, was shot by a hidden assailant. The episode, titled "A House Divided", was...
' plot of 1980, and
Crossroads leaked the motel fire storyline of November 1981. Viewing figures rose as the hype continued; a record called "Free George Jackson" by Blazing Saddles was released, and merchandise was produced, including T-shirts and posters. Even though the storyline ultimately had a low-key conclusion (Cliff Howells who played George resigned and George Jackson stayed in prison), the plot helped
Brookside on the pathway to success, particularly when the Corkhills arrived to replace the departed Jackson family in September 1985.
Other early storylines included Alan's turbulent love-life and eventual marriage to Samantha (Dinah May), Sheila's unexpected pregnancy in her forties, Paul's battles with unemployment, Edna's gambling addiction,
Terry Sullivan'sTerry Sullivan is a fictional character in the British Soap opera Brookside, played by Brian Regan. Terry first appeared a few episodes after the series began in 1982, making his debut in episode six. He was the best friend of Barry Grant having grown up with him, and in many ways Barry's mother...
relationship with Petra's other sister, Michelle Jones (Tracey Jay), and his descent into petty crime along with Barry Grant. All the while, a political undertone was strong in the writing of
Brooksides earliest episodes and characters would often be seen debating political issues of the time.
Taking Issue
Many of
Brookside's early storylines were issue-led and strongly geared around
BobbyBobby Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Ricky Tomlinson. Bobby appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the character's departure in 1988...
and
SheilaSheila Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Sue Johnston. Sheila appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the characters departure in 1990.-Character:...
's turbulent marriage. Bobby's short-temper and frequent visits to union picket lines opposite Sheila's staunch Catholic faith and traditional family values made compelling viewing for many viewers, as did the antics of their children
BarryBarry Grant is a fictional character in the defunct Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He was portrayed by Paul Usher and was in the series from episode one in 1982 until 1995 with several sporadic guest appearances in 1997, 1998 and the final episode in 2003....
(
Paul UsherPaul Usher is an English actor.He was educated at St John Plessington Catholic College, Bebington, and is best known for playing Barry Grant in Brookside, from the first episode until the last , and PC Des Taviner in The Bill from 2001 to 2004.He has also appeared in Liverpool...
),
KarenKaren Grant is a character in Brookside portrayed by Shelagh O'Hara from 1982 until 1987.-Grant Family:The Grant family consisted of Bobby Grant, Sheila Grant, Barry Grant, Karen Grant and Damon Grant...
(Shelagh O'Hara), and
DamonDamon Grant is a fictional character in the defunct British soap opera Brookside, played by Simon O'Brien. The character was part of the initial cast, appearing from episode one in 1982 until 1987...
(Simon O'Brien). They were joined by Claire later in the mid-1980s in a storyline where Sheila and Bobby dealt with parenthood later in life. The Jacksons, although a relatively high profile family during the first two years of
Brookside, departed Liverpool following George's transfer to a different prison near
LeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
in early 1985. Petra's other sister, Michelle (Tracey Jay), departed soon after, leaving Number 10 vacant for some time.
1985 was a pivotal year for
Brookside and viewing figures rose massively in July with 'The Siege' story arc. At this point Britain's newest TV channel was still only in its third year and Number 7 Brookside Close was now home to two young nurses – Sandra Maghie (Sheila Greer) and Kate Moses (Sharon Rosita), and former hospital porter Pat Hancock (
David EasterDavid Easter is an English actor.He is best known for his role as Pete Callan in the television soap opera Family Affairs from 1997 to 2005. He had previously been a regular cast member on Brookside, playing Pat Hancock from 1984 to 1987...
). They rented the property from Harry Cross who had moved into the Bungalow next door, having recently suffered a serious angina attack, and through their nursing, they encountered John Clarke (
Robert PughRobert Pugh is a Welsh film and television actor.Pugh was born in Cilfynydd and graduated from Rose Bruford College in 1976. In 2007, he co-starred alongside Genevieve O'Reilly and Geraldine James in ITV1 drama The Time of Your Life, where he played a parent whose 36-year-old daughter was...
), whose elderly mother eventually died (of natural causes) in hospital, while under their care. Gradually, John's instability grew into insanity and he was unable to cope with the death of his mother. He forced his way into Number 7, armed with a revolver and ready to avenge his mother's death. He held the three nurses hostage for several days in a three-episode run with Brookside Close sealed off and surrounded by armed police. The siege culminated in three shots resulting in the death of Kate followed by John's
suicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Some critics took issue with the unlikely plot-premise; for example, former
Daily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
critic Hilary Kingsley described it as "ludicrous" in her book
Soap Box. Viewers disagreed and ratings were pushed to 8 million for the first time. This year also saw the death of Edna Cross, who collapsed from a
strokeA stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in the kitchen of Number 6, just weeks after the siege. Her death became even more poignant after she was rushed to Hospital, only to be told there were no beds available. Sadly, Edna died, and long-time friend Ralph Hardwick (Ray Dunbobbin) moved into the Bungalow to look after a devastated Harry.
In September,
Brookside's longest-serving family, the Corkhills, arrived. The first generation of Corkhills to appear in the Close were
BillyWilliam "Billy" Corkhill is a fictional character in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside played by John McArdle from 1985 to 1990.-Arrival:The Corkhills family arrive at No.10 in 1985 replacing the Jackson family...
(
John McArdleJohn McArdle is an English actor. He is most notable for playing Billy Corkhill in the soap-opera Brookside, with many other smaller appearances in other soaps and dramas...
) and
DoreenDoreen Corkhill was a fictional character in the British soap opera, Brookside, played by Kate Fitzgerald .-Introduction of the Corkhills:The Corkhills moved into number 10 in 1985...
(Kate Fitzgerald) who moved into Number 10 with their children Rod (Jason Hope) and Tracy (Justine Kerrigan). Stories involving the Corkhills were concerned with marital problems and debt and with Billy languishing on the
doleDole may refer to:*The Grain supply to the city of Rome in ancient times.* Since the early 20th Century, a colloquial term referring to government public assistance programs; see Unemployment benefits. Originally it referred to any charitable gift of food, clothing or money. The dole has taken on...
, Doreen did whatever she could to raise money to support her desperate family. Another character to arrive at the same time as the Corkhill's was Doreen's interfering mother, Julia Brogan (Gladys Ambrose), who became a hugely popular comedy character. She was often seen dropping in to see her daughter's family, usually at the most inappropriate moments and remained in the series for over a decade.
In 1986 storylines were just as hard-hitting and featured a controversial attack on pivotal character Sheila Grant. Actress
Sue JohnstonSusan "Sue" Johnston, OBE is a BAFTA nominated English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , Grace Foley in Waking the Dead from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009,...
's realistic portrayal of the scenes showing Sheila coming to terms with her horrific rape experience led to this being named the second most popular
Brookside storyline ever, as featured in the documentary
Brookside: 10 of the Best,.
The second big storyline of 1986 was the shocking death of
Nicholas BlackNicholas Black was a regular character in UK Channel 4 soap opera Brookside between 1985 and 1986, played by Alan Rothwell.He married Heather Huntingdon on 30 June 1986, just months after they met when she crashed into his car...
(
Alan RothwellAlan Rothwell is a British actor and television presenter. He was born in Oldham, Lancashire. He first came to fame in 1960, playing the character David Barlow in the then new ITV soap opera Coronation Street. He remained in this role in 1968, and the character was killed off two years later...
). Having divorced her first husband Roger in 1983, Heather Huntingdon reverted to her maiden name, Haversham, and returned to her career. In November 1985 and shortly after a stint engaged to businessman Tom Curzon, Heather met and quickly married Nicholas Black, but she was unaware that he was a secret heroin addict. Although Nicholas attempted to keep to his promise to his wife to give up heroin, the pull of the drug became stronger. After weeks of deceiving his wife to raise money for drugs (including stealing and selling her jewellery) he disappeared, subsequently dying of exposure in
Sefton ParkSefton Park is a public park in south Liverpool, England. The park is in a district of the same name within the Liverpool City Council Ward of Mossley Hill, and roughly within the historic bounds of the large area of Toxteth Park...
after taking heroin. As a result, Heather left Brookside Close for good. The storyline was intentionally shocking, and made
Brookside the first British soap opera to tackle the issue of
heroin addiction candidly.
Brookside would re-visit the issue of drug addiction several times during the rest of its long run.
This year also saw the introduction of the soap's longest-running character
Jimmy CorkhillJames 'Jimmy' Corkhill is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by Dean Sullivan. He joined the series in 1986, originally arriving in a recurring basis appearing along side his on-screen brother, Billy Corkhill, he then became a regular, remaining in the...
, played by
Dean SullivanDean Sullivan is an English actor. He is best known for playing Jimmy Corkhill in Channel 4's soap opera Brookside....
. Initially a bit-part player, Jimmy was the brother of Billy Corkhill. His early appearances usually saw the character in many money-making schemes, along with characters such as Barry Grant,
Terry SullivanTerry Sullivan is a fictional character in the British Soap opera Brookside, played by Brian Regan. Terry first appeared a few episodes after the series began in 1982, making his debut in episode six. He was the best friend of Barry Grant having grown up with him, and in many ways Barry's mother...
(
Brian ReganBrian Regan is a British actor known for playing Terry Sullivan, one of the lead roles in the Channel 4 soap Brookside, during the 1980s and 1990s. He has also had small parts in other television series...
) and
Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney Thomas Henry Edward Sweeney , commonly known as Sinbad is a character in Brookside from 1984 to 2000 played by Michael Starke.-Character:...
(
Michael StarkeMichael Starke , is a British actor best known for his role as Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney which he played for 16 years in the soap opera Brookside...
). Jimmy Corkhill's first high profile storyline involved an insurance job on his brother Billy's house, whilst the Corkhills and most of the close were attending son Rod's graduation from Police training. Another famous
Brookside storyline from November 1987 involved Doreen and Billy's crumbling marriage reaching breaking point. When Doreen admitted to Billy she had been sexually propositioned in return to pay off the family's spiralling debts, in an iconic scene, Billy drove around the Close, churning up his neighbour's gardens in a fit of anger, and a distraught Doreen walked out on the family.
Heather Black put Number 9 up For Sale and Jonathan Gordon-Davies (Stephen Pinner) bought the property. He moved in with his fiancée, Laura Wright (Jane Cunliffe) in April 1987. Jonathan and Laura were both solicitors, epitomising the '
yuppieYuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
'
stereotypeA stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
of the era, although shortly after their marriage in August, Laura was hospitalised from a fatal electric shock. After leaving the bathroom and switching on a brass-faced light switch that had been incorrectly wired (by Laura's father), she tumbled down the stairs, and went into a coma for three months. Jonathan was faced with the impossible decision of allowing doctors to switch off her life-support machine in harrowing scenes originally aired in January 1988. Terry Sullivan then lodged at Number 9 with Jonathan, and Terry's new girlfriend Sue Harper (
Annie MilesAnnie Miles is an actress who is best known for her roles in television soap opera. She played Sue Sullivan in Brookside from 1987 to 1991, and Maria Simons Starr in Family Affairs from 1997 to 2000....
) moved in soon after.
Peak of popularity
Late 1987 to early 1988 saw the rapid disintegration of the central Grant family. Damon was fatally stabbed whilst on the run with his girlfriend Debbie (
Gillian KearneyGillian Louise Kearney is an English actress best known for playing Jessica Harrison in the long-running BBC television medical drama series Casualty, and her early role as Debbie McGrath in Channel 4's Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside and the spin-off mini-series Damon and Debbie.-Early...
) in November 1987 (and contained in a
Brookside spin-off, see below). Karen left the show when she headed for London to study in late 1987, returning briefly a year later on the first anniversary of her brother's death. Bobby then departed in May 1988 after he discovered he was not Barry's biological father. As the Grants marriage crumbled, Sheila and her youngest child Claire moved into the spare room at Billy Corkhill's (Number 10) and Number 5 was subsequently auctioned off and bought by the Rogers family during a moment of auction-fever during May 1989. The Rogers were a similarly large family who had moved into Number 7 Brookside Close in November 1987, renting it from Harry Cross. However, when Number 5 went up for
auctionAn auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
, truck driver Frank (
Peter ChristianPeter Christian is an English actor best known for his roles on UK Television.In 1983, he appeared in the original Liverpool Playhouse production of Willy Russell's Blood Brothers as Sammy....
) and his left wing wife Chrissie (Eithne Browne) decided they wanted to buy their own home, so bought the former Grant house on their way up the
property ladderThe property ladder is a term widely used in the United Kingdom to describe an individual or family's lifetime progress from cheaper to more expensive housing. According to this metaphor, cheap houses for first-time buyers are at the bottom of the property ladder, and expensive houses are at the top...
, a very
right wing approach to home ownership in the eighties. 1989 saw the Rogers and their three children, Sammy (Rachael Lindsay), Katie (Debbie Reynolds, Diane Burke from 1989) and Geoff (Kevin Carson) become the central
nuclear familyNuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
in
Brookside with many storylines revolving around them.
The Collins family at Number 8 had a relatively eventful time during their eight years on Brookside Close. Nearing retirement, Paul (
Jim WigginsJim Wiggins was an English actor, best known for his role as Paul Collins in the long running television soap Brookside....
) suffered humiliation at his redundancy and subsequent unemployment, resulting in the family having to move to Brookside Close in the first episode. Meanwhile, in another British soap opera first, a storyline saw their son Gordon (Nigel Crowley, later Mark Burgess)
coming outComing out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as homosexual. At the same time, their daughter Lucy (
Katrin CartlidgeKatrin Cartlidge was an English actress. She first appeared on screen as Lucy Collins in the Liverpool soap opera Brookside from 1982 to 1988 and later became well known for her film work with directors such as Mike Leigh and Lars von Trier.- Biography :Cartlidge was born in London to an English...
, briefly replaced by Maggie Saunders) embarked on a controversial affair with an older married man. Mother and family matriarch Annabelle (
Doreen SloaneDoreen Sloane was an English actress best known for her roles in the soap operas Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Brookside....
) had to rescue her elderly and abused mother, Mona (Margaret Clifton), from a corrupt care-home and this was followed by her affair with Brian Lawrence (Vincent Maguire), a magistrate. In June 1990, however, the entire family had to be written out of
Brookside following Doreen Sloane's death from
cancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
Like the Grants, the Corkhills' turbulent marriage also ended in divorce. Doreen left the family in late 1987, returning briefly in 1989. Rod shamed the family by becoming a police officer and Tracey trained as a hairdresser. Jimmy (now a contract cast-member) was lodging at Number 10 with his new girlfriend Kathy Roach (
Noreen KershawNoreen Kershaw is an English television actress and director.She trained at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, originated the title role of the play Shirley Valentine, later made famous by Pauline Collins...
). To make room for everyone, he created a spare room by knocking a door way through to the garage and it was this room that was eventually occupied by Sheila and Claire Grant after the breakdown of the Grants marriage.
A spectacular stunt was staged in October 1989 when Sammy Rogers (Rachael Lindsay), Owen Daniels (Danny McCall) and their school friend Nisha Batra (
Sunetra SarkerSunetra Sarker is an English actress, most notable for her role as Dr Zoe Hanna on Casualty.Sarker has a degree in Information Systems for Business with French from Brunel University....
) were involved in a horrific car accident as a result of joy riding. The storyline was praised by then Home Office Minister
Chris PattenChristopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
as "realistic realism" when highlighting the dangers of joy riding. As a result of the crash, Owen used a wheelchair and Sammy turned to alcohol, beginning the characters destructive decent into
alcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. Also this year, a young, professional Chinese family, the Choi's, arrive at Number 7. Widower Michael (
David YipDavid Yip is an English actor.Yip, of Asian and English descent, was born in Liverpool and trained at East 15 Acting School, London...
) and his young daughter Jessica, accompanied by Michael's sister Caroline (
Sarah LamSarah Lam is a British-Chinese actress, noted for her television roles.She played Susannah in the sitcom No Problem!, Linda Mo in Angels, Anna Lee in Howards' Way and Caroline Choi in Brookside....
) appeared from May 1989 for a short period, providing storylines for the increasingly popular window-cleaner Sinbad (
Michael StarkeMichael Starke , is a British actor best known for his role as Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney which he played for 16 years in the soap opera Brookside...
), who was briefly attracted to Caroline Choi. Sinbad had risen from the ranks of bit-part comedy relief character to a popular member of the cast and his part in
Brookside continued to grow as time went on. He was eventually reunited with his estranged mother Ruth (Mary Healey), before finding love with Marcia Barrett (Cheryl Maiker) to whom he became briefly engaged.
By 1990, most of the original cast of
Brookside had left; Billy and Sheila married and then departed for
BasingstokeBasingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
, Jonathan Gordon-Davies left for
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the entire Collins family moved to the
Lake DistrictThe Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, relative newcomers the Choi's emigrated to
AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and then Harry Cross moved to
St HelensSt Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
. They were quickly replaced by a raft of new characters; the Farnhams bought Number 7, the Dixon family arrived at Number 8, the re-united Johnson family settled into Number 6, and Sue Harper (
Annie MilesAnnie Miles is an actress who is best known for her roles in television soap opera. She played Sue Sullivan in Brookside from 1987 to 1991, and Maria Simons Starr in Family Affairs from 1997 to 2000....
) married Terry Sullivan (
Brian ReganBrian Regan is a British actor known for playing Terry Sullivan, one of the lead roles in the Channel 4 soap Brookside, during the 1980s and 1990s. He has also had small parts in other television series...
) and they started married life at Number 9 with baby Danny. Now with the entire Grant family gone, the remaining original character of Barry Grant (
Paul UsherPaul Usher is an English actor.He was educated at St John Plessington Catholic College, Bebington, and is best known for playing Barry Grant in Brookside, from the first episode until the last , and PC Des Taviner in The Bill from 2001 to 2004.He has also appeared in Liverpool...
) was developed and he became increasingly involved in various dubious plots with the Liverpool underworld. The 1990 cast of new families arrived in very quick succession; Mick Johnson (
Louis EmerickLouis Emerick, born 10 June 1960, Liverpool, England, UK, is a British TV actor, best known for his portrayal of Mick Johnson in the soap opera Brookside....
) had been a lodger with Harry Cross in 1989 but in early 1990, the character was joined by his estranged wife Josie (
Suzanne PackerBirth Name: Suzanne JacksonBirth Date: June 20th 1958Birth Place: Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales.Suzanne Packer is the stage name of a Welsh actress who is best known for playing the role of Tess Bateman in the long running television series, Casualty...
) and their children
LeoLeo Johnson is a character in Channel 4 television soap opera Brookside. He was played by Leeon Sawyer when the character arrived on the Close in March 1990 until September 1996...
and Gemma. Max and Patricia Farnham (
Steven PinderSteven Pinder is an actor.-Early life:Pinder was born on March 30, 1960, and comes from a small family with just one younger sister, Catherine, who is 11 years younger and works in agriculture. He grew up on Downham Avenue in Great Harwood...
and
Gabrielle GlaisterGabrielle Glaister is an English actress.-Early life:She was a school friend of Ben Elton at Godalming Grammar School on Tuesley Lane in Godalming, Surrey; Glaister was in the year below Elton...
) moved into Number 7 in September and were the soap's new 'professional' couple, along with their son Thomas, and live-in
nannyA nanny, childminder or child care provider, is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service...
Margaret Clemence (
Nicola StephensonNicola Stephenson is an English actress. She is known mainly for her roles in television, which include Margaret Clemence in Brookside, Julie Fitzjohn/Bradford in Holby City, Suzie Davidson in Clocking Off, Jackie in ITV's Christmas Lights/Northern Lights/City Lights, and Sarah Williams in BBC's...
). In direct contrast, working-class
RonRonald William "Ron" Dixon is a fictional character in the British soap opera, Brookside, played by Vince Earl from 1990 until the final episode in 2003, during which time he was involved in several major storylines....
and DD Dixon (
Vince EarlVince 'Mark' Earl Vince 'Mark' Earl Vince 'Mark' Earl (born 11 June 1944 in Birkenhead, Cheshire (now in Merseyside) is an English singer, comedian and actor most famous for his portrayal of the character Ron Dixon in the soap opera Brookside....
and
Irene MarotIrene L Marot is a British actress who is most notable for her role as "DD" Dixon in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside during the early 1990s....
) drove onto Brookside Close during October in the 'Moby', a huge mobile shop, to move into Number 8 with their family, thus beginning a long-running feud between the two families which would last the rest of the series.
Brookside was now achieving mass appeal and had become a hugely profitable and lucrative brand for Channel 4, and ratings continued to climb. The soap was by now achieving an average audience of around 7 million viewers (with the weekday and omnibus audience figures combined) and Channel 4 wanted more; so, from July 1, 1990, an extra episode was added and
Brookside was now shown three times a week. To accommodate this expansion, off-screen,
Mersey TelevisionLime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s....
bought a defunct Technical College in the district of
ChildwallChildwall is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by Gateacre, Wavertree, Belle Vale, Broadgreen, Bowring Park and Mossley Hill...
, around 15 minutes away from the set of Brookside Close. The new headquarters came with a number of advantages, not least the fact that parts of the site could be used as different sets for their programmes, and, on-screen, part of this new premises became a row of shops called
Brookside Parade.
Brookside Parade
The introduction of the
Brookside Parade to the storyline saw Ron Dixon open his own convenience store called
Dixon's Trading Post, Barry Grant opened a bar/nightclub initially called
La Luz (The Light) and, Terry Sullivan opened
Pizza Parade, where Matty Nolan (Tony Scoggo) and Owen Daniels worked for a while. These, and other businesses – including a Salon run by Angela Lambert (Hilary Welles), DD Dixon opened a florist, next came a Petrol Station and, eventually, a Health Club complete with swimming pool – appearing on-screen for the first time meant that the main focus of
Brookside shifted away from the houses of Brookside Close to this new, modern set – and many storylines went with it. To launch
Brookside Parade in 1991, and coinciding with the soap's 1000th episode, the writers (now led by Senior Producer
Mal YoungMal Young is a British television producer and executive producer.-Background:His initial career was in the Graphic Design industry, and it was not until the age of 27 that he began working in television, on the acclaimed Channel 4 soap opera Brookside.Working on the show for nearly a decade, he...
) developed the controversial storyline of the double-murder of pregnant Sue Sullivan and baby Danny. The two were pushed off scaffolding, crashing through a glass canopy to their deaths, supposedly by lawyer Graeme Curtis (David Banks), in a grim 'who-dunnit' plotline which saw ratings soar. It is at this point in the show's history that the whole format and focus of
Brookside then changed and the emphasis on headline-grabbing and often sensational storylines replaced the grittiness and social realism that
Brookside had become synonymous with since its inception.
After newly-weds Billy and Sheila Corkhill left the Close, Billy's children remained in the series for a couple more years: Tracey became romantically involved with Barry Grant, leading to her aborting his baby and Rod married Diana Spence (Paula Frances) and then left the police force after he was maliciously beaten on his wedding night. The Rogers divorced after Chrissie (Eithne Browne) walked out on the family to join teacher training college on Sammy and Owen's Wedding Day, and by the end of 1991,
Jimmy CorkhillJames 'Jimmy' Corkhill is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by Dean Sullivan. He joined the series in 1986, originally arriving in a recurring basis appearing along side his on-screen brother, Billy Corkhill, he then became a regular, remaining in the...
(
Dean SullivanDean Sullivan is an English actor. He is best known for playing Jimmy Corkhill in Channel 4's soap opera Brookside....
), had become a series regular and he played a central part in the new-look and revamped
Brookside. Jimmy was joined by his estranged wife Jackie (
Sue JenkinsSusan Elizabeth Jenkins is an English actress and one of two daughters of Albert and Marjorie Jenkins.-Biography:Sue Jenkins became an actress at the age of eighteen having studied at drama college...
) who appeared from 1991 working at
Dixon's Trading Post, and his elder children
Little Jimmy Corkhill"Little" James 'Jimmy' Corkhill Jr. was a fictional character in the defunct Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He was portrayed by George Christopher and first appeared between 1991 and 1992...
(
George ChristopherGeorge Christopher is a British actor.He is best known for his teenage role as Liverpudlian scamp Ziggy Greaves in Grange Hill, a role he played from 1986 to 1989...
) and
LindseyLindsey Corkhill is a character in Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. She was played by Claire Sweeney from 1991 to 2001 and then again in 2003..-Character:...
(
Claire SweeneyClaire Jane Sweeney is an English actress, singer and television personality best known for playing the role of Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside and her appearance on the first series of the Reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother.-Early Life:Sweeney was born in Walton, Liverpool...
) were initially seen as recurring characters (it would be later that Claire Sweeney would join
Brookside for a longer run as Lindsey). The character of Jimmy was used to further explore the dark and devastating effects of serious drug addiction. The long-running story-arc saw Jimmy descend into uncontrollable drug abuse, his addiction climaxing in a
cocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
-induced car crash which killed off
Frank RogersFrank Rogers is a fictional character in the British soap opera, Brookside, played by Peter Christian from 1987 until the character's demise in November 1993. He died in hospital on his wedding day, shortly after being injured in a car crash that was caused by Jimmy Corkhill...
(
Peter ChristianPeter Christian is an English actor best known for his roles on UK Television.In 1983, he appeared in the original Liverpool Playhouse production of Willy Russell's Blood Brothers as Sammy....
) in September 1993. Teenager Tony Dixon (Mark Lennock) was also involved in the crash and he eventually died of his injuries in February 1994 sparking a feud between Jimmy and Ron which continued until the very last episode of the series.
By 1993, the firm establishment of
Brookside Parade had occurred and the
Parade was fully occupied by businesses owned by residents of Brookside Close. Flats above the shops also provided new homes to various characters, such as former Brookside Close resident Mick Johnson, who would later be held at gun-point in his flat by obsessed stalker Jenny Swift (
Kate BeckettKatherine "Kate" Beckett is a fictional character portrayed by Stana Katic in the ABC crime series Castle.-Background:Beckett is a detective with the Twelfth Precinct Homicide Squad of the New York City Police Department, where she worked with fellow detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan and...
).
Mersey TelevisionLime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s....
made full use of their former Technical College buildings in Childwall and writers introduced Head Mistress Barbara Harrison (
Angela MorantAngela Morant is a British actress.She is remembered for playing Octavia Minor in the 1976 BBC television adaptation of I, Claudius and Barbara Harrison in the soap opera Brookside....
), who moved into Number 9 Brookside Close in December 1991 with her recently retired husband John (Geoffrey Leesley). Many scenes saw Barbara at
Brookside Comprehensive (in reality derelict parts of Childwall Technical College buildings) in charge of pupils such as teenagers Jacqui (
Alexandra FletcherAlexandra Fletcher sometimes credited as Alex Fletcher is a British actress best known for her role as Jacqui Farnham in the now defunct soap Brookside.-Career:...
) and
Mike DixonMichael "Mike" Dixon is a fictional character played by Paul Byatt from 1990 until the end of the series in 2003. He was the eldest son of Ron and "DD" Dixon, and the brother of Tony and Jacqui...
(Paul Byatt) from Number 8, and
Katie RogersKatie Rogers is a fictional character in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside first played by Debbie Reynolds. Diane Burke played the role from 1989 until 2003.-The cult:...
(Diane Burke) from Number 5. The Harrison's storylines included John's struggle with early retirement, his battle with
asthmaAsthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
and his
shopliftingShoplifting is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts....
sprees. Later, their son, Peter (
Robert BeckRobert Thomas Beck real name Mark Thompson, is an English actor. Educated at St. Mary's University College, Twickenham, Middlesex.He has been appearing on British television since 1991...
), became involved in a lengthy date-rape plot with Rod Corkhill's wife, and next-door neighbour, Diana (Paula Frances). Following a court-case during 1993 in which Peter was eventually found not-guilty of rape, the Harrison's left the Close and were replaced by the Banks family who arrived with much baggage of their own in January 1994.
The Body Under The Patio plot
Brookside's most famous storyline began in February 1993, with the story of wife beater and
child abuseChild abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
r
Trevor JordacheTrevor Jordache is a character played by Bryan Murray in Brookside. The character only appeared in the soap briefly in 1993, but was a feature in the programme until his body was discovered in 1995.-Background:...
(
Bryan MurrayBryan Murray is an Irish actor.As a stage actor he began his career in Dublin at The Abbey Theatre where, as a member of The Abbey Company, he appeared in over 50 productions. He has appeared many times at the Gate Theatre in Dublin most recently in Celebration by Harold Pinter for the 2010 Dublin...
). His wife, Mandy (Sandra Maitland) and daughters Beth (
Anna FrielAnna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
) and Rachel (
Tiffany ChapmanTiffany Chapman is an English actress. She played Rachel Jordache in the soap opera Brookside from 1993 until the show's conclusion in 2003...
) moved into Number 10 under a shroud of mystery. The house had been vacated by the remaining Corkhill clan, and unbeknown to anyone, had been sold off to become a
safe houseIn the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
for abused families. After the Jordache family moved in (initially posing as the 'Shackletons'), some disturbing facts began to emerge. It transpired that not only had Mandy suffered years of mental and physical abuse, but also that Beth and her young sister Rachel had been sexually abused by their father. Before long, Trevor had found them in Brookside Close and bullied his way back into the family home. As the abuse and torture got worse, Beth encouraged her mother Mandy to plot to kill Trevor. After several attempts by the pair to poison him failed, Mandy and Beth stabbed him in the Kitchen of Number 10 and, with the help of Sinbad, buried him underneath their
patioA patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....
, where his body remained until January 1995, when neighbour Eddie Banks (Paul Broughton) dug him up whilst investigating a leaking water pipe. Mandy and Beth were immediately charged with Trevor's murder, launching the
Free the Jordache Two campaign and ratings soared with
Brookside achieving its highest ever viewing figures of 9 million. The story was inspired by a real life case in
WalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
,
West MidlandsThe West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, where a woman killed her abusive husband and buried his body under the patio of their house in 1990; it was discovered two years later.
The Jordache family, particularly the character Beth (
Anna FrielAnna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
), were among the most popular ever featured in
Brookside and contributed massively to the soap opera's overall popularity at the time, especially when Beth shared British Television's first pre-
watershedIn television, the term watershed denotes the time period in a television schedule during which programs with adult content can air....
lesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
kiss with the Farnhams'
nannyA nanny, childminder or child care provider, is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service...
Margaret Clemence (
Nicola StephensonNicola Stephenson is an English actress. She is known mainly for her roles in television, which include Margaret Clemence in Brookside, Julie Fitzjohn/Bradford in Holby City, Suzie Davidson in Clocking Off, Jackie in ITV's Christmas Lights/Northern Lights/City Lights, and Sarah Williams in BBC's...
) in January 1994. Mandy, meanwhile, developed a close relationship with popular Sinbad, eventually falling pregnant to him. However, many viewers were disappointed with the conclusion of the Jordache's most famous storyline in 1995 when Beth suddenly died off-screen from a genetic heart condition whilst still in prison after
Anna FrielAnna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
quit the role of Beth. Phil Redmond explained to disappointed viewers he felt the only way for Beth to leave
Brookside was to die. He felt it would not have been right to leave the incredibly popular character languishing in prison. Once Mandy was finally acquitted and released having won a successful appeal, she gave birth to Sinbad's baby (and named her after his mother, Ruth) but then moved to Bristol to work in a refuge for abused women, leaving unlucky Sinbad alone once again. The youngest Jordache, Rachel (Tiffany Chapman), remained in Brookside Close, however, and was still there at the end, having married Mike Dixon (Paul Byatt) and given birth to their baby daughter, Beth, named in honour after her deceased sister.
Decline
Following the huge ratings success of the 'body under the patio' and lesbian kiss plots which had seen ratings peak at 9 million, the writers of
Brookside persisted with controversial subjects that other British soaps did not. Storylines progressively became headline grabbing in a fierce chase for high ratings: A religious cult headed by Simon Howe (Lee Hartney) brainwashed Terry Sullivan and Katie Rogers, taking over and then blowing up Number 5 in a suicide pact during 1994, and a mysterious 'killer virus' saw the Close
quarantineQuarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
d and the death of three guest characters (George (
Brian MurphyBrian Murphy is a British actor.Murphy was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Although a prolific actor in many films and theatre productions for almost half a century, Murphy's most famous role was as the henpecked husband George Roper in the sitcom Man About the House and spin-off George and...
) and Audrey Manners (
Judith BarkerJudith Barker is an English actress, best known for her role as the upwardly mobile homewrecker Janet Reid on the soap opera Coronation Street, which she played from 1969 to 1977....
), and garage owner Gary Salter) in the summer of 1995. It was, however, the arrival of the Simpson family in May 1996 and the quickly established
incestIncest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous relationship between brother and sister, Nat (John Sandford) and Georgia (
Helen GraceHelen Grace is an English actress who trained at the Drama Centre London, now part of the University of the Arts, London. She grew up as an only child in Northwood, attended St...
), that drew the most substantial criticism – especially after their younger brother, Danny (Andrew Butler), caught them in bed together. Channel 4 was forced to broadcast an apology to viewers who complained to the ITC about the highly contentious plot and Phil Redmond was finally forced to admit "We got it wrong". Nat, Georgia, and their mother Bel (Lesley Nightingale) all left Brookside Close after the shocking revelation, the writers, however, persevered with the remainder of the Simpson family, with Ollie (Michael J. Jackson) meeting the
Parade's new solicitor, Eleanor Kitson (Georgia Reece), and she moved into Number 9 with Ollie and Danny. Eleanor was found by her long-lost daughter Louise (
Lisa FaulknerLisa Tamsin Faulkner is an English actress and television personality.-Early life:Faulkner was educated at Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames.When Faulkner was 16, her mother, Julie, died of cancer...
) and together they tracked down Louise's father, Marcus Sneddon. This storyline culminated in another hostage situation where Ollie, Eleanor, Louise and Danny are held at gun point by a deranged Marcus in a secluded hideaway, after which, all four characters were written out and Number 9 was sold to Lindsey Corkhill.
Although the offending Simpson characters had been quickly dispatched, other characters such as Jimmy and Lindsey Corkhill were used in many similarly sensational storylines and viewers' dwindling interest in
Brookside has been blamed on the overuse of these. The character of Lindsey was played by
Claire SweeneyClaire Jane Sweeney is an English actress, singer and television personality best known for playing the role of Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside and her appearance on the first series of the Reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother.-Early Life:Sweeney was born in Walton, Liverpool...
, and due to the popularity of the actress at the time, many storylines involved her and young daughter, Kylie (Hannah Dowd). In just two years, the character transformed from an ordinary chip-shop worker, to a gun-toting, bisexual gangster – a character change indicative of storylines now airing regularly in
Brookside. During this stint in the programme between 1996 and 2000, Lindsey was stalked by her drug-dealer ex husband, Gary Stanlow (Andrew Fillis), resorting to hiring a hit man to scare him off. She was arrested at a
BangkokBangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
Airport with Mike Dixon after vengeful Gary planted drugs in one of Kylie's teddy bears. She then had an on-off relationship with an increasingly deranged Barry Grant (
Paul UsherPaul Usher is an English actor.He was educated at St John Plessington Catholic College, Bebington, and is best known for playing Barry Grant in Brookside, from the first episode until the last , and PC Des Taviner in The Bill from 2001 to 2004.He has also appeared in Liverpool...
) before he finally exited the series in 1998 (the last original character to do so) and this was followed by a very short marriage to philandering hairdresser Peter Phelan (
Samuel KaneSamuel Kane is a British actor, who has appeared in the soap operas Brookside, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.Kane was born in Huyton; his father is Ken McGlashan, a local Labour Councillor...
). There was then a lengthy stint where Lindsey became a big-suited, brash, business-woman who was then terrorised by gang-land boss Callum Finnegan (
Gerard KellyPaul "Gerard" Kelly was a Scottish actor who appeared in many comedies, most notably in City Lights, Rab C Nesbitt, and Scotch and Wry. He had more serious roles, including PC David Gallagher in Juliet Bravo , villain Jimmy in EastEnders and the villainous Callum Finnegan on Brookside...
). With scriptwriters resorting to yet more plots involving Lindsey and guns, Mersey Television's publicity department, perhaps intentionally pushing the boundaries of credibility and good taste, issued pictures to TV listings magazines showing Lindsey waving a
firearmA firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
in a sexy and provocative way. Eventually, Lindsey needed to settle down, so the writers turned her bisexual, and she fell in love with a new lesbian character, Shelly Bowers (
Alexandra Wescourt-Early life:Wescourt was born in London, England, the daughter of Gordon Wescourt Sr. and Gillian Margaret Elvins. Her father, an American residing in Los Angeles, California, was the son of Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants and made a career as an actor. Her mother was a vicar's daughter who had met...
), who arrived in early 1999.
Mick Johnson (
Louis EmerickLouis Emerick, born 10 June 1960, Liverpool, England, UK, is a British TV actor, best known for his portrayal of Mick Johnson in the soap opera Brookside....
) became one of the longest serving characters in
Brookside appearing from 1989 as a lodger of Harry Cross at Number 6. During the 1990s, Mick's character was expanded and his many storylines included being left twice by his free spirited wife Josie (
Suzanne PackerBirth Name: Suzanne JacksonBirth Date: June 20th 1958Birth Place: Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales.Suzanne Packer is the stage name of a Welsh actress who is best known for playing the role of Tess Bateman in the long running television series, Casualty...
), resulting in him raising their two children, Leo (Leeon Sawyer) and Gemma (Naomi Kamanga) alone. The character eventually settled into life in the Close at Number 5, but endured relentless racism, several disastrous relationships, became addicted to steroids and suffered unemployment and depression – but it was the
euthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
storyline in 1997 that saw Mick shockingly facing murder charges. His new wife Elaine (Beverley Hills) had brought with her a terminally ill mother, Gladys, and during the summer months of 1997, Gladys's health rapidly deteriorated and she begged her daughter and son-in-law to end her life - eventually, both Mick and Elaine decided to smother her to death. Arrested for suspected murder, and following a long and acrimonious courtcase, Mick was eventually acquitted of Gladys's murder, but his marriage to Elaine was definitely over, with Mick becoming a single father once again.
The character Max Farnham (Steven Pinder) was introduced as a young, middle-class professional businessman in 1990 and he had a turbulent residence at Number 7 Brookside Close. Patricia (
Gabrielle GlaisterGabrielle Glaister is an English actress.-Early life:She was a school friend of Ben Elton at Godalming Grammar School on Tuesley Lane in Godalming, Surrey; Glaister was in the year below Elton...
), his second wife, suffered breast cancer, and had to endure the regular returns of Max's first wife, Susannah (Karen Drury), who was determined to win him back. The Farnham's original nanny, Margaret, also caused controversy when she began an illicit affair with DD Dixon's brother, Derek O'Farrell (Clive Moore), a catholic
priestA priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
. Patricia's parents David and Jean Crosbie (Marcia Ashton) moved into Number 6 in 1993, and David took over the Petrol Station franchise on
Brookside Parade. Jean and Patricia, meanwhile, opened up
The Gift Box and Max relaunched
Grants, a Restaurant on the
Parade originally owned by Barry Grant. But after the birth of their second child, Alice, who was born with down's syndrome, Max was arrested on suspicion of kerb crawling. Although he wasn't guilty, Patricia packed her bags and left him, taking Alice and Thomas to live in France – her mother, Jean, joined them soon after. After a quick divorce from Patricia in 1996, Max quickly remarried his first wife, Susannah, and following the death of
their two children, Emily and Matthew, they became involved in a lengthy
surrogacySurrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus...
storyline with Jacqui Dixon (
Alexandra FletcherAlexandra Fletcher sometimes credited as Alex Fletcher is a British actress best known for her role as Jacqui Farnham in the now defunct soap Brookside.-Career:...
) after Susannah discovered she could no longer have children. Max was then abruptly written out in 1998 when Steven Pinder decided to leave
Brookside after almost nine years. His character's exit was unpopular and involved a
retconRetroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned storyline where Max had supposedly had a 20 year-long affair with a woman ('Faye') never mentioned before in the script. This was considered a lazy way to write out the long-serving character, and Max abruptly departed, so Susannah returned to her maiden name, Morrisey, and now a single Mum of two, she continued to live alone at Number 7.
Like many of the families who came and went in
Brookside, the Dixon family also ended in divorce after Ron (
Vince EarlVince 'Mark' Earl Vince 'Mark' Earl Vince 'Mark' Earl (born 11 June 1944 in Birkenhead, Cheshire (now in Merseyside) is an English singer, comedian and actor most famous for his portrayal of the character Ron Dixon in the soap opera Brookside....
) had an affair with Bev McLoughlin (Sarah White), which ended his long marriage to his first wife Deborah "D.D" O'Farrell (Irene Marot) who then left the series. During the break up of Ron and DD's marriage, Bev had a one-night stand with Ron's eldest son Mike (Paul Byatt), resulting in the birth of Josh. Ron and Bev lived together for a while, renaming Number 8
Cassa-Bevron. This was until Ron
almost had an affair with his employee at the
Trading Post, Jackie Corkhill (
Sue JenkinsSusan Elizabeth Jenkins is an English actress and one of two daughters of Albert and Marjorie Jenkins.-Biography:Sue Jenkins became an actress at the age of eighteen having studied at drama college...
), and when Bev eventually found out, she set fire to
Cassa-Bevron and fled the Close in 1996. Ron then moved out of Number 8 and rented it to Sinbad and his new girlfriend, Carmel O'Leary (Carol Connor), the mother of troublesome teenager Tim 'Tinhead' O'Leary (
Philip OlivierPhilip Olivier is an English actor, model and stage performer best known for playing the role of Tim O'Leary in the soap opera Brookside.-Early life:...
). Later in 1999, Ron met and remarried an old flame, Anthea Brindley (Barbara Hatwell), the mother of his long-lost (and quickly forgotten) daughter, Megan, who looked identical to his Ron's other daughter Jacqui. Although initially happy and starting up their own successful business together,
Great Grannies, this marriage also ended in divorce when Anthea refused to lie in court after Ron shot dead Clint Moffat (Greg Pateras) whilst being held hostage in the kitchen of Number 8. This was alleged to be an act of 'self defence', but resulted in Ron spending six months in prison. This storyline was based on the real-life case involving Tony Martin who shot an intruder on his property in an alleged act of self defence.
The viewing figures for
Brookside had been steadily declining since their peak in 1995, and although the series was certainly still popular,
Phil RedmondPhil Redmond CBE is an English television producer and screenwriter.He is well-known for creating several popular television series such as Grange Hill , Brookside and Hollyoaks...
dated the beginning of the decline of
Brookside to 1998 and changes in the programming policy of Channel 4 which he claims began that year. Channel 4 chief executive Michael Jackson was reported to be concerned about the serial's falling ratings, which had by now dropped significantly to below five million viewers, and was said to be considering cancelling and replacing
Brookside. Attempts to boost ratings with explosions, shootings, and underworld gangster storylines had also drawn substantial criticism from television watchdogs.
In response to the scathing criticism and falling ratings, there were attempts at a renewed and more grounded approach to storylining after the frenetic pace of the previous few years. Two new families arrived in
Brookside's well established tradition of rejuvenating itself by introducing an influx of new character-types with lots of baggage to unload. The Anglo-Irish Musgrove family arrived at Number 8, renting the property from Ron Dixon, however, the Shadwicks, who bought Number 6, were perhaps the more successful family introduced at around the same time. Greg (
Mark MoraghanMark Moraghan is a British actor and singer. He has appeared in many British drama series including Peak Practice and Heartbeat...
) and Margi Shadwick (Bernadette Foley) and their family marked an open attempt by the writers to return
Brookside 'back-to-basics' with storylines again revolving around families and their dynamics within the close-knit community of Brookside Close.
Phil RedmondPhil Redmond CBE is an English television producer and screenwriter.He is well-known for creating several popular television series such as Grange Hill , Brookside and Hollyoaks...
commented in the book "
Total Brookside" that the
Brookside of 1998 was once again closer to the programme he launched in 1982.
The introduction of these two new families also heralded one of
Brooksides longest-running story arcs which linked the two families; the
date rape"Date rape", often referred to as acquaintance rape, is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without mutual consent....
of Nikki Shadwick (
Suzanne CollinsSuzanne Collins is an American television writer and novelist.-Early life:Suzanne Collins is the daughter of an Air Force officer. She graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts and earned her M.F.A. from New York University in Dramatic Writing....
) at a Christmas party held at Number 5, home of the Johnsons. For the whole of 1999, Nikki accused neighbour Luke Musgrove (Jason Kavannah) of the attack, however, following a lengthy court case, he was found not guilty. After this and consistently denying the allegations, Luke then confessed to Nikki that he had, in fact, raped her that fateful night. The Musgroves were extremely unpopular and were described as "ghastly" by critics, and with ratings continuing to slide, the entire family was quickly written-out in January 2000 and they fled Liverpool overnight in shame at Luke's confession of rape. However, in another British soap opera first, the character of teenage
cannabisCannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
smoker Matt Musgrove (Kristian Ealey), immediately transferred to
Brooksides sister-soap
HollyoaksHollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
where the character stayed until 2004.
Despite the attempts to return to being a more realistic and issue-led soap opera again,
Brookside had ultimately become synonymous with plots involving guns and explosions, with no fewer than six catastrophic fires and explosions taking place during the soap's final few years. A gas-cooker destroyed much of the
Brookside Parade and left Ben O'Leary (Simon Paul) permanently paralysed in 1998, and a bomb detonated in the Millennium Club killed both Jason (Vincent Price) and Greg Shadwick in 1999. Separate fires at Number 6 (in 2002) and Number 8 (in 1996) almost killed several characters. Susannah (
Karen DruryKaren Drury is a British actress best known for her role as Susannah Farnham in Channel 4 soap, Brookside...
) and Max Farnham's (
Steven PinderSteven Pinder is an actor.-Early life:Pinder was born on March 30, 1960, and comes from a small family with just one younger sister, Catherine, who is 11 years younger and works in agriculture. He grew up on Downham Avenue in Great Harwood...
) children both perished in a car crash in 1997.
Radio TimesRadio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
TV listings Editor, Alison Graham, remarked in May 1998 when Ron Dixon blew up
Brookside Parade by incorrectly installing a gas cooker: "Brookside loves a good disaster. Someone in the production team must take a perverse pleasure in watching blue flashing lights and fire engines". She also jokingly renamed Claire Sweeney's character: Lindsey "Get Your Gun" Corkhill, the character now having gained a stereotyped association with plots involving guns. This was shortly before the soap was dropped from Graham's satirical page reviewing weekly soap opera plots, with
Brooksides column handed over to BBC Radio 4 rural-soap
The ArchersThe Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
. The series was becoming less and less popular, and as viewers abandoned
Brookside, so did the support of the TV magazines and press.
Revamp
In 2000, the Murrays, a much needed new family, were introduced and moved into Number 9. They were the creation of the soap's penultimate producer,
Paul MarquessPaul Marquess is a Northern Irish-born British television producer.-Television career:His credits include Brookside, The Bill and Family Affairs. He also originated the idea for the series Footballers' Wives...
, who joined
Brookside after working on Channel 4 and
Sky OneSky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
's co-produced supernatural soap
SpringhillSpringhill was a British soap opera/drama, produced by Granada and broadcast in 1996/1997 on the Sky One satellite channel, and later on Channel 4. It consisted of 2 series, each containing 26 episodes...
(also set in Liverpool). The Murray family were an important and key part of another attempted revamp of
Brookside this year, and featured singer Bernie Nolan in her first acting role, as Diane Murray, second wife of Marty (Neil Caple) and step-mother to Steve (Stephen Cartait), Adele (Katy Lamont) and young Anthony (Raymond Quinn) – Diane's mother, Bridget McKenna (
Meg JohnsonMeg Johnson is an English actress who currently plays the role of Pearl Ladderbanks in ITV's popular soap opera Emmerdale. Prior to joining Emmedale, Johnson was a part of the now-axed UK soap Brookside, playing Brigid McKenna for three years...
) also became a regular at this time. The producers revived some past characters and brought back Bev McLoughlin (Sarah White), Nisha Batra (Sunetra Sarker) and a previous guest character, Leanne Powell (Vickie Gates) was re-introduced and she became the series' new comedy character. Mick Johnson had a visit from his long-departed ex-wife Josie (Suzanne Packer), although true to form, she didn't stick around for long, this time taking her daughter with her after Gemma's experimentation with the illegal clubbers' drug Ecstacy.
The return of the popular character Bev McLoughlin and the Murrays succeeded in sparking new viewer interest in
Brookside and the Murray family became central to various plots, although many were considered re-treads of previously explored issues; these included Diane's lengthy IVF treatment, daughter Adele's (Katy Lamont) under-age pregnancy and abortion, and young Anthony's (Raymond Quinn) powerful bullying storyline, which culminated in Anthony accidentally killing vindictive schoolgirl Imelda Clough. Bev, meanwhile, became central to proceedings when she became the owner of the bar on
Brookside Parade, re-naming it
Bev's Bar. The Liverpool 'scally' aspect, always traditionally at the heart of
Brookside, was still strong at this time with eldest Murray son Steve (Steven Cartait) teaming up with Tim 'Tinhead' O'Leary (
Philip OlivierPhilip Olivier is an English actor, model and stage performer best known for playing the role of Tim O'Leary in the soap opera Brookside.-Early life:...
), who had married the rejuvenated character Emily Shadwick (
Jennifer EllisonJennifer Lesley Ellison is an English actress, glamour model, television personality, dancer and singer...
) who had been transformed from a shy, quiet, schoolgirl to a sexed-up vixen. Tim and Emily moved in with the increasingly isolated Jimmy Corkhill at cursed Number 10, providing storylines for the character following the exit of his daughter Lindsey and his wife Jackie after a poorly received lesbian love-triangle involving Lindsey, Jackie, and Shelley Bowers. Of the unlikely storyline, Phil Redmond admitted things had gone too far; "NHS and child care – these are the things that engage and worry people in society now. The shorthand explanation is I'm giving up the lesbian-affair-with-the-mother-in-law syndrome. We've been there, done that and patented the T-shirt." But it was the departure of the soap's original scally, the hugely popular and truly long-running Sinbad (
Michael StarkeMichael Starke , is a British actor best known for his role as Thomas 'Sinbad' Sweeney which he played for 16 years in the soap opera Brookside...
) in an on-screen child abuse scandal, that was most badly received, with the formerly upbeat and jolly character departing Brookside Close (after 16 years) under a cloud.
Although the ratings slide had been temporarily halted, plots started going around in circles before finally being resolved with Nikki Shadwick's date-rape storyline, Diane Murray's infatuation with pregnancy, and the long drawn-out breakdown of Jimmy and Jackie Corkhill's marriage being good examples of this. Another long term character, the notoriously accident prone Susannah Morrisey, was finally killed off when she fell down the stairs of Number 7. This became a successful 2000 'Whodunnit' plotline which involved jilted former-lover Mick Johnson (
Louis EmerickLouis Emerick, born 10 June 1960, Liverpool, England, UK, is a British TV actor, best known for his portrayal of Mick Johnson in the soap opera Brookside....
), vengeful Emily Shadwick (
Jennifer EllisonJennifer Lesley Ellison is an English actress, glamour model, television personality, dancer and singer...
) and returned ex-husband Max Farnham (Stephen Pinder) are all put in the frame when it is discovered that Susannah may have been pushed to her death. This was arguably the last time
Brookside made a significant impact in the ratings, being pushed back up to over 6 million when Max was revealed to be the culprit, although a final twist was revealed in flashback; Susannah had actually tripped over a toy as she argued with Max at the top of the stairs resulting in the fatal fall. All murder charges were dropped, leaving Max free to marry his previous next-door neighbour, Jacqui Dixon (
Alexandra FletcherAlexandra Fletcher sometimes credited as Alex Fletcher is a British actress best known for her role as Jacqui Farnham in the now defunct soap Brookside.-Career:...
), who became his unlikely third wife in 2001. The newlyweds even continued to live at Number 7, before swapping houses with Ron Dixon (
Vince EarlVince 'Mark' Earl Vince 'Mark' Earl Vince 'Mark' Earl (born 11 June 1944 in Birkenhead, Cheshire (now in Merseyside) is an English singer, comedian and actor most famous for his portrayal of the character Ron Dixon in the soap opera Brookside....
) next door at Number 8. Mick Johnson, played by
Louis EmerickLouis Emerick, born 10 June 1960, Liverpool, England, UK, is a British TV actor, best known for his portrayal of Mick Johnson in the soap opera Brookside....
for over 12 years, then fled the Close after a
suicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
attempt, and Jimmy Corkhill descended into madness, eventually being diagnosed as
bipolar-Medicine:* Bipolar cell* Bipolar cell of the retina* Bipolar disorder** Bipolar I disorder** Bipolar II disorder** Bipolar NOS* Bipolar spectrum-Astronomy:* Bipolar nebula, a two-lobed, axially symmetric nebula...
, but these were storylines which, to viewers and critics alike, obviously demonstrated the writers were running out of steam and there were serious questions about the lack of direction the soap was now heading.
20th Anniversary
Brookside had been renewed in 1997 but the 4 year contract renewal period ended in November 2001, by which point Paul Marquess left to become producer of
The BillThe Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
. By this time,
Brookside had become a far less important part of Channel 4's programming. Ratings had dropped to less than three million, and although regularly airing 3 times a week in
prime timePrime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
, sometimes double episodes were shown back-to-back and the audience could not keep up with the constant moves around the schedules to accommodate Channel 4's newer programming, including '
realityIn philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
' series such
Location, Location, LocationLocation, Location, Location is a Channel 4 property programme, presented by Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer and produced by IWC Media, part of the RDF Media Group. The reality show follows Kirstie and Phil as they try to find the perfect home for a different set of buyers each week. It first...
,
Property LadderThe property ladder is a term widely used in the United Kingdom to describe an individual or family's lifetime progress from cheaper to more expensive housing. According to this metaphor, cheap houses for first-time buyers are at the bottom of the property ladder, and expensive houses are at the top...
,
Grand DesignsGrand Designs is a British television series produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4 which features unusual and often elaborate architectural home-building projects....
, and to a much greater extent, the ratings powerhouse
Big BrotherBig Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
which started on Channel 4 during 2000.
During late-2001, following a failed attempt by Channel 4 to lure former producer
Mal YoungMal Young is a British television producer and executive producer.-Background:His initial career was in the Graphic Design industry, and it was not until the age of 27 that he began working in television, on the acclaimed Channel 4 soap opera Brookside.Working on the show for nearly a decade, he...
back to the series
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2004/sep/28/broadcasting.bbc,
Phil RedmondPhil Redmond CBE is an English television producer and screenwriter.He is well-known for creating several popular television series such as Grange Hill , Brookside and Hollyoaks...
resumed total control of
Brookside to take the programme through its 20th Anniversary, and he pledged to return the ailing programme back to its former glory.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/axed-says-who-614717.html At a meeting in which everyone from cast and crew were invited, Redmond announced "I'm back!" and that
Brookside was going to be just like the "old days". The rather tired looking houses in Brookside Close received a much needed facelift; out went four established characters
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2002/05/18/stars-axed-100252-11881772/ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20020519/ai_n12843560/; in came new directors, new writers and new characters, including
Ben Hull-Career:Ben's first appearance was in 1994 when he appeared ITV Drama, Revelations.He then went on to appear as Martin Wells in Children's ITV series Children's Ward....
, a well-known face from sister-soap
HollyoaksHollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
as Doctor Gary Parr, and his demanding wife Gabby (
Stephanie ChambersStephanie Chambers is an English actress, born in Birmingham. She is known for playing Gabby Parr in the British soap Brookside, but has also appeared in New Tricks, Doctors, Emmerdale and the American horror movie Seed of Chucky...
). Furthermore, after years of broken homes and waifs-and-strays making up the core-cast of
Brookside, another new family arrived and the hard-working, middle class, Gordon family moved into Number 5 in May 2002 which had been vacated by Mick Johnson. But, as Alan (
John BurtonJohn Burton is a British stage and television actor.John has appeared in numerous productions throughout the UK, including West Side Story, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, An Inspector Calls, Outside Edge, They Don’t Grow on Trees, Confusions, Bells Are Ringing, Cabaret, Me and My Girl, How to...
), Debbie (
Annette EkblomAnnette Ekblom is a British actress. She is the mother of actress Amelia Warner.She starred as Linda in Willy Russell's musical Blood Brothers when Bill Kenwright's production opened in London in 1988...
) and their four teenage children settled into life on the Close, also running the Petrol Station on
Brookside Parade, the comparisons to the earlier and popular Grant family were obvious, but their arrival did absolutely nothing to halt the rapid ratings decline. The Gordons were considered miscast and generally unlikeable. Eldest daughter Ruth (Lynsey McCaffrey) had returned home with her young son Luke (Callum Giblin) following her failed marriage to Sean Smith (
Barry SloaneBarry Paul Sloane is an English actor. He trained as a musician and actor before landing his first professional acting role in the film In his Life: The John Lennon Story. He has appeared in numerous TV shows, notably the BAFTA award-winning dramas Pleasureland and The Mark of Cain...
), meanwhile, young teenage scally's Stuart (David Lyon) and Ali (Kris Mocherrie) were regularly seen tormenting their other sister, Kirsty (Jessicca Noon), who also returned home just as the Gordon's moved into Number 5 after a stint travelling. Although the Gordon family arguably came with strong characterisation and a back-story, the most interesting storyline Alan received was his failed attempts to give up smoking, whilst Debbie was only ever seen moaning at her four miserable children.
Just as Phil Redmond had promised in his vision of the new-look
Brookside, characters were once again seen debating political and environmental issues of the time, and the Gordon's were often seen discussing topics over the dinner table, much like the Grant family in the early years. However, critics on websites such as
Off the Telly argued that the Gordon's lacked any on-screen chemistry and this meant that scenes such as these were often forced and contrived. Doctor Gary Parr's frequent criticism of the
National Health ServiceThe National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
was also seen as unnecessary.
A much more grounded approach to storylining had been attempted during 2002 along with the influx of new characters but the programme's ratings failed to pick up. As the serial approached its 20th Anniversary, ratings completely bottomed-out, dropping to below 1 and a half million, and, as a consequence of this, it was announced that
Brookside would no longer be aired during its weeknight prime-time slots but would continue in its traditional Saturday evening omnibus edition. Channel 4 was committed to
Brookside contractually until November 2003 and this move was widely seen as damage limitation - the removal of the problem series from primetime would cease the channel's dwindling audience share and
Brookside would quietly die playing out on Saturday afternoons. The announcement coincided exactly with the 20th Anniversary of
Brookside, and it was something of a blow considering the programme was celebrating the milestone on-screen a brand new look: a post-production film-effect was added, a new title sequence launched with an updated theme tune – and all this started with a highly dramatic multi-episode story arc that saw the return of Lindsey Corkhill for a guest stint, not surprisingly arriving just as drug-laden armed robbers sped onto the Close, hotly pursued by Police.
The November 2002 siege started with four armed robbers, having taken a wrong turn, cornered in the cul-de-sac and, in desperation, took many residents hostage in their homes in highly graphic scenes which led to a number of complaints from viewers. The relatively low-key storylines of 2002 were over – these episodes were designed to shock: teenagers Ali and Kirsty Gordon were violently terrorised at gunpoint in Number 5, Steve Murray was shot and dumped unconscious outside the front door of Number 9, Nikki Shadwick was almost raped again – and her sister, Emily O'Leary, fell to her death from an upstairs window of Number 10, terrified and desperately trying to escape. Marty Murray was beaten and locked in a cupboard, there was the implied rape of Kirsty Gordon, blatant abuse of the drug
cocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, extremely strong language, and a realistic portrayal of a deranged, drug addicted bank robber called Terry 'Psycho' Gibson by Greg Milburn. The siege culminated the following week in a spectacular stunt involving a police
helicopterA helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
being gunned down by Gibson which crashed onto the
Brookside Parade car park, exploded, and instantly killed-off Diane Murray (a stunt vaguely reminiscent of the plane crash over Beckindale storyline in
EmmerdaleEmmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
which Redmond had himself devised for that series in 1993). The storyline was considered unsuitable for pre-watershed viewing and, in particular, during the Saturday evening omnibus, broadcast from 16:30. Although these dramatic sequences were technically of a high quality and were well produced and directed, with absolutely no promotion by Channel 4, they barely made a ripple in the ratings.
http://www.barb.co.uk/report/weeklyTopProgrammesOverview?
Final Year
On November 30, 2002,
Brookside quietly transferred to its new 'graveyard' Saturday afternoon slot 16:30-18:00, and the programme was once again retooled to fit the new 90 minute daytime only slot. With an obvious and significantly reduced budget, storylines would now revolve around only a handful of characters, often in just one location, giving the programme a much slower pace.
Brookside Parade was phased out of the storyline, the entire set handed over to
Hollyoaks to become the students university bar. The recently introduced Gordon family started to be written out and the abrupt disappearance and eventual death of Alan in the 2002 siege aftermath, followed shortly after by Debbie dying in an unconvincing car crash, gave the remaining family a depressive on-screen presence. With long, 90 minute episodes featuring endless scenes of shouting, arguing and crying as the Gordon children dealt with the reality of becoming orphans, it became impossible for viewers to have sympathy for the unpopular characters that had been poorly integrated into the series and been given very little to do.
http://www.dvdfever.co.uk/reviews/brookd1.shtml Other characters slowly drifted away with little or no explanation, experimental storylines (including the use of gimmicks such as
flashbackFlashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s,
dream sequenceA dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Commonly, dream sequences appear in many...
s and split screen) were unsuccessful, and with ratings now at 400,000, it proved that only die-hard fans were still watching.
In 2003, and now with a much reduced cast, storylines focused strongly on
Brookside's most popular remaining characters in more self-contained episodes, such as Bev's troubled relationship with her young son Josh (Jack McMullen) and the developing relationship between Jimmy Corkhill and Nikki Shadwick. Nikki had been raped, stalked, held hostage, and her father, brother and sister had all been killed during her time in Brookside Close. With her Mother, Margi, now living abroad, she became increasingly dependent on Jimmy and started to see him as a father figure, even agreeing to look after Jimmy so that he could be released from secure psychiatric care. Following the siege, however, she had a brief relationship with the sniper who had rescued her, Matt Henderson (
Jamie LomasJamie Lomas is an English actor best known for his role as bad boy Warren Fox on the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks....
), but when that storyline was quickly adandoned during the jarring transition to the 90-minute block format, Nikki began to become romantically interested in Jimmy. After pursuing him for sometime, viewers cringed when the two slept together, but knowing a relationship would be impossible, the two resolve to move on. On the rebound, Nikki became involved with Sean Smith (
Barry SloaneBarry Paul Sloane is an English actor. He trained as a musician and actor before landing his first professional acting role in the film In his Life: The John Lennon Story. He has appeared in numerous TV shows, notably the BAFTA award-winning dramas Pleasureland and The Mark of Cain...
), Ruth Gordon's ex-husband from across the Close, while Jimmy became engaged to Nikki's returned mother Margi (Bernadette Foley). Ultimately though, Jimmy called off the wedding when he suspected he may have
lung cancerLung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
(although it later transpired to be
asbestosisAsbestosis is a chronic inflammatory and fibrotic medical condition affecting the parenchymal tissue of the lungs caused by the inhalation and retention of asbestos fibers...
), so Margi jumped up the first plane back to
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
leaving Nikki all alone at Number 6 once again until long running characters Sammy and Katie Rogers eventually moved back to the Close as Nikki's lodgers.
Further low-key storylines in the final year of
Brookside included following Mike (Paul Byatt) and Rachel Dixon's (Tiffany Chapman) continuous problems with
debtA debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
before they finally settled down away from the Close with their daughter Beth. Long serving character Katie Rogers (Diane Burke) found love with Nic Howard (James Sarsfield) and gave birth to their baby girl, although it was left up to the viewer to decide whether Katie and Nic were eventually married when they left the Close for
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
in the closing episodes. Anthony Murray's harrowing bullying storyline was happily resolved and his parents, Marty (Neil Caple) and recently returned real-mum Jan (Helen Sheals), eventually reconciled and
renewed their wedding vowsA wedding vow renewal ceremony is a ceremony in which a married couple renew or reaffirm their wedding vows. The ceremonies have been popular in Italy for decades, and have existed in United States since the 1950s, but only became popular there after the 1970s...
. Bev and Ron Dixon also got back together, finally forgiving all the problems of their chequered pasts, they gave their relationship another chance and got married, with young Josh (
Jack McMullenJack Michael McMullen is an actor from Liverpool. He is best known for his role as Finn Sharkey in Waterloo Road, as well as smaller appearances in Brookside and Grange Hill.- Career :...
) and little Holly completing their happy family. Some viewers were surprised to discover, however, that long-running characters Max and Jacqui Farnham had left
Brookside off-screen, with Ron making a scripted, off-hand remark about their departure to a new life in
WooltonWoolton is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. It is located at the south of the city, bordered by Gateacre, Hunts Cross, Allerton and Halewood. At the 2001 Census the population was recorded as 14,836.-History:...
.
http://www.brooksidesoapbox.co.uk/guide_69.htm
Channel 4 officially announced the end of
Brookside on June 11, 2003, and the final episode would be shown just 2 days after its 21st Anniversary in November. The programme was then moved again to what would become its final timeslot, on Tuesdays in a 90 minute format, usually at 11pm. A final story arc, introduced eight weeks before the last episode, saw some of the (off-screen) Brookside Close residents selling-up to a company called Cinerco. The company intended to demolish part of the Close for the construction of an access road to a new waste incinerator site. The remaining characters of Brookside Close once again began integrating with each other as they dealt with the reality of losing their homes to the highly contentious plans. Taking full advantage of the new late-night timeslot, the writers re-introduced the raw language frequented in early episodes whilst unmotivated violence and drug abuse could now be seen in abundance. This approach, once again, did nothing to improve the ratings, having now fallen well below 400,000, although during the final six weeks, a rawness and energy previously captured in the very early years made a surprising return with a new character, the despised drug-dealer
Jack MichaelsonJack Michaelson is a character in Channel 4 soap Brookside played by Paul Duckworth for the final three episodes in October and November 2003...
(Paul Duckworth), who moved into the recently vacated Number 8. The fact the entire neighbourhood was about to be demolished was an obvious plot loop hole, but the character nevertheless became the focus of the end of
Brookside as all the remaining residents found themselves seriously affected by his destructive presence. Meanwhile, the rest of Brookside Close began to be boarded-up as the other residents started to move away.
The last episode
In the extended final episode, screened from 22:30 and divided into three distinctive parts,
Brookside shocked the audience one last time with the remaining residents of Brookside Close taking a stand against Michaelson,
lynchingLynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
him from Number 8's bedroom window.
Written by creator Phil Redmond, the final episode started exactly the same way episode one had began 21 years previously, with a milkman delivering provisions to the residents of the Close. This time, however, he was greeted with the sight of Jack Michaelson's dead body hanging from his bedroom window. When the police started investigating, all of the residents on Brookside Close gave false alibis, thus protecting each other from prosecution over Michaelson's murder. As had been seen in
Brookside before, the culprits of the lynching were not revealed, with several characters seen to have the same blue rope with which Michaelson was hanged. Encouraged by the return of Barry Grant, Tim, Steve, and the remaining Gordon lads were all seen contemplating killing Michaelson, and whilst Jimmy was also aware there was a plan, the only male resident in ignorance of what was happening was Ron Dixon. During the darkness of the night, three masked residents broke into Michaelson's house suspended him from the front window, however, this is all that was revealed to the audience.
The last part of the episode, Phil Redmond had his final say in a rebellious scripted rant criticising religion, urban migration, public ignorance and the prohibition of drugs, which was voiced by
Brookside's longest-running character, Jimmy Corkhill, sat in an armchair on the front lawn of Number 10. Jimmy was also the last resident of Brookside Close to leave their house. As a last act of defiance, he broke into the abandoned houses and left all the taps running, he then painted
Game Over on the boarded-up windows of several houses, and drew an extra
D on the
Brookside Close sign, to spell
Brookside Closed at the end of the episode. He then went to live with his daughter
LindseyLindsey Corkhill is a character in Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. She was played by Claire Sweeney from 1991 to 2001 and then again in 2003..-Character:...
, who had married
Barry GrantBarry Grant is a fictional character in the defunct Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He was portrayed by Paul Usher and was in the series from episode one in 1982 until 1995 with several sporadic guest appearances in 1997, 1998 and the final episode in 2003....
off-screen, the two characters having returned especially for the final episode, watched by a peak of 2.27 million viewers.
In the closing narrative, Jimmy and Lindsey went to live in Newcastle in Barry's mansion. Tim moved in with Steve Murray, sharing a flat in Liverpool City Centre, as shown in the
Unfinished Business feature. Nikki left for Brussels to live with her mother Margi. The orphaned Gordon children then left with their elder sister Ruth, and her husband Sean Smith, now reunited as head of the remaining Gordon family. Jan, Marty and Anthony Murray followed soon after, refusing to tell anyone where they were going. Bev and Ron Dixon then said their goodbyes to long-time neighbour and arch-enemy Jimmy Corkhill, with Ron remarking candidly; "I hope I never see you again". The final shot in
Brookside is a close-up of Jimmy Corkhill looking directly into the camera and, breaking the fourth wall, he winked to the audience. A caption states "The End of an Era".
Theme music and opening titles
The distinctive synthesised theme to
Brookside was written by Dave Roylance, a local composer from
WirralWirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
, who died in October 2006. This version was used on the programme on November 2, 1982, the day the first episode was broadcast, and lasted until December 28, 1990.
With the advent of Dolby Stereo Surround Sound, the theme was updated and modernised, and the first episode to feature this music was broadcast on December 31, 1990. This version was the longest-running, and the last time this music was featured on the credits originally aired October 31, 2002.
The third version of the
Brookside theme launched on November 6, 2002, a year before the programme was cancelled. A new arrangement at the start of this theme makes this version of the theme distinctive, although the mid-section and close remained similar to the previous versions.
Brookside had memorable opening titles which subtly changed many times over 21 years, particularly as the residents of Brookside Close came and went. The beginning of the sequence contained sweeping high shots of Liverpool life and landmarks, before showing a bird's-eye view of the estate leading to Brookside Close. Several views of the various residents' homes were shown, before the camera finally settled by the iconic Brookside Close sign. In the early episodes, Bobby Grant's blue Leyland Princess was always predominantly parked outside Number 5, and in 1990, this became Frank Rogers' purple
Ford CortinaAs the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era...
when the Rogers replaced the Grants as the family occupying Number 5. When
Brookside Parade became part of the programme in 1991, shots of the
Parade were regularly spliced into the title sequence as businesses came and went – these shots were shown after the existing landmark shots of Liverpool, but before the birds-eye views of Brookside Close and residents' homes.
The closing credits were originally scrolled against a royal blue background, however, this backdrop was soon changed to an aerial view of Brookside Close from episode 105 in 1983. The titles were originally transparent, but this changed to a bold typeface of the same font in 1987. The closing sequence was slightly changed on October 7, 1991 and lasted until December 31, 1993. The closing sequence was changed entirely, giving a bird's-eye view of the close which was used from January 3, 1994 and lasted until June 25, 1999.
In 1999, the titles were completely changed, and new shots were composed to fit into a split-screen box effect – these titles were specifically designed to reflect the programme's newly launched website. Early versions of this sequence followed a cyclist through the Close to
Brookside Parade in one box, while the other box contained
steadicamA Steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement, allowing a smooth shot even when moving quickly over an uneven surface...
shots approaching each door to the houses on Brookside Close. At the end of each episode until the end of the series, there would be a
Next time on Brookside continuity announcement with a preview of scenes from the next episode. This opening title-sequence launched on June 29, 1999.
The final set of opening titles launched on November 6, 2002. Again, following a split screen effect, one half of the (same) shot is presented in daylight, and the other half during night-time. Totally new shots were filmed for this title-sequence and it lasted until the final episode in 2003. These credits were often preceded by the strains of theme song and a
Previously on Brookside... comment by various actors during a recap of previous episodes. The series finale's end credits music was cut off at the last portion by the closing of the original
Grange Hill theme.
Unlike other British soap operas past or present, at the end of
omnibusAn omnibus is a compilation of daily television or radio episodes that is re-broadcast during the following weekend. The term has been most frequently used in the United Kingdom, though it has also been used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa...
editions screened at Christmas (usually the last omnibus that year), the cast of actors and crew would stand waving at the camera for the entire duration of the closing credits, wishing all
Brookside viewers a 'Happy Christmas'.
Soap bubbles
Two '
soap bubbleIn media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
s' were produced in the late 80s.
Damon and DebbieDamon and Debbie was a three-part 'soap bubble' from Brookside, broadcast late on Wednesday evenings on Channel 4 in November 1987, with an omnibus edition over the Christmas period of that year. A Mersey Television production, it was written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, directed by Bob Carlton, and...
(1987) followed the two characters,
Damon GrantDamon Grant is a fictional character in the defunct British soap opera Brookside, played by Simon O'Brien. The character was part of the initial cast, appearing from episode one in 1982 until 1987...
and
Debbie McGrathFor the Canadian actress see Debra McGrathDebbie McGrath is a fictional character in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, played by a then-14-year-old Gillian Kearney, from 1986 to 1988...
absconding to
YorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, concluding in Damon's death. The second, 1988's
South, saw Tracy Corkhill and Jamie Henderson seeking a better life in London; this was part of an ITV For Schools English programme and was notable for featuring a guest appearance by
MorrisseySteven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
playing himself.
Scheduling
From its launch in 1982,
Brookside was broadcast between 20:00 and 21:00, although some episodes would occasionally be shown at 21:00 or after for scheduling reasons. In
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
,
S4CS4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
always screened
Brookside at 22:00. The
OmnibusAn omnibus is a compilation of daily television or radio episodes that is re-broadcast during the following weekend. The term has been most frequently used in the United Kingdom, though it has also been used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa...
was broadcast on Saturday evening, usually at 17:00–18:00.
During weekdays,
Brookside was always broadcast from 20:00, first on Tuesday & Wednesday, then Monday & Wednesday, with a few special five-nighters, with these episodes always airing Monday to Friday.
On July 1 1990,
Brookside gained a third weekly episode which saw a regular broadcast pattern of Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 20:00. The serial's timeslot was far more consistent in the 1980s and early 1990s, however, from the mid-'90s, the schedules did keep changing. In 1994, when the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's soap
EastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
started broadcasting three nights a week, the third weekly episodes was broadcast every Monday at 20:00 which clashed with
Brookside. This forced Channel 4 to move
Brookside to Tuesdays at 20:00 (initially up against
ITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's
The BillThe Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
). The final weekday schedule, from 2001, was Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 20:00.
From November 30 2002, as a consequence of declining ratings, it was removed from its traditional weekday timeslots and reduced to a 90-minute edition broadcast once a week on Saturday evening, usually from 16:30.
On July 27 2003,
Brookside was moved to its final broadcast time of Tuesdays, usually from 23:00, but some episodes did not start until on or after Midnight for scheduling reasons. The final episode was extended and screened slightly earlier, from 22:30–00:20.
1982–1990: Twice a week (30 minute episodes)
- Tuesday & Wednesday: Week commencing 31 October 1982 – 17 November 1984
- Monday & Wednesday: Week commencing 18 November 1984 – 29 December 1984, 31 July 1988 – 30 June 1990
- Monday & Tuesday: Week commencing 30 December 1984 – 30 July 1988
1990–2002: Three nights a week (30 minute episodes)
- Monday, Wednesday & Friday: Week commencing 1 July 1990 – 30 April 1994
- Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: Week commencing 1 May 1994 – 15 December 2001
- Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: Week commencing 16 December 2001 – 23 November 2002
2002–2003: Once a week (90 minute episode)
- Saturday: Week commencing 24 November 2002 – 5 April 2003, 13 April 2003 – 19 July 2003
- Thursday: Week commencing 6 April 2003 – 12 April 2003
- Tuesday: Week commencing 27 July 2003 – 8 November 2003
Repeats
- Living (then called UK Living, and now known as Sky Living) repeated Brookside from episode 1, commencing in 1996 until the end of 2000. Originally, episodes were screened at 09:00, and repeated that evening at 21:00,later moved to 22:00. By 2000, however, it was only being aired in a morning slot, usually at 09:30.
- Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
took over the repeat rights to Brookside in 2001. It was shown at 10:30 and started with episodes that originally aired on Channel 4 in 1994. However, in 2002 this was changed to an early-morning 03:30 timeslot, before being dropped completely in June, ending with episodes originally shown in 1996.
- No episodes from 1997, through to the final episode in 2003, have ever been repeated on any British TV channel.
Broadcast schedule history
|
Sunday |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
Saturday |
Number of
Weekly Episodes |
| 1982–1984 |
|
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|
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|
2 |
| 1984–1988 |
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
| 1984, 1988–1990 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 |
| 1990–1994 |
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
| 1994–2001 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
| 2001–2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3 |
| 2002–2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
| 2003 |
|
|
|
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|
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|
|
|
|
|
1 |
Video releases
Brookside was one of the first British soap operas to have classic episodes released on
videoVideo is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
. In 1990, Channel 4 and Mersey Television released a series of videos showcasing some of
Brookside's most memorable episodes and characters of the 1980s:
Brookside Classics Volume One: The Siege. This video contained three episodes and brought together the gripping 'Number 7 Siege' as an extended omnibus edition of 75 minutes. These episodes originally aired in July 1985.
Brookside Classics Volume Two: The Sheila Grant Years. The much-loved character
Sheila GrantSheila Grant is a fictional character from British soap opera, Brookside played by Sue Johnston. Sheila appeared in Brookside from the first episode in 1982 until the characters departure in 1990.-Character:...
, played by
Sue JohnstonSusan "Sue" Johnston, OBE is a BAFTA nominated English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , Grace Foley in Waking the Dead from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009,...
, was the subject of the second video release in 1990. Sheila's rape ordeal was featured, along side a night out with Jimmy's then girlfriend Kathy Roach (
Noreen KershawNoreen Kershaw is an English television actress and director.She trained at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, originated the title role of the play Shirley Valentine, later made famous by Pauline Collins...
).
Brookside Classics Volume Three: That Man Harry Cross. The third video released in 1990 included three classic episodes featuring the popular character Harry Cross played by
Bill DeanBill Dean was a British actor who was born in Everton, Liverpool. He was born Patrick Connolly but took his stage name in honour of Everton football legend William 'Dixie' Dean.- Biography :...
. This video contained memories of his time in Brookside Close with his wife Edna (
Betty AlbergeBetty Alberge was an English actress best known for her soap opera roles as cornershop owner Florrie Lindley in Coronation Street and as Edna Cross in Brookside...
) and, later, his old friend Ralph Hardwick (Ray Dunbobbin).
Brookside: The Teenagers. A later release, from 1995, documents the Teenage characters in
Brookside including Beth Jordache (
Anna FrielAnna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...
), Margaret Clemence (
Nicola StephensonNicola Stephenson is an English actress. She is known mainly for her roles in television, which include Margaret Clemence in Brookside, Julie Fitzjohn/Bradford in Holby City, Suzie Davidson in Clocking Off, Jackie in ITV's Christmas Lights/Northern Lights/City Lights, and Sarah Williams in BBC's...
), Damon Grant (Simon O'Brien) and Katie Rogers (Diane Burke).
Brookside: The Women. Also released in 1995, this video brought together the most popular female characters in the soap, including Mandy Jordache (Sandra Maitland), Sue Sullivan (
Annie MilesAnnie Miles is an actress who is best known for her roles in television soap opera. She played Sue Sullivan in Brookside from 1987 to 1991, and Maria Simons Starr in Family Affairs from 1997 to 2000....
) and Deborah 'D.D' Dixon (
Irene MarotIrene L Marot is a British actress who is most notable for her role as "DD" Dixon in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside during the early 1990s....
).
Brookside: The Men. Released two years after
The Women video, similarly,
The Men contained previously unseen footage and interviews with actors documenting the long-suffering male characters of Brookside Close.
In the late 1990s, there were several videos that contained extensions of plots that began in
Brookside on-screen, or gave viewers a chance to see their favourite
Brookside actors behind-the-scenes or outside their usual roles in the soap:
Brookside: The Lost Weekend. A feature length episode of
Brookside reuniting characters old and new. This feature-length episode from 1997 detailed the reunion of Sheila and Barry Grant (Sue Johnston and Paul Usher) in an action-packed continuation of a storyline which began in the regular editions of the soap on Channel 4.
Brookside: The Backstage Tour. A behind-the-scenes documentary released in 1997, with the only opportunity to view the 'alternative' ending to the infamous Body Under The Patio Trial from 1995, where Beth and Mandy are proven not guilty of murdering Trevor.
Brookside: Friday the 13th. A dramatic storyline for selected characters of the television soap. Here, we are able to view Lindsey Corkhill's (
Claire SweeneyClaire Jane Sweeney is an English actress, singer and television personality best known for playing the role of Lindsey Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside and her appearance on the first series of the Reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother.-Early Life:Sweeney was born in Walton, Liverpool...
) 'missing' journey to her wedding to Peter Phelan (
Samuel KaneSamuel Kane is a British actor, who has appeared in the soap operas Brookside, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.Kane was born in Huyton; his father is Ken McGlashan, a local Labour Councillor...
) and also another appearance of Shiela Grant,
Sue JohnstonSusan "Sue" Johnston, OBE is a BAFTA nominated English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , Grace Foley in Waking the Dead from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009,...
, having reprised her role for a second time, especially for this one-off feature. It was released in 1998.
Brookside: Double Take. In 1999, this unusual video saw members of the
Brookside and
HollyoaksHollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
casts playing alternative characters in a spoof-documentary style feature.
DVD releases
When it was announced that the show would be finishing as a continuing series in 2003, on
Brookside's official website, there was a suggestion by Phil Redmond that
Brookside would continue with a succession of DVD releases. In fact, as early as 1988, Hilary Kingsley interviewed Redmond for her book,
Soap Box, and even then, he confidently suggested that if
Brookside were to end on Channel 4, he would attempt to continue the show off-screen:
"Redmond has even suggested the end of Brookside in that way—fittingly inspired and unusual. "Perhaps we will watch a character leave and follow him or her. Brookside will continue with its daily life, but not on-screen any more", he mused."
The first DVD after the final episode featured the climax to a long-running storyline involving
Tim "Tinhead" O'LearyTimothy "Tinhead" O'Leary is a fictional character in the defunct Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He was portrayed by Philip Olivier from 1996 until the final episode of the series in 2003. Tim subsequently appeared in a video spin-off, Brookside: Unfinished Business.-Introduction:Tinhead made his...
and
Steve MurraySteven 'Steve' Murray is a fictional character in the defunct Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He was portrayed by Steven Fletcher from 2000 until the final episode of the series in 2003. Steve subsequently appeared in a video spin-off, Brookside: Unfinished Business.-Introduction:When Lindsey...
finally getting revenge on Terry 'Psycho' Gibson in an 85-minute feature called
Unfinished Business. Psycho killed Tim's wife Emily during the November 2002 siege, and Steve's stepmother, Diane (Bernie Nolan), died in the subsequent helicopter crash on
Brookside Parade. The DVD was released in November 2003 to generally poor reviews. There was meant to be a follow-up DVD release involving a storyline with
Barry GrantBarry Grant is a fictional character in the defunct Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. He was portrayed by Paul Usher and was in the series from episode one in 1982 until 1995 with several sporadic guest appearances in 1997, 1998 and the final episode in 2003....
tracking down his brother Damon's killers, a story arc vaguely referenced during
Brookside's final episode on Channel 4. A trail for a DVD-film called
Settlin' Up was filmed and included in the
Unfinished Business extra's. Simon O'Brien was slated to appear as Damon Grant's ghost, and it is believed that although scenes were shot for the
Settlin' Up promotional trail, the actual feature did not make the production stages.
Also included as an extra was promo for a 21st Anniversary documentary called
Brookside: 100 Greatest Moments. A heavily cut-down version of this documentary also appeared, called
Brookside: 10 of the Best. Whilst recognising the existence of the
100 Greatest Moments documentary, Channel 4 say they have no plans to screen it in the future.
Following years of contractual wrangles over the rights to
Brookside preventing the series getting a DVD release, March 2011, it was announced that talks between programme creator Phil Redmond, Lime Pictures &
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
have been taking place to discuss the possible release of a
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2012, the serials 30th Anniversary. Channel 4's DVD label 4DVD have confirmed they have also had input from fans with regards to which episodes should be included on the possible 30th Anniversary release.
http://www.myreviewer.com/Channel_4_soap_Brookside_set_to_return_on_DVD_in_2012/a140909
After Brookside
When
Brookside was removed from prime-time
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
,
Mersey TelevisionLime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s....
immediately started using some of the houses on Brookside Close in its other soaps
HollyoaksHollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...
and
Grange HillGrange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
. In
Hollyoaks, the Dean family moved into what was Number 7 Brookside Close, and the Burton-Taylor family moved into what was Number 8 (as a result, the interior of Number 8 was never again seen in
Brookside with its occupant, Jack Michaelson, only ever shown at the door of the house). On-screen, the two identical houses had their exteriors clad in a mock-Tudor wood effect, net curtains covered the windows, and there were never exterior long-shots, but eagle-eyed viewers frequently spotted sights and props that made the use of these houses in
Hollyoaks fairly obvious. In fact, prior to the use of these houses as sets, another house in Brookside Close was also used in
Hollyoaks as the Cunninghams home. However, although this would have been Number 13 Brookside Close had it appeared on-screen, the house was never featured in any
Brookside storyline and was never seen or referenced.
Following the sale of Mersey Television to
All3MediaAll3Media is a television production company which makes programmes under several different subsidiaries. The company was formed in 2003 following the acquisition of Chrysalis Group's television arm which was rebranded North One....
in 2005, all the properties on Brookside Close became surplus to requirements so all the
Hollyoaks characters based at this set quickly transferred to new homes at Mersey Television's Childwall site. The entire set was sold to a developer who then stripped, gutted and attempted to rebuild the entire interior of each of the 13 houses before making them available for sale to the public in January 2007. Of the houses on Brookside Close (that were used as sets), Numbers 7 and 8 were the cheapest at £199,000, while the famous Number 10 was for sale at £295,000 according to the particulars of Off Plan Investments, who were selling the houses at that time. The houses were put up for sale in a semi-finished condition, and coupled with the extremely high asking prices, they did not sell, and the developer went into receivership soon after. The set then became neglected and fell into decay.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1082037/Pictured-Iconic-Brookside-Close-rotting-away-years-neglect.html
Over a year later in February 2008, it was revealed by the auctioneers SHM Smith Hodgkinson that they would be taking offers for the 13 houses, considering bids in the region of £2 million.
Salvage:
In the summer of 2008, Brookside Close was once again used as a production set; a local production company were given special permission to use the Close, but this time for a low-budget horror film called
SalvageSalvage is a 2006 horror film by the Crook Brothers. It was an official selection of the 2006 Sundance Festival. According to the directors' commentary, the film was shot for around $25,000...
. The film received modest reviews but was not widely distributed – and, despite the best efforts of the set designers, some reviewers did comment: "it looks like its been filmed in Brookside Close".
http://movies.sky.com/director-lawrence-gough-talks-salvage This was the last time the famous houses of Brookside Close were ever used as a set for a TV or film production.
It was then reported in November 2008 that the 13 properties were to be auctioned off collectively, with a guide price of £550,000–£600,000. There was speculation at this time that the series may be resurrected as Dean Sullivan (who played Jimmy Corkhill) had himself attempted to purchase the Close to revive
Brookside. However, an unnamed Liverpool-based buyer purchased all 13 properties on 17 December 2008 for £735,000, although by this time, the Close was in a sorry state of disrepair and once again, speculation mounted as to what would happen to the disintegrating houses of Brookside Close.
Eventually, in February 2011, and after years of building work, the entire Brookside Close set was finally revived and returned to its former glory.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/in-the-mix/2011/02/17/first-pics-of-brookside-close-after-it-was-transformed-into-luxury-des-res-100252-28186359/ Over the period of three years, each house was restored from what was technically an individual film set, to a real home, fit for real-life occupancy. Now aligned and fully integrated into the housing estate that has always surrounded it, 'Brookside Close' is now simply Brookside (odd numbers: 43–67) and real residents now occupy the houses.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-12504742 It is therefore highly unlikely that one of Britain's most famous housing estates will ever be used in a film or TV production again.
See also
General
- Brookside: Ten of the Best, 30-minute documentary included on the DVD release Brookside: Unfinished Business. FHED1759.
External links