The Telly Addict Hall Of Fame - Brookside 1982 - 2003

On the 2nd November 1982 the British public got a 4th television channel in the shape of Channel 4. It also got a new soap set on a cul de sac in Liverpool and it is that soap that I am inducting into the Telly Addict Hall Of Fame. Brookside deserves a place in The Hall of Fame for many reasons. It gave us some of the hardest hitting scenes ever seen on a pre-watershed soap opera as well as giving many big names their first break.

     The soap was originally conceived by Phil Redmond and was intended to be called Meadowcroft. It was different from other soaps at the time as it was filmed in real, brand new houses on it's own purpose built set. This was so that the show would look authentic while also giving Redmond total control over his creation. At first there were just 16 characters with the Grant family providing the main focal point. Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston played Bobby and Sheila Grant respectively. At first, viewing figures were far from positive. They stabilised at 1 million before changes were made which ironed out the initial teething problems. The language was toned down and various technical issues were resolved. More humour was introduced with the arrival of Harry Cross. Certain low performing characters were also written out.

Sheila and Bobby following the rape

     In 1983 Brookside played out it's first high profile storyline after George Jackson was wrongly convicted of a robbery. This caused massive media hype with a full on Free George Jackson campaign. Although George Jackson ended up staying in prison, the media coverage helped the soap to record viewing figures. These viewing figures rose again during 1985 when Brookside Close became the setting for a hostage situation when 3 characters were held by gun point. The seige ended, after a 3 episode run, with one of the hostages (Kate Moses) being shot dead before the gun man turned the gun on himself. The controversial storylines continued into 1986 with the rape of Sheila Jackson and the Heroin overdose of Nicholas Black. This made Brookside the first soap to seriously tackle Heroin addiction and it would return to the subject a number of times during it's long run.

Sue and Daniel after they were pushed

     By 1990 most of the original cast had left. These were replaced by families such as the Farnhams and the Dixons. By this time Brookside had reached it's peak in terms of viewers. It was regularly pulling in 7 million and this made it Channel 4's flagship show. This increased viewership led to the construction of a paraded of shops called Brookside Parade as the scope of the soap increased. It was Brookside Parade that played host to the most controversial storyline in the soaps history with the double murder of pregnant Sue Sullivan and baby Daniel. This storyline turned into a grim 'Whodunnit' and ratings soared. 

Trevor is dug up!

     In 1993 Brookside began what would become it's most famous storyline ever with the introduction of the Jordache family. Mandy and daughters Beth and Rachel arrived on the close shrouded in mystery. Soon after their arrival shocking details began to emerge. It turned out that Mandy had been abused by her husband and that even Beth and Rachel had suffered from sexual abuse. The abuser in question eventually arrived in the form of Trevor Jordache and before long he had wormed his way back into the family household. The abuse resumed and Beth and Mandy began a plot to kill Trevor by poisening. After this failed, Mandy stabbed him in the kitchen and the pair buried him in the back garden before having a patio laid over him. His body remained there until early 1995 when it was discovered by Eddie Banks who had been investigating a burst pipe. After going on the run Mandy and Beth were charged with murder and a campaign began similar to that of the one started by George Jacksons wrongful arrest 11 years earlier. This storyline helped the soap gain it's highest ever ratings of 9 million as well as ensuring that the Jordache's became one of the soaps most popular families. As well as the body under the patio, Beth was responsible for British Televisions first pre-watershed lesbian kiss after she shared a kiss with the Farnhams nanny, Margaret Clemence. 

That lesbian kiss!

     After this hugely popular period, the soap began it's decline as it persisted with more and more sensationalist plots. These included a cult brainwashing a number of popular characters before blowing up number 5 and  a mystery virus killing off a number of guest characters. It was the arrival of the Simpson family in 1996 that provided the biggest critiscism though after the brother and sister of the family began an incestuous relationship. This heralded the beginning of the end for Brookside with viewers becoming more and more disillusioned with the unbelievalbe plots and character arcs. An example of this is Lyndsy Corkhills transformation from a single mother working in a chip shop to a formidable bisexual gangster. 

    In it's final years Brookside became synonymos with explosions and guns and it finally came to an end on the 4th November 2003, 21 years after it began. Despite it's sad demise it is still remembered as a great soap in it's day. It gave breaks to people such as Anna Friel, Amanda Redmond, Sue Johnston, Ricky Tomlinson, Jennifer Ellison, Raymond Quinn, Lisa Faulkner, Paul Usher and Claire Sweeney. It also tackled subjects that soaps had rarely dared to tread such as homosexuality, drug addiction and gun crime. 

     Personally, Brookside was a huge part of my child hood. I grew up watching it and it taught me many things with it's hard hitting approach to storylines such as drug abuse and crime. To finish off below is that famous scene when Eddie Banks discovered the body under the patio.