Damon and Debbie
Encyclopedia
Damon 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 produced by Colin McKeown. The series is credited as the first 'soap bubble'.
The series followed teen sweethearts Damon Grant (O'Brien) and Debbie McGrath (Kearney
) absconding to York
from their disapproving parents in Liverpool
because of the class-divide. It ended with the death of Damon, who had been a regular character in Brookside since its launch in 1982.
, two facts which caused friction between the parents of both characters, a plot-line which saw one critic refer to it as like "Romeo and Juliet
in trackies". When their parents objected to them dating, the couple decided to elope from Liverpool to York. Their time away from home is depicted in Damon and Debbie, the UK's first 'soap bubble'. According to Annie Leask of The Sunday Mirror, the spin-off was a result of the characters' popularity with the viewing public.
in York. They had chosen York because it was one of the universities Debbie wished to attend. Their aims were for Debbie to go to university whilst Damon began a painter/decorator business. In the meantime, Damon worked in the Dick Turpin Burger Bar in Coney Street, managed by Lettuce (Siobhan Maher). One day, while Debbie attended an open day the university, the boat's owner returned and sailed away with all of their belongings. Debbie became very anxious at this news. Debbie's family, hostile towards Damon, began the hunt for them after discovering a York University prospectus in her bedroom.
, with Goth
Papadum
-packer Jenny (Michelle Holmes
), who Debbie had met at the open day, and her husband, computer programmer Kirk (Ian Ormsby-Knox). They then moved to Bradford
, where Damon worked as a groundsman at Valley Parade
(reflecting, in an interior monologue
, upon the fire there a year earlier). Here, they stayed with friends Patrick (Lyndam Gregory) and Apala (Seeta Indrani
). In a montage they were seen visiting what was then the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.
Having kept her diabetes
secret from him, Damon assumed that Debbie was a drug addict when he unexpectedly discovered her injecting herself with insulin
.
The series concluded when, after a mock marriage in a hotel room, Damon was stabbed by Crosby extra Jonathan Comer and died in Debbie's arms. She, and the storyline then returned to Brookside when police arrived to break the news about Damon's death. Damon's funeral was featured on the episode broadcast on 1 December.
Jonathan Comer, the extra who killed him on that dark riverbank on that fateful night in York began to receive threatening phone calls and hate mail shortly after the episode was broadcast.
. The A-side of the single was listed as "His song"; which was Ali's version, and the B-side was "Her song", which was the same song (and backing tracks) sung by Annabel Lamb
. There is no record of the single gaining a chart position. The title was also the closing spoken line of all three episodes. The song was used in an August 2004 episode of Hollyoaks
.
Soap bubble
A soap bubble is a thin film of soapy water enclosing air, that forms a hollow sphere with an iridescent surface. Soap bubbles usually last for only a few seconds before bursting, either on their own or on contact with another object. They are often used for children's enjoyment, but they are also...
' from Brookside
Brookside
Brookside is a defunct British soap opera set in Liverpool, England. The series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on 2 November 1982, and ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003...
, broadcast late on Wednesday evenings on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 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...
in November 1987, with an omnibus edition
Omnibus (broadcast)
An 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...
over the Christmas period of that year. A Mersey Television
Mersey Television
Lime Pictures, formerly known as Mersey Television, is a British television production company, founded by producer and writer Phil Redmond in the early 1980s....
production, it was written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Frank Cottrell Boyce
-Awards:*2004: Buch des Monats des Instituts für Jugendliteratur/Book of the Month by the Institute for Youth Literature , Millions*2004: Carnegie Medal, Millions*2004: Luchs des Jahres , Millions...
, directed by Bob Carlton, and produced by Colin McKeown. The series is credited as the first 'soap bubble'.
The series followed teen sweethearts Damon Grant (O'Brien) and Debbie McGrath (Kearney
Gillian Kearney
Gillian 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...
) absconding to York
York
York 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...
from their disapproving parents in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool 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...
because of the class-divide. It ended with the death of Damon, who had been a regular character in Brookside since its launch in 1982.
Inception
The character of Debbie McGrath was introduced into the soap as Damon Grant's girlfriend. She was both younger than Damon Grant and also under the age of consentAge of consent
While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
, two facts which caused friction between the parents of both characters, a plot-line which saw one critic refer to it as like "Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
in trackies". When their parents objected to them dating, the couple decided to elope from Liverpool to York. Their time away from home is depicted in Damon and Debbie, the UK's first 'soap bubble'. According to Annie Leask of The Sunday Mirror, the spin-off was a result of the characters' popularity with the viewing public.
Production
The scenes in which Debbie attends an open day were filmed on 19 September 1987 at York University. The same corridor was used several times for the scenes in which Damon tries to find her, with the furniture rearranged to make it appear different each time. The computer graphic ("Damon loves Debbie") that Debbie programs within a few minutes was programmed by Charles Forsyth.Episode one
Short of money, the couple squatted on a boat named "True Romance" moored on the River OuseRiver Ouse, Yorkshire
The River Ouse is a river in North Yorkshire, England. The river is formed from the River Ure at Cuddy Shaw Reach near Linton-on-Ouse, about 6 miles downstream of the confluence of the River Swale with the River Ure...
in York. They had chosen York because it was one of the universities Debbie wished to attend. Their aims were for Debbie to go to university whilst Damon began a painter/decorator business. In the meantime, Damon worked in the Dick Turpin Burger Bar in Coney Street, managed by Lettuce (Siobhan Maher). One day, while Debbie attended an open day the university, the boat's owner returned and sailed away with all of their belongings. Debbie became very anxious at this news. Debbie's family, hostile towards Damon, began the hunt for them after discovering a York University prospectus in her bedroom.
Episode two
The couple visit MorecambeMorecambe
Morecambe is a resort town and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. As of 2001 it has a resident population of 38,917. It faces into Morecambe Bay...
, with Goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
Papadum
Papadum
Papadum, also known as papad in Northern India, , pappadam in Malayalam, happala in Kannada, appalam in Tamil, appadum in Telugu, pappadum or poppadom in the UK, is a thin, crisp Indian preparation sometimes described as a cracker. It is typically served as an accompaniment to a meal in India...
-packer Jenny (Michelle Holmes
Michelle Holmes
Michelle Holmes , born Corinne Michelle Cunliffe, is an English actress who has appeared in several television serials.Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, she performed in a pop band called The Dunky Dobbers....
), who Debbie had met at the open day, and her husband, computer programmer Kirk (Ian Ormsby-Knox). They then moved to Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, where Damon worked as a groundsman at Valley Parade
Valley Parade
Valley Parade, also known as the Coral Windows Stadium through sponsorship rights, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1886, and was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they changed code from rugby football to association...
(reflecting, in an interior monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
, upon the fire there a year earlier). Here, they stayed with friends Patrick (Lyndam Gregory) and Apala (Seeta Indrani
Seeta Indrani
Seeta Indrani is an English dancer and actress.-Performance:After graduation as a dancer from the London Contemporary Dance School, she took the role of Cassandra in the original 1981 West End production of Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber...
). In a montage they were seen visiting what was then the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.
Having kept her diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetes mellitus, often simply referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced...
secret from him, Damon assumed that Debbie was a drug addict when he unexpectedly discovered her injecting herself with insulin
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
.
Episode three
Debbie's uncles continued their search for the couple, finally tracking them down back in York.The series concluded when, after a mock marriage in a hotel room, Damon was stabbed by Crosby extra Jonathan Comer and died in Debbie's arms. She, and the storyline then returned to Brookside when police arrived to break the news about Damon's death. Damon's funeral was featured on the episode broadcast on 1 December.
Jonathan Comer, the extra who killed him on that dark riverbank on that fateful night in York began to receive threatening phone calls and hate mail shortly after the episode was broadcast.
Music
The music played over the opening and closing credits was written by Steve Wright, who had also written the Brookside theme. The theme song, played over the closing credits, "Talk to Me", was performed by Dani Ali and was released as a single on the Ariola label through BMGBMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
. The A-side of the single was listed as "His song"; which was Ali's version, and the B-side was "Her song", which was the same song (and backing tracks) sung by Annabel Lamb
Annabel Lamb
-Career:Annabel Lamb has released eight albums to date. She had a British Top 30 hit in 1983 with her cover version of The Doors song, Riders on the Storm, her only hit in the UK singles chart. She appeared performing the song on Top of The Pops later that year. Her debut album, Once Bitten,...
. There is no record of the single gaining a chart position. The title was also the closing spoken line of all three episodes. The song was used in an August 2004 episode of Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks 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...
.
Main cast
- Damon GrantDamon 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...
- Simon O'Brien - Debbie McGrathDebbie 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...
- Gillian KearneyGillian 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... - Lettuce - Siobhan MaherSiobhan Maher KennedySiobhan Maher is an English singer and songwriter. Most notably, she was the lead vocalist of the Liverpool-based band River City People during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
- Mr McGrath - Nick Maloney
- Nick - John Basham
- Barbara/Bridget McGrath - Annie Tyson
- Lonnie - Neil Caple
- Tone - Geof Atwell
- Zoe - Jaye GriffithsJaye GriffithsJaye Griffiths is a British stage and television actress.Griffiths trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and has appeared in many television dramas, including a starring role in Bugs, which ran for four series...
- Jenny - Michelle HolmesMichelle HolmesMichelle Holmes , born Corinne Michelle Cunliffe, is an English actress who has appeared in several television serials.Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, she performed in a pop band called The Dunky Dobbers....
- Kirk - Ian Ormsby-Knox
- Patrick - Lyndam Gregory
- Apala - Seeta IndraniSeeta IndraniSeeta Indrani is an English dancer and actress.-Performance:After graduation as a dancer from the London Contemporary Dance School, she took the role of Cassandra in the original 1981 West End production of Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber...
- Sadhir - James Neale-Kennerley