This week fans were ecstatic to hear Brookside is returning to our TV screens for the first time in 20 years.
Affectionately known as 'Brookie,' the show was based in Liverpool and first hit our screens over 40 years ago on November 2, 1982. The popular soap was part of many households' day to day life and had its fair share of memorable storylines, before it was axed back in 2003.
But now, 20 years on from the last episode, the series will finally return to screens on the free streaming service, STV Player. It will now be possible to stream the soap from the start for the first time ever after STV Player struck a major new deal with distributor, All3Media International.
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Filled to the brim with over-the-top drama, gun-touting gangsters, death, and wild storylines, Brookside broke ground across the British TV landscape, highlighting dark and disturbing aspects of life that had previously been left firmly in the dark, the Liverpool ECHO previously reported. With that in mind, we revisit the most shocking and controversial Brookside moments as the show is set to return to our TV screens.
This list isn't intended to be comprehensive, we've selected a number of shocking and memorable storylines from Brookside over the years. But if you feel there are some storylines we should have included, let us know in the comments section.
1. Bargaret get together
The first pre-watershed lesbian kiss ever aired on British TV came in 1994 when Beth Jordache (Anna Friel) and Margaret Clemence (Nicola Stephenson) shared a passionate moment. It was a standout moment for British entertainment, won Brookside plenty of plaudits and prompted a flurry of complaints.
But the moment will live long in the memory for most fans. No one could deny the duo were good together and even the most stonehearted Brookside viewer was secretly rooting for Margaret and Beth, or as they should be known, Bargaret.
2. The helicopter crash
There were two - yes two - sieges in the close during Brookside's 21-year stint on TV. With the former ending in a triple murder at a hospital before the gunman turned the weapon on himself, it is hard to imagine how a second siege could be more shocking.
The 2002 hostage situation resulted in a helicopter being gunned down before crashing spectacularly into The Parade. The ensuing explosion took out the entire Parade.
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3. Evil Simon and his cult antics
Simon Howe's dramatic, violent and sex-crazed cult was full to the brim with so many shocking storylines we couldn't pick one on its own. The "charismatic" cult leader preyed on the vulnerable Katie before indoctrinating her into his cult by taking her virginity, strapping a bomb to Barry and even blowing up the house at No.5 - incinerating more cult members- before taking his own life.
Though the varied storylines surrounding Simon were popular, they were a sure sign the writers were now straying far away from the "soap" tag and into the realms of drama.
4. Hiding Trevor under the patio
The body of wife beater and child abuser Trevor Jordache (Bryan Murray) lay undetected at the home of the Corkills for years before his body was discovered. Trevor's long-suffering wife Mandy stabbed her abusive hubby and hid his remains in the garden.
In the 24 months that followed, barbecues and maintenance visits sparked panic and fear in the few that knew the grim truth, before Trevor's mysterious disappearance was eventually solved. Such slow-burning drama is rarely attempted in soaps today and the dark storyline continues to feature in countdowns of the best serial drama moments of all time.
5. The plague storyline
Well ahead of its time, Brookside had a bit of a zombie come apocalyptic storyline. The close was sealed off due to a killer virus that caused residents to drop like flies as the Bubonic plague made a return.
Fantastically over the top and left-field, the 1995 virus storyline left three characters dead, George (Brian Murphy) and Audrey Manners (Judith Barker), and garage owner Gary Salter, and the neighbourhood close to anarchy as residents refused to remain in lockdown.
6. Incest
Brookside stirred up further controversy in 1996 when siblings Nat and Georgia Simpson became a little too close. The eldest brother and sister in a well-to-do family, Nat and Georgia were discovered to be having a sexual relationship.
It was a storyline even some of the most faithful Brookside viewers couldn't stomach. The pair were fully aware that they were blood relations but couldn't resist acting on their romantic inclinations towards each other.
What Brookside moments do you remember most? Let us know in the comments section below.
7. The Millenium Club bombing
Another long-running storyline that built up to a literal explosion was the feud involving gangster Callum Finnegan (Gerard Kelly) and his nemesis Lindsey Corkhill (Claire Sweeney). Callum terrorised Lindsey after she made the ill-advised decision to steal money from the Finnegans, buying a nightclub with her ill-gotten gains.
Revenge was a dish best served piping hot and fiery for Callum, who planted a bomb at the club. The ensuing explosion killed two characters, Greg Shandwick, who was too busy having sex in the club shower to hear the fire alarm, and his son Jason.
The latter died when he was struck by falling debris while trying to save his dad.
8. Tinhead goes to prison for love
Starting out as a typical bad boy bully with bad intentions, Tinhead was soon turned around and became a moral upstanding character in the show. He was known for his relationship with Emily Shadwick, another Brookside fan favourite.
But his most memorable and shocking moment came when he went to prison for his girlfriend. Bad girl Emily had engaged in an orgy of crime against her neighbour Susannah Morrisey, but Tinhead gallantly took the rap for her and went to prison instead.
9. Lindsey and Mike are arrested in Thailand
It wouldn't be a Brookside list without this little firecracker. Lindsey Corkhill and Mike Dixon were trying to start a new life together abroad when they were arrested in south-east Asia.
In a classic revenge move, Lindsey's sadistic ex-husband Gary planted drugs in her daughter Kylie’s teddy bear, leading to a bit of trouble at customs. It briefly brought together feuding neighbours Ron Dixon and Jimmy Corkhill in a campaign for justice for their children who spent their time rotting in a Thai prison.
10. George Jackson goes to prison
In a shocking 1984 storyline that really put Brookside on the map, fireman George Jackson innocently gave details of a warehouse layout to a local gangster and was wrongly convicted for the armed robbery that followed. It led to the Free George Jackson campaign and wife Marie’s infamous fight with Sheila Grant.
The campaign spilled out into real life with posters appearing around Liverpool. Sadly poor George stayed behind bars.
11. Anthony gets revenge on his bully
A more recent storyline, 12-year-old Anthony Murray (Ray Quinn) fought back and murdered one of his bullies in this shocking 2002 storyline. Following months of bullying by school tormentor Imelda Clough (actress-turned DJ Billie Clements), Anthony tired of the constant haranguing and killed Imelda.
Brookside was hailed for highlighting the issue of bullying, with Brookie creator Phil Redmond claiming the episode had reclaimed the show’s "dramatic credentials."
12. Susannah's car crash
Susannah Morrissey's most controversial moment came when both her children were killed in a car crash. The aftermath of the crash played out over the following five episodes with issues around Susannah's suspected drink-driving emerging.
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13. Sinbad is accused of peadophilia
Loveable window-cleaner and gentle giant Sinbad was a show favourite and a pillar of morality on Brookside. That's why viewers were genuinely shocked when he was accused of sexually abusing a child at a deaf school.
After an attack left him partially deaf, Sinbad (Michael Starke) was invited to attend a school for hard of hearing children where he befriended a youngster called Andrew Taylor. Andrew was later manipulated into wrongly telling the police that Sinbad had sexually abused him.
As news of the allegations made their way around his neighbours, many turned against Sinbad which influenced his eventual departure from the Close.
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